Rome Upend West Virginia, 5-4
June 1, 2017 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
Rome, GA - The West Virgnia Power would see their brief two game winning streak end with a 5-4 loss to the Rome Braves. Rome would score three times in the eighth to down West Virginia.
Eduardo Vera took the ball for the Power and surrendered the lead two pitches into his night. The first pitch he threw was ripped into right for a leadoff triple from Randy Ventura. He would score immediately with a Marcus Mooney sacrifice fly.
West Virginia responded in the top of the third. Ty Moore would score the tying run on a Clark Eagan single. A 1-1 ball game saw Albert Baur come to the plate with two on. Baur laced a double into right field to drive in a pair and give the Power a 3-1 lead. The knock made it twenty straight games in which Baur has reached base. He later scored on a Hunter Owen single. West Virginia struck for four runs on five hits, leading 4-1 out of the third.
Rome plated a lone run in the home half of the fourth. Cristian Pache was driven in on a Kurt Hoekstra single. It was 4-2 with the Power leading until the bottom of the eighth. Adrian Valerio was injured in the inning on a throw that ricocheted into his left cheek. He was carted off the field, but never lost consciousness.
Blake Cederlind would relinquish the lead after taking over for Vera, allowing Pache and Brett Cumberlind to score. With Matt Frawley pitching and Lucas Herbert at third, a fastball skipped of off catcher Brent Gibbs' glove and screamed to the backstop. The eventual winning run came in to score as the Braves look a 5-4 lead into the ninth.
West Virginia went quietly in their last ups and fell in the opener. Cederlind was charged with his first blown save while Frawley (2-1) took the loss. Tucker Davidson (1-2) grabbed the win in three innings of relief.
The Power and Braves square off for game two on Friday night starting at 7:00 P.M. The magic number to eliminate the Power from a first-half postseason berth is down to nine. Catch the call on the Power Baseball Network.
First Half Record:
24-26
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