Spain's trio of hits pace Power in victory
September 4, 2009 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
Charleston, WV - In a game where pitching dominated, Bobby Spain's 3-for-4 performance really stood out as the Power third baseman drove in the eventual game winning run with an RBI single in the fifth inning in West Virginia's 2-1 victory over the Greensboro Grasshoppers at Appalachian Power Park on Friday night.
The two teams had chances to score early on but combined to leave eight men on base over the first three and a half innings of the contest. Austin McClune snapped the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth inning when he belted his first homerun of the season to give the Power a 1-0 lead. Robbie Grossman started the fifth inning with a base hit and moved to second on a single from Quincy Latimore before scoring on Bobby Spain's two out base knock to put the Power ahead 2-0.
The Grasshoppers scored their lone run in the top of the sixth inning. Duke Welker entered the contest for Brett Lorin and walked the first batter he faced on four pitches, before surrendering an RBI triple to Ben Lasater. However, Welker recovered nicely, and retired the next three batters while leaving the potential tying run stranded at third base.
In his final start of the season, Brett Lorin (3-1) tossed five scoreless innings and allowed just four hits while striking out six to earn the victory. Alan Knots (1) tossed a pair of scoreless innings in relief and struck out four to earn his first save of the season. Johnny Dorn (11-10) was tagged with the loss after allowing a pair of runs on eight hits over five innings.
West Virginia improved to 65-69 overall, and 38-26 in the second half after the victory, while Greensboro fell to 65-72 overall and 28-39 in the second half after the loss. Bobby Spain's three hit performance extended his hitting streak to 12 games and Adenson Chourio reached on a bunt base hit to extend his on base streak to nine games. Robbie Grossman also hit safely two times, giving him eight hits in his last four games.
West Virginia will continue the four game series with the Greensboro Grasshoppers at Appalachian Power Park on Friday night. The Power will start right hander Hunter Strickland (3-2, 4.38) and the Grasshoppers will counter with right hander Brad Hand (7-12, 4.77). The first pitch will be delivered at 7:05 PM.
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