West Virginia Power: Game Notes (June 3)
June 3, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
The Power wrap up their six-game road trip in Greensboro on Sunday afternoon with a 2 p.m. first pitch from First National Bank Field. RHP Hunter Stratton (1-2, 6.41 ERA) is on the mound and below.
--------------
BOLTON DOMINATES IN 4-0 SHUTOUT: Cody Bolton took control early and often against the Greensboro Grasshoppers, holding them to three hits over six scoreless frames while walking just one and striking out four as West Virginia cruised to a 4-0 win over Greensboro on Saturday evening at First National Bank Field. Ike Schlabach struck out a pair while tossing a scoreless seventh before giving way to Beau Sulser, who set down the Grasshoppers 1-2-3 in the eighth. Blake Cederlind served up a leadoff single in the ninth, but retired the final two batters via the strikeout to secure the Power's fifth shutout win of the year. West Virginia plated one in the fifth on a Lolo Sanchez RBI fielder's choice and tacked on three insurance runs in the seventh on run-scoring doubles from Kyle Watson and Oneil Cruz. The Grasshoppers were only able to get one runner past first base on the evening, as Cameron Baranek got to third base in the ninth after his inning-opening single, but Cederlind stranded him 90 feet away as he finished off the game.
BOLTON BREAKING FREE: Since joining the Power on May 22, Bolton has been tremendous for West Virginia. After throwing five shutout frames and collecting a career-high eight strikeouts in his South Atlantic League debut on May 25 against Kannapolis, the right-hander bested his career-high with a six-inning performance, and his first-ever quality start, during which he threw 87 pitches (52 for strikes) and pushed his scoreless innings streak to 11 since his promotion to the Low-A level. In total, Bolton has allowed just five hits and two walks during his time with the Power. Bolton is one of two pitchers in the South Atlantic League who have made two starts since May 25 and not allowed a run, joining Ryan Lillie of Greensboro, who has spun back-to-back complete game shutouts (13 innings total).
MULTI-HIT MITCHELL: Mitchell's 2-for-5 effort in Saturday's 4-0 win gave him his 16th-multi-hit game of the season. The Pirates' 15th-best prospect per MLB.com is one of two Power batters with double digit multi-hit efforts in 2018 (Cruz, 13). Mitchell has hit safely in 11 of his last 14 games, and in 19 of his last 26 contests. Overall, Mitchell's .321 stroke is sixth-best in the SAL. His .321 average also ranks second in the Pirates system (Albert Baur, .338 with Bradenton). Mitchell has found more success on the road in 2018, boasting a .361 (30-for-83) clip (20 games) compared to a .288 (30-for-104) stroke at home (29 games). Mitchell was also recently tabbed as the 99th-best prospect in baseball in Baseball America's newly-minted Top 100 rankings.
CRUZIN FOR A BRUISIN: Cruz went 3-for-5 with two doubles and a pair of RBI Saturday, collecting his first three-hit game of the season and seventh multi-RBI affair, with the latter topping all West Virginia batters. Since May 1, the Dominican native is averaging .333 (34-for-102) with three home runs, 12 RBI and 12 extra-base hits. Cruz has been a first-inning catalyst for the Power, boasting a .393 stroke (11-for-28) with two of his team-leading seven homers and five RBI. The infielder's .282 season average is ninth-best in the Pirates organization, while his seven long balls are tied for third in the system with Mitchell and Jason Martin of Double-A Altoona.
HANGING ZEROS: West Virginia completed its fifth shutout of the season Saturday with a 4-0 win over Greensboro. It was the second blanking in a row led by Bolton, as he, Cederlind, Blake Weiman and Matt Seelinger held Kannapolis scoreless on May 25 in a 5-0 triumph. West Virginia is now 5-4 in shutouts this season and is one of seven teams in the South Atlantic League with at least five shutout victories.
POWER POINTS: Mason Martin is mired in a 5-for-52 (.096) slump with 26 strikeouts... The Greensboro Grasshoppers are the only South Atlantic League team that will not travel to Appalachian Power Park in 2018... The Power went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position Saturday, stranding nine men on the basepaths... West Virginia won a game that Sulser pitched in for the first time in his last five appearances... The Power snapped a season-long five-game losing streak with the win... Sanchez swiped his team-leading 11th stolen base last night... West Virginia is going for its first series victory in its last five tries, as the Power have dropped four straight series to Lexington, Columbia and Kannapolis... West Virginia returns home for a three-game series with Lexington following Sunday's series finale. The Power are 3-5 against the Legends in 2018... West Virginia has 46 home runs on the year, third-best in the South Atlantic League behind Asheville (53) and Lexington (58). Every Power batter has a home run this year except for Raul Hernandez, who is on the disabled list, and Yoel Gonzalez, who has played in one game thus far with West Virginia, but is in the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale.
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.
South Atlantic League Stories from June 3, 2018
- Charleston Bats Explode in Continued Game One, Fall in Extras in Latter Contest - Charleston RiverDogs
- Tetreault Hurls Suns to 3-1 Victory on Birthday - Hagerstown Suns
- Drive Walk off to Complete Sweep of Tourists - Greenville Drive
- Roller Coaster Game Goes Greenville's Way - Asheville Tourists
- Upcoming Homestand Now a Four-Game Series - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Sharpe Goes Deep in West Virginia's 5-2 Loss - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Santos' 3-Hit Game Buoys Grasshoppers - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Santos' 3-Hit Game Buoys Grasshoppers - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Legends Secure Series Win over GreenJackets with 6-5 Victory in Game Four - Lexington Legends
- Swat and Sweep, Rome Gets 5-3 Win to Sweep Series - Rome Emperors
- Big Comeback Stings GreenJackets - Augusta GreenJackets
- Alfonzo Homers, Columbia Falls in Finale - Columbia Fireflies
- Ortiz, Parkinson Lead Claws to 2-0 Sunday Win - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Fireflies Roster Move and Game Notes: June 3 at Rome (Game 54) - Columbia Fireflies
- West Virginia Power: Game Notes (June 3) - Charleston Dirty Birds
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.
