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SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

West Virginia Power: Game Notes (April 14)

April 14, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


Following West Virginia's 6-4 win over Hickory on Friday, the Power look to make it two in a row against the Crawdads on Saturday evening at L.P. Frans Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. with LHP Ike Schlabach (0-0, 3.18 ERA) on the mound.

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WALLACE, CRUZ GUIDE POWER TO 6-4 WIN: Gavin Wallace turned in the first quality start of the season for West Virginia, and Oneil Cruz crushed a pair of home runs to lead West Virginia past Hickory 6-4 on Friday evening at L.P. Frans Stadium. Wallace, in his second Low-A start, spun six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and no walks while striking out five. Evan Piechota picked up right where Wallace left off, twirling three innings of solid relief on the hill to earn his first save of the season. Offensively, Cruz carried the load when he blasted an opposite-field three-run shot in the first off Hickory starter Jean Casanova, as well as a solo shot to left against Crawdads reliever Alex Speas in the seventh. Friday's outburst marked Cruz's first-ever multi-homer effort in the Minor Leagues, as well as his first four RBI performance. The Pirates' 14th-best prospect per MLB.com finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two walks in the game. Kyle Watson and Chris Sharpe each provided a pair of hits as well in the victory.

HITTING FOR POWER: Despite managing just seven hits in 35 at-bats on Friday, West Virginia continued to expand their league lead in home runs thanks to Cruz's pair of long balls. The Power infielder now leads the team in home runs with three and is tied for third-best in the league in roundtrippers with Chris Hess in Charleston and Tate Blackmon in Kannapolis. As a team, West Virginia holds the top spot in the SAL in home runs with 11, as Lexington and Hagerstown sit in second place with eight homers apiece.

POWER PEN GETTING THE JOB DONE: Piechota's three-inning performance in relief of Wallace on Friday continued a recent string of success for West Virginia's relief corps, as the 24-year-old gave up just one run on three hits over three innings while fanning two and walking one. Over the last three games dating back to the series finale against Lakewood on Wednesday, Power relievers have tossed 14.1 innings and surrendered just three earned runs while racking up 15 strikeouts, good for a 1.88 ERA in that span. This trio of performances has brought the bullpen's season ERA down to 4.14 from 5.56, a different of 1.42. Power relievers have held the first batters they have faced in an appearance to a 2-for-17 (.118) clip thus far, with four strikeouts.

QUALITY WALLY: Wallace recorded the first quality start of the season for West Virginia on Friday, allowing three earned runs over six innings while using just 80 pitches to do so in the win. The 15th-round pick from a year ago has now turned in a quality start in three of his last six outings dating back to last season, when he ended the year with a six-inning effort against Mahoning Valley on September 6. In that start, the right-hander gave up two runs on six hits while striking out a career-best seven batters. He registered his first quality start two weeks prior at State College, when he served up one run on five hits over six strong innings. Both of his quality efforts in 2017 resulted in no-decisions.

ROAD WARRIORS: Just as they did in 2017, West Virginia earned its first road win of the season in its second road game on Friday. Following their first road victory in 2017, the Power put together a string of six consecutive wins, all away from Appalachian Power Park, taking three of four from Lexington and sweeping a three-game set at Hickory.

HELLO, HICKORY: The Power have embarked on their first road trip of the 2018 season, as the team is set for a four-game series in Hickory, North Carolina, before heading to Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday for a three-game set against the RiverDogs. West Virginia and Hickory will clash 20 times in 2018, with the Power trekking to L.P. Frans Stadium four separate times throughout the season (June 8-10, June 21-23 and July 11-13). Hickory will travel to the Kanawha Valley for a four-game stretch in May (May 4-8) and a three-game series in June (June 27-29).

THE PITCHING MATCHUP: LHP Ike Schlabach (0-0, 3.18 ERA) returns to a familiar place on Saturday as he takes the ball in game three of the series against the Hickory Crawdads. Schlabach had been used exclusively as a starter through his first three seasons in the Pirates system, making 31 starts from 2015-2017 before becoming a member of West Virginia's bullpen this year. Hickory will oppose Schlabach with right-hander A.J. Alexy (0-0, 2.25 ERA), an 11th-round pick by the Dodgers in 2016 who joined the Rangers' system in the Yu Darvish deal on July 31, 2017.

POWER POINTS: The Power went 2-for-10 (.200) with runners in scoring position on Friday... West Virginia DHs are 1-for-27 (.037) through nine games... The Power swiped three bases for the first time in 2018 (Sharpe, 2; Busby 1).

ON THE AIR: West Virginia Power games can be heard on The Jock 1300 & 1340 AM in the Kanawha Valley, online at wvpower.com and on the TuneIn Radio App. David Kahn and John Kocsis will handle play-by-play duties in 2018.

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