SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

WV Power Game Notes

Published on May 5, 2013 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


Greenville Drive (10-18) at West Virginia Power (12-16)

Game 29 | May 5, 2013 | Appalachian Power Park | Charleston, WV

Radio: Charleston's ESPN 104.5 & 1490 - wvpower.com Airtime: 4:45 pm

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

RH Frank Montas (1-3, 6.00) vs. RH John Kuchno (0-1, 5.14)

Montas: Allowed 0 R on 1 H over 5.0 IP with 9 K and 0 BB in 4/29 Win vs. DEL (3-1 Drive)

Kuchno: Allowed 1 R on 4 H over 4.2 IP with 1 K and 4 BB in 4/28 ND @ SAV (3-2 Sand Gnats)

THE LEAD OFF: West Virginia shutout Greensboro 3-0 during a Grand Slam School Day game on Friday. Orlando Castro pitched six scoreless innings, striking out a season-high seven batters while picking up his third win the season. Thomas Harlan pitched two hitless innings and Jason Creasy tossed a perfect ninth for his first save. The three Power hurlers combined to retire the final 22 batters in a row. West Virginia plated a run in the first on a D.J. Crumlich double, added on in the second on an Ashley Ponce two-base hit, and scored its' last run on a balk in the fifth inning. Francisco Diaz had his first multi-hit game this season in the victory.

BARNES TO POWER DL: Pittsburgh placed outfielder Barrett Barnes on the Power Disabled List on Friday after West Virginia's game against Greensboro. Barnes was injured in Wednesday's Power win while trying to reach on an infield grounder in the seventh inning. The move was made retroactive to May 2, so Barnes could be activated as early as May 8. The outfielder is batting .220 over 10 games with no home runs and three runs batted in.

DRIVE IN: West Virginia hosts Greenville for the next four games. The two clubs met at the Drive's Fluor Field in April with the Power taking two out of three, including a 6-0 shutout on April 15 and an 8-3 win the next night. Greenville rallied back with a five-run eighth in the finale to steal a 5-4 victory. The Power now lead the all-time series 24-23 and have gone 13-7 at home since 2005 in the series.

SEASON'S "FIRSTS" : Friday's win marked two "firsts" for the Power this season. It was the first time that West Virginia won when scoring five or fewer runs in a game. The club is now 1-13 when scoring five or less. It also marked the first Power victory this season when the team did not hit a home run.

BULLISH PEN: During West Virginia's recent three-game series against Greensboro, the Power bullpen combined to pitch 11 innings, the last ten of which were scoreless. From the eighth inning on Wednesday through the end of the game Friday, West Virginia's relievers combined to allow one hit and three walks without allowing a single run and striking out five. The bullpen's combined ERA has dropped from 6.45 prior to Wednesday's game down to 5.91 entering tonight's opener against Greenville.

RUN IT BACK: John Kuchno will face Greenville for the second time this season. The right-hander pitched five shutout innings on April 17, but did not factor in the win. Over his last three appearances, Kuchno has only allowed two runs on a total of 11 hits. Sunday also marks the Ohio State-product's second home start this season. He also pitched at Appalachian Power Park on April 7; a no-decision against Asheville.

ONE MONTH DOWN: The Power won more games this April than they did last year, but dropped of seven their last ten games to close the month. The 2013 Power held a .270 batting average and a 4.73 ERA at the end of the month. The 2012 club went 8-16 in April with a .279 team batting average and a staff ERA of 5.80.

PROMO UPDATE- MAY 18: The Power will host their annual WVU night on May 18 against Lexington. The first 1,000 fans through the gate will receive a Geno Smith bobblehead. All fans will have the chance to meet and greet Kevin Jones, Truck Bryant, and Da'Sean Butler. WVU Night is present by the WV Army National Guard.

POWER POINTS: Joely Rodriguez did not factor in the decision on Wednesday but did notch the second quality start of his career. The other quality start was on July 16, 2009 while pitching for the DSL Pirates... Stetson Allie has a five-game hitting streak intact heading into his next game... Wednesday's series finale against Greenville will be the third of four Grand Slam School Days this season with a 10:30 am start time.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh lost 5-4 to Washington. Tony Watson allowed a run in the top of the ninth in the loss... Indianapolis lost to Lehigh Valley 3-2 in 13 innings... Altoona lost in walk-off form 4-3 to Erie... Bradenton split a twinbill at Palm Beach, winning game one 7-3 and losing game two 8-2.

ON THE AIR: West Virginia Power games can be heard on Charleston's ESPN 104.5 FM and 1490 AM in Charleston, WV, and online at wvpower.com. Adam Marco will call the action for all 140 games this season and will be joined by Mike Baggerman when the team plays at Appalachian Power Park.

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