SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

WV Power Game Notes: July 14, 2015 vs. Hagerstown

Published on July 14, 2015 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


Hagerstown Suns (9-9, 44-42) at West Virginia Power (13-5, 50-37)

Game 88 | July 14, 2015 | Appalachian Power Park | Charleston, WV

Radio: Charleston's ESPN 104.5 & 1490 - wvpower.com Airtime: 6:45 pm

TONIGHT'S MATCH-UP

RHP Luis Reyes (4-5, 4.93) vs. RHP Alex McRae (4-5, 4.00)

Reyes: Tossed five shutout innings and surrendered one hit with 6 K in 7/08 W vs. DEL (4-1 Suns)

McRae Surrendered one run on four hits over 4.0 IP with BB and K on 7/08 @ GBO (3-2 Power)

THE LEAD OFF: West Virginia pounded Greensboro with 17 hits en route to a 14-5 win on Sunday afternoon at NewBridge Bank Park. The offense started quickly with a two-run double by Jerrick Suiter in the first inning which began a career day for Suiter, who went 5-for-5 with five RBIs and three runs scored. Taylor Gushue hit a two-run homer in the second to make it a 4-2 lead. The Power never trailed at any point following Gushue's blast as they added five more runs in the fourth inning, one in the sixth, two in the seventh, and a couple more runs in the ninth inning. Stephen Tarpley earned his sixth win for the Power with five innings of two-run ball.

BLACK HOLE SUN: The Power begin the longest homestand in July with a three-game series against the Hagerstown Suns, Class-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The Power are 5-5 against the Suns in 2015 and took two out of three games when the Suns visited Charleston from April 13-15. Following this series, the two teams will meet for the final time this season from July 25-28 in Hagerstown.

HALF CENTURY MARK: West Virginia became second-fastest team in franchise history to reach 50 wins with Sunday's victory. Only the 2007 club reached 50 wins at a faster pace than this Power team when they accomplished the feat in 71 games.

SUIT OF ARMOR: In Sunday's victory, Power outfielder Jerrick Suiter became the first player since Gregory Polanco in 2012 to hit safely in five at bats in a single game. Suiter finished Sunday's game 5-for-5 with two singles, two doubles, and a solo homer while also drawing a bases-loaded walk and finished the day with five RBIs. It's the first time this season a Power player drove in five runs and the first since JaCoby Jones had five RBIs in August of last year. Suiter is hitting .318, but with 229 plate appearances, he falls just short of qualifying among the league leaders.

SECOND HALF SAINTS: The Power continue to have the best record in the second half in the South Atlantic League with a 13-5 mark. The 13-5 record is the same start that the 2008 Power club had, who finished in first place in the second half that year.

ROUND TRIP TO TORONTO: Tito Polo was placed on the Temporary Inactive List so the outfielder could participate in the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. Representing Colombia, Polo is 2-for-12 as the leadoff man in the first three games. Colombia is winless in three games and play Nicaragua this afternoon.

RELIABILITY: The Power bullpen has only allowed ten earned runs over 54.1 innings pitched in the second half this season for a combined 1.66 earned run average. For the year, the combined bullpen ERA is 2.83. The bullpen has not had a combined ERA lower than the starting pitchers over a full season since 2012.

PROMO UPDATE - JULY 18: The first 1,000 fans to the ballpark on Saturday, July 18 will receive a New River Gorge Bridge Replica presented by Appalachian Power Park. Following the game, fans can enjoy postgame fireworks and all scouts who registered for scout night can sleep in the outfield of Appalachian Power Park.

POWER POINTS: West Virginia's 58 sacrifice bunts this season are the most in affiliated baseball...Jared Lakind was promoted to West Virginia on Thursday...Stephen Tarpley's no-hitter on last Tuesday was the third in franchise history and the second this season...The 14 runs and 17 hits that West Virginia had on Sunday was the most in a single game this season.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Andrew McCutchen, Gerrit Cole, Mark Melancon, and A.J. Burnett will represent the Pittsburgh Pirates in the MLB All-Star Game tonight...Elias Diaz, Alen Hanson, and Blake Wood will represent the Indianapolis Indians in the Triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday...Altoona lost to Bowie 6-2 and enter their all-star break with a 48-41 record...Justin Maffei went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored in Bradenton's 5-2 win...Ty Moore hit a two-out, two-run single in the sixth but the Black Bears lost in Vermont 4-2.

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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South Atlantic League Stories from July 14, 2015


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