SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

West Virginia Power: Game Notes (July 19)

Published on July 19, 2018 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


West Virginia begins its final series of the season with the Lexington Legends tonight, with first pitch from Whitaker Bank Ballpark set for 7:05 p.m. RHP Cody Bolton (3-2, 2.83 ERA) is on the mound.

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WEST VIRGINIA CLAIMS RAIN-SHORTENED FINALE: Hunter Stratton spun five solid innings and got some major run support in the middle innings for the Power's bats before Mother Nature completed Tuesday's series finale early, handing West Virginia an 8-1 win over the Delmarva Shorebirds in six innings at Appalachian Power Park, giving the Power a series split and an overall season series win over the 'Birds, four games to three. The Shorebirds notched a run in the first as their leadoff man, Mason McCoy, cranked a solo home run off Stratton. McCoy's long ball is the second lead-off homer an opponent has hit against West Virginia this season. From there, however, Stratton persevered, ceding just three hits and striking out a pair over his five innings of work. Meanwhile, the Power tied the game at one in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly from Kyle Watson before blowing it open in the middle innings. In the fourth, the Power tacked on three runs against Delmarva starter Jhon Peluffo, as Fabricio Macias ripped a two-run triple and Lolo Sanchez lofted a sacrifice fly. West Virginia replicated its output in the fifth on a wild pitch from Alex Katz, an RBI single from Ryan Peurifoy and a fielder's choice ground out from Watson that plated Ben Bengtson. Raul Hernandez capped the scoring in the bottom of the sixth with a run-scoring single. Following the conclusion of the sixth inning, a heavy rain storm set it and forced the early conclusion of Tuesday's game after an eight-minute delay. Drew Fischer tossed the final frame for the Power, hurling a 1-2-3 sixth with two strikeouts.

SWIPING SANCHEZ: Sanchez recorded his 20th stolen base of the season Tuesday, a career-high for the Dominican native. He swiped 14 bags a year ago in the GCL. Sanchez has taken more bases than any Power player in 2017. With his most recent stolen base, Sanchez became the first West Virginia player to register 20 stolen bases in a season since Tito Polo (20), Logan Ratledge (24) and Alfredo Reyes (28) all hit that plateau in 2016. Sanchez now has 38 stolen bases in 61 tries (a 63 percent success rate) over 171 career Minor League games (1 steal every 4.5 games). The Pirates' eighth-best prospect per MLB.com is tied with Lexington's Brewer Hicklen and Augusta's Logan Baldwin for the third-most steals in the South Atlantic League. Delmarva's Kirvin Moesquit leads the pack with 37 swipes.

404 ERROR MESSAGE: West Virginia's defense committed another errors Tuesday, upping its season total to 120, tied with Greenville for third-highest in the South Atlantic League (Rome, 127; Lexington, 123). West Virginia has a .963 fielding percentage, tied with Lexington for the worst mark in the league. Oneil Cruz leads the SAL in errors with 28.

POWER BATS STRUGGLING: After boasting a torrid .375 clip in June, Cruz is struggling to find his swing in July. The shortstop is batting .183 (11-for-60) in the month and is just 3 for his last 27 at-bats with seven strikeouts. Meanwhile, Calvin Mitchell is posting a miniscule .176 (9-for-51) stroke in July and is 3 for his last 28 at-bats with nine strikeouts. As a team, West Virginia has notched a .209 mark in July, the worst average in the league, while its 4.45 ERA is fifth-highest on the circuit (Asheville, 5.20; Columbia, 4.80; Greensboro, 4.76 and Hagerstown, 4.73).

SAL ALL-STAR GAME RETURNS TO CHARLESTON: The West Virginia Power and the City of Charleston will host the 2019 South Atlantic League All-Star Game, the team announced Thursday afternoon. 2019 will mark the second time Appalachian Power Park has played host to the SAL's Mid-Summer Classic, with the first time occurring back in 2009. The City of Charleston hosted the All-Star Game for the first time in 1989, when the team was named the Charleston Wheelers. The 2019 South Atlantic League All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday, June 18, 2019.

POWER POINTS: The Power is 20-0 when scoring seven or more runs in a game... Hernandez has reached base safely in his last seven starts, dating back to May 20 against Lexington... As a team, West Virginia is averaging .262 with 13 home runs and 61 RBI, while its pitching staff boasts a 3.38 ERA (48 ER/128 IP)... Macias stroked his first career triple in affiliated Minor League Baseball, and his fourth overall (three in the Mexican League)... The Power has now had 27 games postponed, suspended, cancelled or delayed this season, tying the club record set in 2013 and 2014.

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 19, 2018


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