SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

West Virginia Power Game Notes

Published on May 21, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


POWER REPLAY: West Virginia fell 3-2 Friday night to Lakewood. The Power took a 1-0 lead in the first when Dan Grovatt scored on a Matt Curry base hit. The BlueClaws tied the game in the third and took the lead in the sixth with back-to-back home runs by Zach Collier and Geancarlo Mendez. West Virginia scored its final run in the bottom of the ninth on a balk. Colton Cain was charged with his fourth loss of the season while Ervis Manzanillo erned the win.

A WORTHWHILE CAUSE: The Power will wear special charity jerseys in tonight's game, and those shirts will be auctioned off afterwards. This auction will be both silent and live after the game and the proceeds will benefit suicide prevention. West Virginia is 1-0 this season in charity jerseys.

PINPOINT CONTROL: West Virginia pitchers have combined to walk just 780 batters this season, by far the fewest in the league. In fact, Power pitchers have walked the fewest batters in all of professional baseball. Four other minor league teams are under 100 free passes issued, while Minnesota has walked an American League low of 123 and the Chicago Cubs have walked a National League low of 112.

DIGGING IN VS. THE CLAWS: West Virginia and Lakewood continue their rivalry tonight at Appalachian Power Park. The BlueClaws hold the all-time advantage in this series with a 44 wins over 76 games. The Power trail at their own yard in this series, going 17-26 at home since 2005. West Virginia and Lakewood will meet 19 times this season after playing 16 times last year.

CHICKS DIG ‘EM: West Virginia hit four home runs during the three game series at Lexington. Comparatively speaking, Power batters have hit nine long balls at Appalachian Power Park (20 games), four at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium in Kannapolis (five games), and one at Lake Olmstead Stadium in Augusta (eight games), and did not hit one out at Jospeh Riley Jr. Park in Charleston (four games). West Virginia is last in the South Atlantic League in home runs hit this season.

THIRSTY FOR A WIN: The Power claimed their first Thursday victory of the season two days ago. West Virginia is now 1-6 on Thursdays this year. The Power have only won one Friday game this season, a 5-2 win over Kannapolis last week. The club has a combined record of 18-11 on the remaining days for the week.

QUARTER MILE POST: On Sunday, the Power played their 35th game of the 2011 season, putting them one quarter of the way through the schedule. Even at 17-18, the Power were off to their best start in their brief affiliation with the Pittsburgh Pirates, dating back to 2009. The 2010 club was 15-20 after 35 games, were batting .236, and held a staff ERA of 3.70. The 2009 version were 12-23 with a .256 average, and a 3.42 earned run average. This edition held a team batting average of .262 and a team ERA of 4.06 after 35 games.

POWER POINTS: Brandon Cumpton pitched seven and two-thirds innings on Thursday, the longest outing by any Power starter this season... The Power will make up the May 3 rainout against Greensboro on June 14 at 5:30 pm as part of a doubleheader.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh knocked off Detroit 10-1. Lyle Overbay and Neil Walker hit home runs in the win to back Jeff Karstens... Indianapolis slipped past Buffalo 3-2... Altoona blanked Akron 2-0... Bradenton lost 11-10 at Dunedin.

ON THE AIR: All 140 West Virginia Power games can be heard on ESPN 104.5 FM and 1490 AM in Charleston, WV, across the state on the Power Radio Network, and online at milb.com. Adam Marco will call the action for each of the 70 home games this season, while the home team will provide coverage while the Power are on the road.

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 21, 2011


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