NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Charleston Dirty Birds

West Virginia Power: Game Notes (June 10)

June 10, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


West Virginia goes for its second straight series win Sunday against the Hickory Crawdads, with first pitch from L.P. Frans Stadium set for 3 p.m. RHP Max Kranick (0-2, 5.28 ERA) is on the mound and below.

--------------

NINTH-INNING COMEBACK FALLS SHORT: The Power got the tying run to third base in the ninth inning, but were unable to bring him in as the Hickory Crawdads took a 5-4 win Saturday evening at L.P. Frans Stadium, snapping West Virginia's five-game winning streak. Trailing 5-3 in the ninth, Ben Bengtson led things off with a double against Alex Speas. Two batters later, Bengtson scored on a ground ball from Chris Sharpe that got under the glove of Crawdads first baseman Tyler Ratliff, making it a one run ballgame. Sharpe stole second and third base while Ryan Peurifoy was at the dish, who ultimately walked to put runners at the corners with two down. Lolo Sanchez then worked the count full against Speas, but struck out to end the game. In the loss, Hunter Stratton recovered well from a rough first inning, where he allowed a lead-off single and then a two-run homer to Pedro Gonzalez that put Hickory in front 2-0 early. After that blast, however, Stratton did not give up another hit, stranding the bases loaded (three walks) in the second and setting down the Crawdads 1-2-3 in the third and fourth innings, ultimately retiring the last seven men he faced. Tyler Phillips was exceptional for Hickory, spinning a career high-tying eight innings and also sporting just one rough frame, a three-run fourth for West Virginia where they took the lead thanks to an RBI double from Rodolfo Castro and a pair of sacrifice flies from Bengtson and Sharpe. Sam Huff turned the tide in the sixth with a two-run two-bagger off Power reliever Drew Fischer, while a late miscue by Bengtson on a ground ball from Tyreque Reed in the seventh gave Hickory a much-needed insurance run.

MASHING MITCHELL: Calvin Mitchell's fourth-inning single Saturday continued a torrid stretch for the South Atlantic League All-Star. The San Diego native has hit safely in 18 of his last 22 games, and in 26 of his last 34 contests since May 1. Overall, Mitchell's .330 stroke is tied for third-best in the SAL with Asheville's Chad Spanberger (and tied for tops in the Pirates organization with Jason Martin of Double-A Altoona) while his 16 doubles and 71 hits are tied for second in the league. The Pirates' 15th-best prospect's (per MLB.com) team-leading 34 RBI are tied for second amongst all Pirates sluggers with Albert Baur of Advanced-A Bradenton. Mitchell has found more success on the road in 2018, boasting a .361 (35-for-97) clip (24 games) compared to a .305 (36-for-118) stroke at home (33 games).

STREAKING: Bengtson extended his hitting streak to 10 games with his ninth-inning double Saturday, the longest active hitting streak on the Power. The infielder is averaging .324 (11-for-34) with six RBI in that span. Bengtson is one of three West Virginia sluggers to string together a hitting streak of 10 games or more in 2018 (Oneil Cruz, 10 and 14; Mitchell, 13). The Hartford product has increased his season average from .169 to .222 during this stretch (53 points).

FIRING BLANKS: With their 4-0 and 2-0 wins over Hickory Friday, the Power posted back-to-back shutout wins for the first time since July 12-14, 2016, when West Virginia recorded three consecutive shutouts against the Augusta GreenJackets. The Power also notched their first two-hitter since Mike Wallace held the BlueClaws to a pair of hits in Lakewood on August 30, 2017, in the back half of a twin bill. West Virginia threw consecutive two-hitters for the first time in team history (2005-present) Friday. The Power have a 7-4 shutout record in 2018, making them one of four teams in the South Atlantic League with seven or more shutout wins (Delmarva, 7; Augusta, 9; Lakewood, 11).

BEST BAT AND DEON: Deon Stafford's 2-for-3 effort Friday gave him his fourth straight multi-hit game, the first time he has done that in 2018. His record for consecutive multi-hit games is five (7/24-7/31/17). The Saint Joseph's product notched his 13th multi-hit game of 2018, third-most on the team (Cruz, 16; Mitchell, 19).The backstop is in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak where he is boasting a .423 (11-for-26) clip with a home run and six RBI. That .423 average is also the fourth-highest mark in the league since June 1 (Jhonny Santos, .440, GBO, leads the way).

HEY NOW, YOU'RE AN ALL-STAR: Stafford and Mitchell were named South Atlantic League All-Stars Tuesday, with the pair set to represent the Power at this year's Midsummer Classic in Greensboro, N.C., on June 19 at First National Bank Field. Stafford received his second consecutive All-Star nod, while Mitchell secured his first mid-season accolade. Stafford is the first Power catcher to garner an All-Star selection since Reese McGuire in 2014.

POWER POINTS: John Bormann has recorded a hit in each of his first four games with West Virginia in 2018... Sharpe swiped two bases in a game for the second time in his career Saturday, with both coming in Hickory (April 13).

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.

Check out the Charleston Dirty Birds Statistics

• Discuss this story on the South Atlantic League message board...

South Atlantic League Stories from June 10, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central