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Charleston Dirty Birds

West Virginia Power: Game Notes (June 21)

June 21, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


The Power opens up their second half tonight in Hickory, North Carolina, with first pitch set for 7:00 p.m. from L.P. Frans Stadium. RHP Max Kranick (1-3, 4.62 ERA) takes the hill for West Virginia and below.

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WEST VIRGINIA DROPS FIRST HALF FINALE: Gavin Wallace turned in another quality start and Chris Sharpe provided two run-scoring plays, but the Power fell in their final game of the first half, 4-2, to the Delmarva Shorebirds Sunday afternoon at Appalachian Power Park. The loss gave West Virginia a 37-29 first half record and a third-place finish in the South Atlantic League's Northern Division Standings. Delmarva jumped out to an early 3-0 lead against Wallace, who was stellar after the rough first. He ended up retiring 10 in a row at one point and finished his outing setting down 16 of the final 18 batters he faced. Meanwhile, the Power tried to crawl back into it as Sharpe knocked in John Bormann in the second and fourth innings to close the score to 3-2, but a ninth-inning insurance run on a close play at the plate gave the Shorebirds a 4-2 advantage that they would not relinquish. Blake Cederlind and Drew Fischer each tossed scoreless innings in relief of Wallace, while Joel Cesar was responsible for the ninth-inning tally.

CRUZIN RIGHT ALONG: With his 1-for-4 day in the series finale Sunday, Oneil Cruz extended his hitting streak to nine games, the longest active streak on the Power heading into the second half. During his streak that dates back to June 8, the Pirates' 13th-best prospect per MLB.com is averaging .375 (15-for-40) with six RBI. This nine-game stretch is Cruz's third hitting streak of six games or more in 2018.

STREAKING SHARPE: Sharpe also extended his hitting streak with another multi-RBI effort, giving him three on the season. The Burlington, Mass., native has recorded a multi-RBI game in two of his last three contests. The Power outfielder is riding an eight-game streak with a .423 (11-for-26) clip, his second streak of six games or more this year.

CASTRO CATCHING FIRE: Rodolfo Castro has found his stroke at the plate of late, currently holding a season-long seven-game hitting streak where he is boasting a .346 (9-for-26) stroke with two home runs and nine RBI. Castro has posted either a multi-hit or multi-RBI game in each of his last four starts, while homering in two of those games.

QUALITY WALLY: Despite the loss, Wallace spun his sixth quality start of the year for West Virginia, allowing three runs over six innings while striking out two and walking two. The Madison, New Jersey, native had won his last eight decisions, dating back to August 6, 2017, before Sunday's defeat. Since his prior losing decision on July 16, 2017, Wallace has allowed more than three earned runs just twice in his 21 starts (22 appearances), and has worked five innings or more in all but four of those outings (two affected by rain in 2018, one was a relief appearance with the Black Bears). The 22-year-old's six quality starts are tied with Friday starter Domingo Robles for the most on the Power.

ALL-STAR RESULTS: Calvin Mitchell and Deon Stafford participated in this year's South Atlantic League All-Star Game on June 19 in Greensboro, N.C., at First National Bank Field. Both Power All-Stars got starting nods during Tuesday's Midsummer Classic, with Mitchell going 1-for-3 with two strikeouts and Stafford posting a 1-for-2 evening with a walk and a run scored. The Southern Division defeated the Northern Division, 9-5, with the Lexington Legends' Nick Pratto taking home MVP honors after the Royals' top prospect went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI.

FAMILIAR FACES: West Virginia starts its second half with three games on the road in Hickory, followed by a six-game homestand where they take on the Lakewood BlueClaws for three games and then see the Crawdads again in a three-game set at Appalachian Power Park. Following these two three-game series, the Power and Hickory match up against one final time from July 11-13 in Hickory.

FIRST HALF FINISH: While the Rome Braves had the Southern Division wrapped up in the waining days of the first half, the Northern Division once again came down to the final day of action. Lakewood ultimately claimed the first-half crown after defeating Hickory, 4-0, and seeing Kannapolis lose to Greensboro, as the Intimidators dropped their final five contests, and a second straight first-half playoff spot, in the process. West Virginia finished with a first-half record above .500 for the second time in the last three seasons while posting winning records on the road (19-11) and in the division (16-13). The Power won 11 of their final 14 games to close out the first half.

POWER POINTS: The Power are 21-16 in games decided by two runs or less... West Virginia begins the second half with 13 straight divisional matchups before batting a Southern Division foe (3 games in Hickory, 3 games vs. Lakewood, 3 games vs. Hickory, 4 games in Hagerstown)... The Power went 1-for-6 with RISP, stranding six men on the basepaths... Castro posted his 11th multi-hit game of the season Sunday, tied with Sharpe for fourth-most on the team.

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