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SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

West Virginia Power: Game Notes (July 27)

July 27, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


West Virginia opens up a three-game series against the Asheville Tourists tonight, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. from Appalachian Power Park. RHP Sergio Cubilete (2-4, 5.40 ERA) takes the mound.

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POWER SWEPT AGAIN THURSDAY: Hunter Stratton went the distance in game one, but a sixth-inning run in both games marked the difference as Kannapolis swept its second straight doubleheader over the West Virginia Power Thursday evening at Intimidators Stadium. In game one, West Virginia jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first on a sacrifice fly from Jesse Medrano. Meanwhile, Stratton silenced the Intimidators over the first three innings, but ran into trouble in the fourth. Tate Blackman and Tyler Frost stroked back-to-back doubles to vault Kannapolis in front, 2-1, before Stratton wiggled out of the frame. The Power tied things up in the fifth on one of Oneil Cruz's two doubles in the opener, but the I's scratched a run across on a wild pitch and a throwing error by Rafelin Lorenzo in the sixth to claim a 3-2 win. Luis Ledo secured the win after allowing just one hit over the final two innings while fanning two.

In game two, the Intimidators took an early 1-0 edge as Frost clubbed his 14th home run of the season off Ike Schlabach in the second inning. West Virginia wasted no time in answering back, with Lolo Sanchez working a two-out walk in the third before Cruz doubled him in to tie the game at one. However, Kannapolis managed to get to Schlabach again in the sixth, as Ian Dawkins walked with one down before Johan Cruz singled him over to third to end Schlabach's night on the slab. Drew Fischer entered, but could not hold off both inherited runners, as Nick Madrigal lofted a sacrifice fly to shallow right that Rodolfo Castro reeled in, but his throw to the plate was well off the mark, allowing Dawkins to score and the Intimidators to snag a 2-1 victory. Schlabach ultimately lasted 5.1 innings and gave up just four hits while striking out five and walking one. Kevin Escorcia earned the win with three shutout frames in relief.

A COMPLETE EFFORT: Stratton tossed the first complete game of his MiLB career Thursday night in game one, spinning six innings for the second time in his career and recording his second-ever quality start. He scattered five hits and struck out three while walking one. Stratton hurled West Virginia's first complete game since Luis Escobar posted a five-inning, complete game shutout in Delmarva on September 2, 2017. Stratton had three complete games during his final season at Walters State (TN) Community College in 2017, as well as consecutive no-hitters.

404 ERROR MESSAGE: West Virginia's defense committed two more errors in game one Thursday, upping its season total to 129, tied with Lexington for the second-highest total in the South Atlantic League (Rome, 138). The Power also has a .963 fielding percentage, the lowest mark in the league. Cruz's 30 errors are tied with Rome's Jean Carlos Encarnacion for the most in the SAL. As a team, West Virginia made nine miscues over its last road trip.

TOUGH MONTH: It has been a rough month of July for West Virginia, with the team posting a 6-17 (.260) record thus far. The Power has dropped nine of their last 10 games, including seven in a row, their longest losing skid of the season. Additionally, West Virginia has fallen in eight straight road contests, also its the longest streak of the year. As a team, the Power has notched a .218 average, the lowest clip in the league, as well as a 4.87 ERA this month, second-lowest to Asheville (5.15), whom West Virginia is set to play in a three-game series this weekend at Appalachian Power Park. The Power has not posted a worse monthly record since their worst record in a month in club history, dating back to a 4-18 (.180) slide in April 2005, the first month Charleston's franchise played as the West Virginia Power.

MORE ON THE SKID: Kannapolis handed West Virginia its second consecutive sweep after taking both games of Thursday's doubleheader. The Power was broomed in a four-game series for the first time since Rome claimed all four games of their opening series with West Virginia in 2017 (April 7-9). The Power started last year with six straight losses. West Virginia's seven-game losing skid is the team's longest since 2014, when they dropped 14 straight contests from May 31-June 15, which also included the last time West Virginia was swept in back-to-back series, as Kannapolis, Hickory, Greensboro and Delmarva handed the Power four straight series broomings from June 2-15, 2014. Meanwhile, the Power posted their first eight-game road losing streak since 2012, when the club fell in 10 consecutive road affairs from April 7 to May 2. West Virginia had not gone winless in a multi-series road trip since dropping the first seven games in Power history from April 7-13, 2005, against the Hagerstown Suns and the Lexington Legends.

POWER POINTS: West Virginia is 10-14 in doubleheader contests, tied with Charleston for the ninth-best mark in terms of winning percentage in the SAL. The Power is 14-17 in one-run games, placing them in the lower half of the SAL in that category... Calvin Mitchell has recorded a hit in five straight games and has reached base safely in eight consecutive contests... West Virginia went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, while stranding six runners on the base paths across Thursday's twin bill... The Power posted a 6.20 ERA (31 ER/45 IP) over their most recent road swing.

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