West Virginia Power: Game Notes (May 24)
May 24, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
The Power conclude their four-game series against the Columbia Fireflies this evening, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. from Spirit Communications Park. RHP Cody Bolton makes his South Atlantic League debut.
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TWO HOMERS, WALLACE'S OUTING NOT ENOUGH: Calvin Mitchell and Brett Pope homered and Gavin Wallace spun another quality start, but the Power bullpen allowed a four-run seventh to the Columbia Fireflies as West Virginia dropped its second straight game, 6-5, to Columbia on Wednesday at Spirit Communications Park. Mitchell kicked off the scoring in the first with his solo blast to right-center field, while Pope launched his first professional home run in the third, a two-run dinger to deep right, to put the Power up 3-0 early. The Fireflies tagged Wallace for his only two runs allowed in the fourth, as the right-hander spun six innings and scattered six hits while fanning two. West Virginia tacked on one in the sixth on an RBI double from Rodolfo Castro and another in the seventh on a run-scoring knock from Raul Hernandez to push the lead to 5-2, but Columbia stormed right back. Beau Sulser relieved Wallace in the seventh and allowed six singles that led to four Fireflies runs, vaulting them in front, 6-5.
MULTI-HIT MITCHELL: Mitchell's 2-for-3 showing Wednesday marked his 13th 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 (Oneil Cruz, 10). Mitchell has hit safely in 11 of his last 13 games, and in 14 of his 19 May contests, although his May average sits at .264, 100 points below his torrid .364 April clip. Overall, Mitchell's .319 clip is fourth-best in the SAL.
QUALITY WALLY: Wallace turned in another phenomenal start Wednesday, as the right-hander spun his fourth quality start of the season, second only to Domingo Robles on the Power staff. He retired nine of the first 10 Fireflies he faced and induced nine groundball outs. Wallace has lasted five innings or more in six of his eight starts, including a career-high seven on May 12 at Lakewood.
HOLY HOMERS: With a pair of homers Wednesday, West Virginia has 44 homers as a team in 2018, third-best in the South Atlantic League behind Asheville (47) and Lexington (49). Every Power slugger has at least one homer except Hernandez, who has played in just eight games for West Virginia.
STARTING STRONG: Over the first three games of this series, the three Power starters (Max Kranick, Robles and Wallace) have been stellar on the mound. The trio has combined to throw 18 innings and surrendered just four earned runs on 14 hits (2.00 ERA), lowering the starting staff's season ERA from 3.53 to 3.39 in that stretch.
WHERE'S MY 'PEN: Despite Blake Weiman's career-high four-inning effort Monday, the West Virginia bullpen has struggled mightily in this series. The Power relief corps have allowed seven earned runs on 16 hits over 9.1 innings (6.75 ERA), raising the bullpen's season ERA from 3.27 to 3.56. West Virginia relievers have blown four saves in this series.
ONE RUN NOT SO FUN: All three games in Columbia have been decided by one run, with the Power dropping two of three thus far, including Wednesday's 6-5 affair. West Virginia is 9-7 in one-run games in 2018, posting a .563 winning percentage, fourth-highest in the league (Augusta, .571; Kannapolis, .588; Greensboro, .625).
APRILS SHOWERS DON'T BRING MAY FLOWERS: After hitting .245 in April and scoring 5.2 runs per game, the Power bats have slowed down in May, averaging .230 and scoring just 4.1 runs per game, bringing West Virginia's season mark to .238, second-lowest in the SAL to Lakewood. On the year, the Power are 13-1 when scoring more than six runs in a game, but they have only tallied six runs once in their last 11 affairs, a 7-6 loss to Lexington.
THE PLAYOFF RACE: Delmarva blanked Hickory, 7-0, Wednesday, while Kannapolis eked past Greensboro, 3-2. With 25 games to go, the Power now sit 4.5 games back of the first-place Intimidators, who travel to West Virginia Friday for a four-game series from May 25-28 at Appalachian Power Park. The Power also trail the second-place Shorebirds by 2.5 games and will conclude the first half with a three-game series in Charleston against Delmarva.
POWER POINTS: The Power dropped to 14-3 when leading after six... West Virginia is 10-4 after a starter goes six innings... The Power went 3-for-7 (.429) with runners in scoring position Wednesday... Matt Seelinger has not given up a run in eight of his 10 appearances in 2018... Kyle Watson recorded his third career triple in the sixth Wednesday.
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 May 24, 2018
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- Suns Swept in Double Header on Thursday - Hagerstown Suns
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- Thursday's Road Contest at Columbia Cancelled - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Thursday's Game vs. West Virginia Cancelled Due to Rain - Columbia Fireflies
- Rain Cancels Finale vs Charleston - Augusta GreenJackets
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- Fireflies Game Notes: May 24 vs. West Virginia (Game 46) - Columbia Fireflies
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- Power Winds Down Month Of May With Four-Game Homestand - Charleston Dirty Birds
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