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SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

West Virginia Power: Game Notes (May 14)

May 14, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


Following yesterday's postponement, West Virginia will play a doubleheader against the Lakewood BlueClaws on Monday evening at FirstEnergy Park, with first pitch of game one set for 5:05 p.m. RHP Travis MacGregor (1-1, 2.63 ERA) gets the ball in game one, while RHP Hunter Stratton (1-1, 6.39 ERA) is on the hill in game two.

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WALLACE SPINS GEM IN 4-2 WIN: Gavin Wallace tossed a career-high seven innings and held the Lakewood BlueClaws to one run on four hits, allowing his only tally in the fifth on a leadoff homer to Quincy Nieporte. Besides that blast, Wallace was phenomenal on Saturday afternoon, as the Madison, New Jersey, native did not issue a walk and struck out one over 69 pitches (55 for strikes). Evan Piechota spun the final two innings, setting down Lakewood 1-2-3 in the eighth before battling through some adversity in the ninth to lock down his second save of the season. The Power jumped on BlueClaws starter Connor Brogdon for the second straight outing, as the right-hander gave up three runs in the first inning. Chris Sharpe doubled to left to start the frame, and Calvin Mitchell poked one over the third baseman's head to drive in Sharpe for a 1-0 edge. After Deon Stafford reached on a fielder's choice, Dylan Busby blistered an RBI double to left-center field to make it 2-0, and Rodolfo Castro drove in Busby with a single to push the lead to 3-0. West Virginia tacked on an insurance run in the eighth as Ryan Peurifoy led off the frame with a double against Lakewood reliever Luis Carrasco. Lolo Sanchez sacrificed Peurifoy to third, and Oneil Cruz singled him home, extending his hitting streak in the process.

GOING STREAKING: West Virginia has now won a team-best six games in a row, dating back to their doubleheader sweep over Hickory on Monday. During this six game stretch, the Power have not allowed their opponents to score more than three runs in any contest, while their six-game winning streak is currently the longest active streak in the South Atlantic League. During this six-game span, West Virginia is averaging .260 (52-for-200) with five home runs and 33 runs scored, while the pitching staff is boasting a 1.73 ERA (10 ER/52 IP) with 36 strikeouts. The Power have lowered their season ERA from 3.61 to 3.28 over this span, a mark that sits sixth-best in the SAL. West Virginia's longest winning streak in 2017 was eight games from August 3-9.

CRUZIN FOR A BRUISIN: Cruz has started to find a more consistent stroke in the Power lineup of late. The former Dodger is riding a 13-game hitting streak and a 15-game on-base streak, with the latter dating back to April 25 in game two of a doubleheader against Rome. Following game one, Cruz's average sat at .197, but he has boosted that mark to .264 with this 13-game stride where he is averaging .333 (18-for-54) with a home run and eight RBI. Cruz has the longest active hitting streak on the team, and is tied for the longest of the year with Mitchell. The Dominican native also holds the longest active hitting streak in all of Low-A baseball.

WALLY'S WORLD: In Wallace's seven innings of work, the right-hander induced 14 ground ball outs of his 21 total outs recorded, including 12 through the first five innings. That enabled him to keep his pitch count down, as it sat at 50 tosses through six innings. The Fairfield product earned his third quality start of the season on Saturday and became the first Power pitcher to reach three wins in 2018, as well as the first starter to last longer than six innings on the mound. West Virginia has won all six games that Wallace has gotten the starting nod for, and the Power are now 9-2 when their starter lasts at least six innings on the rubber.

SHARPENING HIS APPROACH: Sharpe went 4-for-4 in Saturday's series-opening win at FirstEnergy Park, recording three singles and a double. The Burlington, Mass., native notched the second four-hit game of his career with that effort, and the fifth of West Virginia's 2018 campaign. Sharpe has reached in 26 of the 32 games he has suited up for this season, giving him a team-best .376 on-base percentage, while his .290 average is second-highest.

DEON AT THE DISH: Following an 0-for-4 effort on Saturday, Stafford saw his 11-game on-base streak come to an end. Over that stretch, Stafford averaged .267 (12-for-45) with two homers, seven RBI and eight runs scored. The backstop's .277 average is third-highest on the team, while his .773 OPS is fifth-best.

POWER POINTS: The bullpen has allowed just nine earned runs over their last 57.2 innings (1.40 ERA), while striking out 58 batters... The Power went 3-for-5 with runners in scoring position last night... Castro has reached base safely in his last 12 games... Monday's game one starter Travis MacGregor leads the Pirates organization in strikeouts with 42... West Virginia has won seven of its last eight series... Lakewood claimed two of three from the Power from April 10-11 at Appalachian Power Park... West Virginia closes out the first half with 20 of their final 34 games on the road.

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