SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

WV Power Game Notes

Published on April 30, 2015 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


West Virginia Power (13-7) at Hagerstown Suns (9-11)

Game 21 | April 30, 2015 | Municipal Stadium | Hagerstown, MD

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

TONIGHT'S MATCH-UP

RH Austin Coley (3-0, 1.80) vs. RH Phillips Valdez (1-1, 1.80)

Coley: Pitched 5.0 shutout innings in 4/24 Win vs. LEX with 6 K and 1 BB (7-2 Power)

Valdez: Allowed 1 R (0 ER) on 4 H over 5.0 IP w/ 5 K & 2 BB in 4/24 ND @ LWD (2-1 'Claws)

THE LEAD OFF: West Virginia shutout Hagerstown 4-0 Wednesday night. Dovydas Neverauskas pitched five scoreless, allowing two hits while striking out three and walking two. Yeudy Garcia worked three scoreless and Montana DuRapau pitched a perfect ninth to complete the effort. Taylor Gushue drove in Pablo Reyes in the first and Jeff Roy singled in Chase Simpson in the second to provide early run support. Michael Suchy hit his first home run of the season in the seventh and Jordan Luplow added a sac fly in the eighth to close the scoring. Neverauskas earned the win and lowered his earned run average by nearly three full runs in the process.

TOP 20: The Power are off to their best start after 20 games since becoming a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate in 2009. No other club during the first six years of the affiliation had a record over .500 after 20 games, including the 2013 playoff team. West Virginia has also notched its first winning record in the month of April since the 2007 season; the only other time in franchise history that the club has held a winning mark after the first month (17-4 in April 2007).

SHOWDOWN IN SUNSTOWN: West Virginia and Hagerstown conclude their second series of the season tonight. The Power trail the Suns in all-time series 75-64 and have gone 27-41 at Municipal Stadium since 2005. West Virginia returns to Hagerstown in from May 14-17 before the clubs play seven times in the second half.

SUCHY SUCHY NOW: Michael Suchy's home run in the seventh inning on Tuesday was his first this season and second of his career. Suchy's lone home run in the 2014 season was an inside-the-park home run off R.C. Orlan of the Auburn Doubledays on August 25 in game one of a doubleheader. Orlan is now a member of the Suns pitching staff.

NINE TO A DIME: Cole Tucker has West Virginia's longest hitting streak of the season to date. The 18 year-old has hit safely in nine straight with 11 hits over 35 at bats since April 16. The nine game run ranks as the league's second longest current hitting streak this season.

HIS BEST YET: Dovydas Neverauskas earned his first win of the season on Wednesday with five scoreless innings. It marked just the second outing in 31 South Atlantic League appearances when the right-hander did not allow at least one run. Neverauskas pitched five scoreless innings against Delmarva on May 18, 2014, allowing four hits in a win.

DELAYED REACTION: Miguel Rosario's effort in the suspended game was the Power's first complete game of the season and the first since Dovydas Neverauskas's five-inning, rain-shortened complete game against Kannapolis on June 3, 2014. Rosario's April 15 outing is also West Virginia's first quality start this season.

POWER PROMO UPDATE- MAY 9: West Virginia will host Superhero Night on Saturday, May 9 at 7:05 p.m. The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive an official West Virginia Power superhero cape. Kids 12 and under will receive free admission if they come to the box office in costume.

POWER POINTS: West Virginia's combined shutout effort was their first of the 2015 season. The 2014 team recorded six shutouts over the entire season... The Power are tied for the fourth-fewest home runs hit this season, but are third in runs scored.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh beat the Chicago Cubs 8-1 behind Gerrit Cole's fourth win and Andrew McCutchen's 1,000th career hit... Indianapolis walked off with a 2-1 win over Louisville. Gorkys Hernandez drove in Brent Morel to win it in the ninth for the Indians... Altoona edged Akron 6-5 in 10 innings. Max Moroff scored this eventual winning run on a wild pitch... Bradenton was idle Wednesday and hosts St. Lucie today.

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.

Check out the Charleston Dirty Birds Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from April 30, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central