SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

WV Power Game Notes - April 12, 2015 vs. Savannah

Published on April 12, 2015 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


Savannah Sand Gnats (1-2) at West Virginia Power (2-1)

Game #4 | April 12, 2015 | Appalachian Power Park | Charleston, WV

Radio: Charleston's ESPN 104.5 & 1490 - wvpower.com Airtime: 1:45 p.m.

TODAY'S MATCH-UP

RHP Josh Prevost (No Record) vs. RHP Austin Coley (No Record)

Prevost: Went 1-2 with a 1.83 ERA in 11 games (no starts) with short-season Brooklyn

Coley: Went 0-2 with a 5.23 ERA in eight starts with short-season Jamestown

THE LEAD OFF: Nine walks by the Power pitching staff ultimately proved to be the downfall as West Virginia fell to Savannah 11-4 on Saturday afternoon at Appalachian Power Park. Starting pitcher Dovydas Neverauskas got off to a slow start by allowing five runs through the first two innings while issuing four free passes. West Virginia's offense tried to rally back on a few occasions by scoring two in the first to cut Savannah's lead to one, then two more in the third on Jerrick Suiter's first home run of the year to make it a two-run game. However, Savannah's offense exploded in the sixth when they scored four runs on five hits. Neveruaskas suffered his first loss of the season.

LET'S TAKE THIS: West Virginia guns for the series victory this afternoon in the fourth and final game of the series against Savannah. The Power will toss up RHP Austin Coley to the mound in his South Atlantic League debut. The 22-year-old held a 5.23 ERA in eight starts with Jamestown but had a 2.84 ERA in his final seven starts of the year. Coley was drafted by the Pirates in the 8th round of last year's draft from Belmont University in Tennessee.

MODERN GENTLEMAN'S ARMOR: West Virginia first baseman Jerrick Suiter has been on a tear since joining the Power at the dawn of the season. On Opening Day, Suiter went 2-for-4 and delivered a walk-off fielder's choice. Friday night saw the 22-year-old snag his first triple of the year and yesterday's game the former TCU Horned Frog barrelled his first home run of the season. Suiter was drafted by the Pirates in the 26th round of last year's draft and hit .279 with one home run and 29 RBIs last year with the Jamestown Jammers.

GNAT ATTACK: West Virginia will battle Savannah seven times in the 2015 season with the final game of this series to be played today. Last season, the Power dropped all three games played against the Sand Gnats but still hold the lead in the all-time series with a 28-22 record. Following the conclusion of this series on Sunday, the Power will welcome the Sand Gnats back to Charleston from June 9-11.

NEW CAPTAIN AT THE HELM: The Power open up their season with a new manager replacing Michael Ryan, who is now managing up in High-A Bradenton. Brian Esposito becomes the eighth manager in West Virginia Power history after he spent all of last season with short-season Jamestown. Last season, the 36-year-old led Jamestown to a 35-40 record in his first year ever as a manager. Esposito played professionally for 13 years, including time with the Colorado, Houston, and Chicago Cubs organizations before joining the Pirates as a player/coach in 2013.

WHO TO WATCH FOR: West Virginia's 2015 Opening Day roster features several prospects featured in popular publications. Leading the prospect rankings is shortstop Cole Tucker. Rated by Baseball America as the number eight prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, Tucker was drafted in the first round (24th overall) in last year's draft. Joining Tucker in the prospect rankings is outfielder Tito Polo who is tabbed by B.A. as the No. 29 prospect in the Pirates farm and catcher Taylor Gushue is rated by MiLB.com as the No. 28 prospect.

POWER PROMO UPDATE- APRIL 25: The West Virginia Power will honor the 1990 Charleston Wheelers, the last team to bring a South Atlantic League title to Charleston. The entire team will be inducted into the Charleston Baseball Hall of Fame and the first 1,000 fans will receive a commemorative t-shirt celebrating the 25th anniversary of the championship.

POWER POINTS: Catcher Kevin Krause and outfielder Carl Anderson are currently listed on the Power Disabled List...Cole Tucker is the youngest player on the Power and is also the only teenager on the current roster...Jerrick Suiter and Tucker are both hitting .500 in their first season with the Power.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh was shutout 6-0 by Milwaukee and held to just a pair of hits...Indianapolis pitching combined for a one-hitter in their 2-0 win against Columbus...Top prospect Tyler Glasnow struck out six in his Double-A debut but Altoona lost 4-1...2014 Power All-Star Erich Weiss has a pair of RBIs in Bradenton's 3-2 loss to St. Lucie.

ON THE AIR: West Virginia Power games can be heard on Charleston's ESPN 104.5 FM and 1490 AM in Charleston, online at wvpower.com and on the TuneIn Radio App. Adam Marco will call the action once again and will be joined by Mike Baggerman when the team plays at Appalachian Power Park.

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