SAL1 Lexington Legends

West Virginia Holds on for 8-6 Win over Legends

Published on April 18, 2015 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Lexington Legends News Release


(WHITAKER BANK BALLPARK, Lexington, Ky.) The West Virginia Power held on for an 8-6 win over the Lexington Legends Saturday night in front of 5,966 fans at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. The Legends were down 8-2 going into the bottom of the ninth, but a grand slam by Cory Toups made the score 8-6, and the Legends had runners at second and third when reliever Nick Neumann struck out Ryan O'Hearn to end the game.

The Power took the lead with three unearned runs in the third inning. Jeff Roy led off with a single, and Cole Tucker sacrificed him to second. After Tito Polo flied out, Jordan Luplow and Taylor Gushue drew walks, loading the bases. Michael Suchy hit a ground ball to second base, but the ball got past Carlos Garcia for an error, scoring Roy and Luplow. A base hit by Chase Simpson scored Gushue with the third run.

The Legends answered with a run in the fourth. Alfredo Escalera led off with a double, but was thrown out at third by shortstop Cole Tucker after Tucker bobbled Humberto Arteaga's grounder. Arteaga, who reached first on the play, moved to third on a double by O'Hearn and scored on a sacrifice fly by Wander Franco.

West Virginia put five runs on the board in the sixth. Suchy led off with a double and moved to third on a single by Chase Simpson. Jerrick Suiter's single scored Suchy as Simpson moved to second. A passed ball put the runners at second and third. After Tyler Filliben walked, Simpson scored on a sacrifice fly by Roy. A wild pitch moved Suiter to third and Filliben to second, and Tito Polo brought both runners home with a double to left field. Polo scored on a single by Luplow, and the Power led 8-1.

Lexington got one run back in the eighth on a single by Michael Hill, a walk to Garcia, a single by Escalera, and an RBI ground out by Arteaga.

In the bottom of the ninth, Franco led off with a walk, Samir Duenez singled and Brandon Downes walked to load the bases. Toups followed with a drive over the bleachers in left field, his third home run of the year. The grand slam cut the lead to two at 8-6. After Neumann relieved Eric Dorsch, Hill struck out, but Garcia and Escalera followed with singles. Arteaga flied out to right field. With O'Hearn at bat, a passed ball allowed the runners to advance to second and third. But Neumann got O'Hearn on a swinging third strike to end the game, giving the Power the 8-6 win.

Power starter Austin Coley (2-0) got the win. Legends starter Zach Lovvorn (0-1) took the loss. Neumann picked up his second save.

West Virginia has won two of the first three games of the series, which concludes Sunday. Game time is 2:05 p.m.

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South Atlantic League Stories from April 18, 2015


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