West Virginia Power: Game Notes (May 3)
May 3, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
After dropping Wednesday's middle match to Augusta, the Power and GreenJackets will play a rubber game at 7:05 p.m. LHP Ike Schlabach (1-0, 3.92 ERA) is on the mound.
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PEURIFOY'S HOMER NOT ENOUGH IN 3-1 LOSS: Ryan Peurifoy homered for the second straight game, but that was all the offense West Virginia could produce in a 3-1 loss to the Augusta GreenJackets on Wednesday evening at Appalachian Power Park. Peurifoy ripped his solo homer to left in the second inning off Augusta starter Jose Marte, becoming the fourth Power player to homer in consecutive games (Rodolfo Castro, Ben Bengtson and Deon Stafford). Marte, however, settled down after that, tossing 5.2 innings and striking out seven to earn the win. Conversely, Hunter Stratton spun four frames in his first Low-A start and was saddled with the loss, despite fanning a career-high tying seven batters. Oneil Cruz and Peurifoy each registered a 2-for-4 effort on Wednesday.
HOLY HOMERS, BATMAN: Following Peurifoy's third homer of the year, West Virginia now has 26 home runs on the year, second-best in the South Atlantic League to Asheville, who has 28 long balls as a team. The Power have homered in seven of their last eight games. Every batter on the roster for West Virginia now possesses at least one homer except for Hernandez, who has only played two games with the Power. West Virginia is 12-4 when they hit a home run.
MISTER FANTASTIC: Since starting the season 0-for-13 through his first four games, Peurifoy has reached base safely in 10 of his last 11 games, while registering a hit in nine of those contests. Beginning on April 14, the Georgia Tech product is averaging .293 (12-for-41) with three home runs and seven RBI, bringing his season average to .222.
SHARPE, SMASH!: Since April 18, Chris Sharpe has reached base safely in all 13 games he has played for the Power. The outfielder holds the second-longest on-base streak on the team behind Calvin Mitchell, who reached base in 15 consecutive contests before seeing his streak end on April 28 in Lexington. During this stretch, Sharpe is averaging .263 (11-for-42) with three RBI and eight runs. On the season, the Boston native's .364 on-base percentage is third on the team, while his .737 OPS is sixth-best. Sharpe has reached in 21 of the 24 games he has suited up for this season.
FLASH ON, FLASH OFF: After going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts on Wednesday, Mason Martin saw his seven-game hitting streak come to an end. The Kennewick, Wash., native averaged .400 (10-for-25) with a home run and five RBI during that span (4/25-5/1), upticking his average to .276. Martin is tied for the team lead in home runs with Cruz at four apiece, while his 16 RBIs are third-best. Mitchell holds the team's longest hitting streak of the season at 13 games.
K STANDS FOR KRYPTONITE: West Virginia's pitching staff combined to strike out 17 Augusta GreenJackets on Wednesday, with Stratton retiring seven men before Evan Piechota and Blake Cederlind each set down five in relief. The 17 strikeouts are tied for the most that Power arms have collected in a single contest this year, equaling their total from April 6, which was led by Travis MacGregor's career-best 12 strikeouts against Greenville. As a team, West Virginia has fanned 259 opposing sluggers on the season, third-most in the South Atlantic League behind Lakewood (259) and Columbia (268). MacGregor leads the Power with 36 strikeouts, a mark that sits tied for third-best in the SAL.
DROPPING THE HAMMER: Piechota was once again a solid contributor out of West Virginia's bullpen, tossing three innings and allowing just two hits and one run in his sixth appearance with the Power. Despite surrending his first run in his last 15 innings, the Michigan native still sports a 1.08 ERA, which is third-lowest in the South Atlantic League.
THE MULTIVERSE MATCHUP: LHP Ike Schlabach (1-0, 3.92 ERA) makes his fourth start for West Virginia in Thursday's series finale against Augusta. In his last start on April 28 at Lexington, the southpaw spun five innings of two-run ball to pick up his first Low-A victory in a 4-2 win over the Legends. Augusta counters with RHP Aaron Phillips (1-0, 3.60 ERA), who picked up a victory in his first start of the year on April 26 at Greenville last time out. The Rochester, N.Y., native struck out six and did not issue a free pass over five innings of work.
COMIC STRIPS: Power relievers have held the first batters they have faced in an appearance to a .143 (7-for-49) stroke, with 17 strikeouts... West Virginia's bullpen has allowed four earned runs over their last 27.1 innings (1.32 ERA), while striking out 32 batters... The Power were error-free for the fourth time in 2018... Over the last five games, West Virginia batters have gone 5-for-50 (.100) with RISP, dropping their season average to .244, fourth-worst in the SAL.
THE BAT SIGNAL: 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.
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