SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

Rodriguez Launches Homer as Power Falls 5-2

Published on August 1, 2019 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Julio Rodriguez cranked his ninth homer of the season, but West Virginia was bested by the Greensboro Grasshoppers, 5-2, Thursday night at Appalachian Power Park.

Greensboro (21-18, 65-43) wasted no time getting on the board, as the leadoff man, Jonah Davis, unloaded a solo shot to right field and immediately gave the Grasshoppers a 1-0 lead. The next hitter, Jack Herman, doubled down the left-field line and scored a couple batters later on a Fabricio Macias RBI single.

The 'Hoppers plated another run in the second on a bloop RBI single off the bat of Davis that put Greensboro ahead 3-0. West Virginia (18-22, 55-55) answered in the bottom of the inning with three consecutive singles, with Bobby Honeyman scoring on a Mike Salvatore single to left that cut the Grasshoppers' advantage to 3-1. However, the rally was snuffed out by Colin Selby (5-3), who struck out the next three batters and limited the damage to just one run.

Nate Fisher (0-1), who surrendered three runs over the first two innings, settled down throughout the rest of his outing, retiring the final 10 Greensboro batters he faced. Reid Morgan entered out of the pen in the sixth and tallied a career-high 2.2 innings and four strikeouts before a Ji-Hwan Bae RBI double ended his outing in the eighth and handed the Grasshoppers a 4-1 lead.

After the double, Morgan was replaced by Benjamin Onyshko, who conceded a run-scoring double on the second pitch he threw to Macias that extended the 'Hoppers lead to 5-1. In the bottom of the eighth, Rodriguez lifted his ninth homer of the season over the right-center field wall that slimmed the deficit to three. However, the West Virginia lineup was silenced in the ninth inning by Yerry De Los Santos (S,9), who retired the side in order and solidified the 5-2 Grasshoppers win.

The Power concludes their three-game series against the Greensboro Grasshoppers Thursday evening, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. RHP Ryne Inman (7-7, 4.50 ERA) gets the ball for West Virginia, while Greensboro sends RHP Alex Manasa (8-3, 3.43 ERA) to the bump. Pregame coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on The Jock 1300 and 1340 AM, as well as online at wvpower.com and via the TuneIn Radio App and MiLB First Pitch App.

West Virginia continues their homestand with CAMC Night on Friday, August 2, Back to School Night on Saturday, August 3, and African American Heritage Night on Monday, August 5. Tomorrow, the Power will sport special 'Hot Shot' jerseys that will be auctioned off during the game, with proceeds going to the CAMC Foundation and benefiting local causes in the Kanawha Valley. On Saturday, the first 1,000 fans can receive a limited edition backpack as a part of Back to School Night, presented by Todd Judy Ford. For tickets and more information, call the Power at 304-344-2287 or visit www.wvpower.com.

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 1, 2019


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