SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

WV Power Game Notes

Published on July 24, 2014 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


West Virginia Power (15-18, 35-66) at Hickory Crawdads (18-15, 59-43)

Game 102 | July 24, 2014 | L.P. Frans Stadium | Hickory, NC

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

TONIGHT'S MATCH-UP

RH Buddy Borden (5-6, 3.60) vs. RH Cole Wiper (6-8, 3.92)

Borden: Surrendered 4 R on 3 H over 3.0 IP in 7/18 ND vs. ROM w/ 3 K & 5 BB (9-8 Power)

Wiper: Allowed 3 R on 5 H over 5.0 IP w/ 1 K & 1 BB in 7/18 Loss @ GBO (6-2 Hoppers)

THE LEAD OFF: West Virginia fell in the series opener at Hickory on Wednesday night by a 3-2 final. The Power took a 1-0 lead in the second when Kawika Emsley-Pai plated Reese McGuire with a sac fly. The Crawdads took a 2-1 lead in the fourth and knocked spot starter Felipe Gonzalez out of the game. West Virginia was limited to just one baserunner between the second and seventh innings. Erich Weiss tied the game at two with an opposite field home run in the top of the eighth, but Kellin Deglan hit a solo home run off Brett McKinney to lead of the home half of the inning to secure the win. McKinney took the loss while Cole Wiper vultured the win. Jose Valdespina worked the ninth for Hickory and earned his first save. West Virginia was held to just four hits and six men on base in the loss.

SO CLOSE: The Power's 3-2 loss on Wednesday was the club's 23rd one-run loss this season. West Virginia is now 14-23 in one-run games, 5-10 in two-run finals, and 2-12 in games decided by three. Games decided by three runs or less account for 60% of the team's wins and 68% of their losses.

COLLINS, DIAZ AND TOPA SHELVED: The Pittsburgh Pirates have place infielders Danny Collins and Chris Diaz along with pitcher Justin Topa on the Disabled List. Topa left his start on Sunday after three-and-two-thirds innings with arm discomfort while Diaz hyper-extended a knee and left after seven innings. Collins was hit in the head by a pitch on Monday evening. Topa is 3-7 this season with a 5.81 ERA. Diaz is batting .216 after 64 games with 18 runs batted in. Collins has a .259 average in 2014 with four home runs and 33 runs batted in.

FAMILIAR FACES: The Pirates have replaced two of West Virginia's injured players with two players promoted from Jamestown. Francisco Aponte returns to West Virginia after spending portions of the last two seasons with the Power. The infielder has played 11 games for Jamestown this season, batting .179 with one home run and eight runs batted in. Jared Lakind will move into the Power bullpen. The southpaw has appeared in eight games for the Jammers and has a 0.82 earned run average.

WELCOME TO THE FRAY: Maximo Rivera was promoted to West Virginia from Bristol on Wednesday to fill the other vacant roster spot. Rivera, signed by Pittsburgh as a non-drafted free agent in 2009, was batting .310 for the Bristol Pirates over 19 games with one home run and five runs batted in.

PUT A LID ON IT: West Virginia is winless against Hickory this season after eight games. The Power and Crawdads meet two more times this season at over the next two days. West Virginia trails the all-time series 51-49 and has gone 19-30 at L.P. Frans Stadium since 2005.

WALK-OFF WONDERS: West Virginia won twice in walk-off fashion during the weekend series against Rome. The Power had lost 10 times in a walk-off this season before rallying to beat the Braves 9-8 on Friday night with a walk-off walk. The 2013 edition of the Power were 8-6 in games decided in the final at bat.

PROMO UPDATE- AUGUST 2: The Power battle the Lexington Legends on Saturday, August 2 at Appalachian Power Park for Football Night. BirdZerk will perform during the game and the first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a six-pack cooler sling.

POWER POINTS: JaCoby Jones home run on Friday was his 16th of the season, placing the shortstop in a tie for seventh most in a single West Virginia Power season... Austin Meadows is riding a seven game hitting streak into Thursday's action while Michael Fransoso and Reese McGuire each have a five-game streak intact.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1. Francisco Liriano worked seven strong innings to garner the win as the Pirates took two of three from the Dodgers... Indianapolis was doubled up 8-4 by Charlotte... Altoona slipped past New Britain 8-5. Adrian Sampson earned the win and was backed by three home runs... Bradenton blanked Dunedin for the second straight day, winning 1-0. Jason Creasy notched his sixth victory of the year... Jamestown lost 6-2 to Auburn.

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.

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 24, 2014


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