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SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

West Virginia Power: Game Notes (April 16)

April 16, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


West Virginia opens up a three-game series with the Charleston RiverDogs tonight at 7:05 p.m. in South Carolina. LHP Braeden Ogle (0-0, 9.00 ERA) is on the mound.

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SEVEN-RUN NINTH HELPS POWER STUN CRAWDADS: West Virginia jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after two offensive frames thanks to Mason Martin's two-run homer in the first and an RBI single from Rodolfo Castro in the second. After squandering that lead by allowing seven unanswered runs to the Crawdads, West Virginia kept the game within three until the ninth inning, which they entered trailing 11-8. 11 men later, the Power had scored seven runs in the final frame and taken a 15-11 lead in front of a silenced 3,113 fans at L.P. Frans Stadium. They slammed the door on Hickory in the bottom of the inning as Blake Cederlind claimed his first win in 2018 by striking out the side.

BREAKING DOWN THE BIG INNING: West Virginia's seven-run ninth displayed the most runs the Power have scored in a single inning since August 18, 2017, when they tacked on eight runs in the third at Greenville to buoy themselves to a 10-8 victory over the Drive. Nine of the 11 plate appearances that took place in the ninth inning contributed to the rally, and here's how it all went down against Hickory reliever Grant Zawadzki:

Chris Sharpe: 1B to CF; Rodolfo Castro: F8; Calvin Mitchell: 1B to CF; Dylan Busby: RBI 1B to CF, Sharpe scores; Ben Bengtson: BB to load bases; Oneil Cruz: Force out scores Mitchell; Deon Stafford: Go-ahead 2R-2B to left; Kyle Watson: 2R-HR to left-center; Ryan Peurifoy: 2B to CF; Sharpe: 3B to RF, Peurifoy scores; Castro: Strikeout

HIGHS AND FIRSTS SET IN DRAMATIC FINISH: Amongst the flurry of the 15-11 comeback victory, West Virginia's offense notched several new season highs and individual career highs with their Saturday night drama. First, the Power scored 15 runs in a game for the first time since July 22, 2017, against Lexington, when the team recorded 10 runs in the fifth inning of a 16-2 thumping of the Legends. The Power's run and hit totals were both season bests, while Sharpe's 4-for-5 evening registered the first four-hit game for West Virginia since Albert Baur collected four knocks on August 23, 2017, vs. Charleston. Sharpe also set new career highs in hits and runs (three) in the win. Stafford, who had the go-ahead two-run double in the decisive frame, posted a new career high with three runs scored as well.

HITTING FOR POWER: West Virginia's offense averaged a .226 (15-for-41) clip in Saturday's win over Hickory, with Martin and Watson each adding another home run to their season totals. Martin's third blast now pulls him into a tie for third place with six other South Atlantic League sluggers, including his teammate Cruz. Watson's second roundtripper of the season vaulted the Power's team total to 13, a mark that stands atop the team standings in the SAL, with Asheville, Hagerstown and Lakewood sitting in second place at nine dingers apiece.

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. Having now won two straight away from Appalachian Power Park, the Power are following in the footsteps of the 2017 team who, after their first road victory, put together a string of six consecutive road wins, taking three of four from Lexington and sweeping a three-game set at Hickory.

CHEERS, CHARLESTON: After taking two of three from Hickory, the Power have arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, for a three-game set against the RiverDogs to finish off their seven-game road swing. West Virginia and Charleston are slated to play 11 times in 2018, with the Power hosting a four-game series from August 18-21 before concluding their 2018 regular season play in South Carolina from August 31 to September 3rd.

THE PITCHING MATCHUP: LHP Braeden Ogle (0-0, 9.00 ERA) gets the nod in the series opener against the Charleston RiverDogs on Monday in his second start at the Low-A level. In his debut on April 10 vs. Lakewood, the southpaw tossed three innings, allowing three runs on two hits while striking out four over 50 pitches. Ogle will be opposed by Charleston right-hander Daniel Ramos (1-0, 1.80 ERA), who was stellar in his season-opening start on April 9 at Rome, yielding one earned run over five innings while striking out seven and not issuing a free pass.

POWER POINTS: The Power went 8-for-13 (.615) with runners in scoring position on Saturday, raising their road trip RISP AVG to .344 in the process... West Virginia DHs are now 3-for-32 (.094) through 10 games following Watson's 2-for-5 effort on Saturday, with included the first multi-hit game, 3B, HR and RBI by a Power designated hitter in 2018.

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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