WV Power Game Notes
June 25, 2016 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
West Virginia Power (1-1; 36-35) at Asheville Tourists (1-1; 35-36)
Game 72 | June 25, 2016 | McCormick Field | Asheville, NC
Radio: Charleston's ESPN 104.5 & 1490 - wvpower.com Airtime: 5:45 pm
PITCHING MATCH-UP
RH Bret Helton (3-5, 3.78) vs. RH Devin Burke (1-1, 5.14)
Helton: Allowed 3 R on 5 H over 6.2 IP in 6/18 ND vs. CSC with 2 K and 3 BB (4-3 Power in 12)
Burke: Making his first start of the season (1-1 w/ a 2.87 ERA over nine total relief appearances)
LEADING OFF: The Power knocked off the Tourists 11-3 on Friday night. West Virginia took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Carlos Munoz doubled in Mitchell Tolman. Asheville answered with a solo home run in the fifth and took a 3-1 lead in the sixth. The Power scored 10 runs over the final three innings to ice the game. Four runs on five hits and two walks in the seventh pushed West Virginia ahead, keyed by RBI base hits from Mitchell Tolman and Ke'Byran Hayes. The Power added a pair on a Hayes triple in the eighth and plated four more in the ninth on a solo home runs by Daniel Arribas and a three-run shot by Casey Hughston. Dario Agrazal earned the win, Sean Keselica pitched two scoreless for a hold and Julio Eusebio worked a perfect ninth with the game in hand.
HUGE NIGHT: Casey Hughston's home run Friday was his first since April 16 at Appalachian Power Park against the Lexington Legends. The outfielder spent nearly a month in Extended Spring training, from May 19 through June 16. Hughston added a pair of walks and a single to his two-hit, three run and three RBI night.
28 STRAIGHT: Mitchell Tolman singled in the first inning last night and extended his on-base streak to 28 consecutive games dating back to May 19. The infielder has matched Robbie Grossman's on-base streak during the 2009 season, which was the longest by any player since the Power became affiliate with the Pirates. Tolman's streak is the second longest in the league this season trailing only Charleston's Chris Gittens, who reached in 33 straight from late April until June 1.
SOLO ARTIST: Daniel Arribas hit his seventh home run of the year on Friday. All seven of the infielder's home runs have been solo shots. Arribas has three home runs to lead off an inning, two with one down and two with two outs.
POLO PROMOTED: Tito Polo was promoted to Bradenton prior to Thursday's game in Asheville. The SAL All-Star hit .302 over 54 games for West Virginia this season with a team-high 12 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Polo also led the club in batting average and runs batted in (37). No counter move was made on Thursday.
NO HOSPITALITY: West Virginia trails Asheville 57-44 in the all-time series dating back to 2005 and has gone 24-28 at McCormick Field. The Power and Tourists only have two series this season. Asheville took a rain-shortened set in late April and early May two games to one. The clubs do not meet again during the regular season after this series.
RUNNING IT BACK: Bret Helton will make his 13th start of the season and will face Asheville for the second time. The right-hander worked five innings in game two of a twinbill against the Tourists on May 1, allowing four runs on six hits over five innings.
DON'T KNOW THE HALF OF IT: The Power finished the first half 35-34 with the loss on Sunday, batting .244 with an ERA of 3.66. The 2015 club went 37-32 with a .253 average and staff ERA of 3.38 in the opening half, before finishing 50-20 in the second half and winning the Northern Division.
POWER POINTS: West Virginia won three road trips and lost four during the first half of the 2016 season... The Power are now 10-12 in one-run games this season... John Bormann reached base in all 21 games he appeared in during the first half of the 2016 season...
AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh opened a four-game set with an 8-6 win over the LA Dodgers. Jung Ho Kang and Matt Joyce homered to back the Bucco bullpen in the victory... Indianapolis fell 1-0 to Buffalo... Altoona blanked Bowie 4-0. Brandon Waddell pitched seven shutout innings for the win... Bradenton's game against Charlotte was postponed due to rain and they will play two today... Staten Island dropped the Black Bears 4-3 in 11 innings.
PROMO UPDATE: West Virginia will play its first home game of the second half on Monday, June 27, at 7:05 P.M. against the Lexington Legends. All Monday home games are Family Buck Nights with $1.00 general admission tickets, $3.00 box seats and $1.00 concession specials.
ON THE AIR: West Virginia Power games can be heard on Charleston's ESPN Radio 104.5 FM and 1490 AM in Charleston, online at wvpower.com and on the TuneIn Radio App.
South Atlantic League Stories from June 25, 2016
- Lupo-Led Rally Falls Short in Ninth - Columbia Fireflies
- BlueClaws Take Down Drive, 5-3 - Greenville Drive
- Asheville Scores Late to Stop Power - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Intimidators Use the Force to Make It 3 Straight - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- RiverDogs Use Early Lead to Take 8-5 Victory over Braves - Charleston RiverDogs
- Suns Take Early Lead, Top Legends 7-2 - Lexington Legends
- Taveras Fans Franchise Record 15 as Claws Top Drive 5-3 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Delmarva Drops Third Straight One-Run Affair - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Clutch Hitting Boosts Tourists to 8-4 Win - Asheville Tourists
- Rome Falls to Charleston 8-5 - Rome Emperors
- Fireflies Game Notes: June 24 vs. Augusta (Game 73) - Columbia Fireflies
- C Alexander De La Cruz Joins Shorebirds, Placed on DL - Delmarva Shorebirds
- WV Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
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