SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

WV Power Game Notes: May 20, 2015 at Hickory

Published on May 20, 2015 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


West Virginia Power (21-17) at Hickory Crawdads (27-10)

Game 39 | May 20, 2015 | L.P. Frans Stadium | Hickory, N.C.

Radio: Charleston's ESPN 104.5 & 1490 - wvpower.com Airtime: 10:40 a.m.

TODAY'S MATCH-UP

RHP Alex McRae (2-3, 5.28) vs. RHP Luis Ortiz (2-0, 0.40)

McRae: Surrendered four runs on seven hits over 2.0 IP with 2 BB and 2 K in 5/15 L @ HAG (5-2 Suns)

Ortiz: Tossed 5.0 shutout IP with four hits allowed and 5 K in 5/14 W @ AUG (1-0 Crawdads)

THE LEAD OFF: Yeudy Garcia and Jose Regalado combined to allow one earned run over eight innings of work but the Power offense mustered five hits in their 3-1 loss to the Hickory Crawdads on Tuesday night at L.P. Frans Stadium. In the first inning, Hickory scored two unearned runs that occured as a result of a Chase Simpson error. The Power climbed back to within one thanks to Cole Tucker's sacrifice fly in the third but Hickory tallied a run in the eighth and limited the Power to just two baserunners over the final four innings. With the loss, the Power are 6 1/2 games back of Hickory in the division and tied with Delmarva for second place.

CHARGE!: The Power and Crawdads conclude the three-game series with game three today. Last season, the Power fell the Hickory in nine of the ten games played. The Texas Rangers' affiliate are 27-10 this year and hold the best record in the South Atlantic League. The two teams will meet again in the final three games of the first half at Appalachian Power Park. Hickory leads the all-time series with a 53-51 record.

B-U-L-L-P-E-N SPELLS RELIEF: West Virginia's bullpen currently has an ERA of 2.56 whereas Power starters hold a 3.97 ERA. Last night saw Jose Regalado toss 3.1 innings in relief and surrender one earned run.

FOURTH LINE GRINDERS: The Power are 3-4 on the current road trip which concludes today against Hickory. West Virginia's pitching staff has been stellar with a 2.48 ERA during the current road trip and the offense has a .251 batting average. The Power have played close games during this entire road trip with no game being decided by more than three runs. In one run games this year, West Virginia is 5-7, tied with Rome for the fifth lowest winning percantage.

ROAD WOES: West Virginia is 8-11 when playing away from Appalachian Power Park this season. Of all the teams who have a winning record in the South Atlantic League, the Power are the only team to not have a winning record on the road. When playing on the road, the Power are hitting .251 and the pitching staff has a 3.76 ERA. At home, the Power are hitting .262 and the staff ERA sits at 2.91.

TUCK & ROLL: In Monday's victory, Cole Tucker stole a career-high three bases to put him in sole possession of first place on the team with ten steals. The 18-year-old currently has the second most steals in the entire Pittsburgh Pirates organization, trailing only Alen Hanson (11) of the Indianapolis Indians. Last year, Tucker stole 13 bases in 48 games with the GCL Pirates.

GRIZZLED YOUNG VET: Yeudy Garcia tossed 4.2 innings and allowed two unearned runs in West Virginia's 3-1 loss on Tuesday night. In the process, the right hander lowered his ERA to 1.97, good for sixth best in the league among qualifying starters (0.8 IP/team games). Garcia has 32.0 innings pitches this season and will only rank among qualifying starters from today until the end of Thursday's game.

POWER PROMO UPDATE- MAY 23: West Virginia will host Redneck Night IV on Saturday, May 23 at 7:05 p.m. when they play the Delmarva Shorebirds. Activities for the award-winning promotion include Redneck Idol, a camo hat giveaway to the first 1,000 fans, an appearance by History Channel's Appalachian Outlaws, and a pre & postgame concert by the Davisson Brothers Band.

POWER POINTS: The Power are 12-3 when scoring first this season...West Virginia is 8-10 this month after going 13-7 in April...Chase Simpson has played in all 38 games this year...The Power are hitting .302 (19-for-63) with runners in scoring position during the current road trip...West Virginia is being outscored in the first inning 26-10.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh lost to Minnesota 8-5 after Francisco Liriano surrendered seven runs over two innings...Indianapolis fell to Pawtucket 3-1 as Charlie Morton tossed 6.1 innings of two-hit, two-run ball with nine strikeouts...Gift Ngoepe's three-run home run and three runs scored wasn't enough as Altoona lost to Portlant 14-10...Austin Meadows and JaCoby Jones each had three hits in Bradenton's 6-1 win over Fort Myers.

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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