SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

WV Power news and notes

Published on June 24, 2005 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


The West Virginia Power will begin a brief two game home stand tomorrow night against the Lake County Captains at Appalachian Power Park. Tomorrow night the Power will host a T-shirt giveaway sponsored by T-Graphics and Sunday will be Huntington Community Day sponsored by Heiner's Bakery. In this week's newsletter we will preview the home stand that begins July 4th, which features a concert at the Park. We will also hear from Power Manager Ramon Aviles.

Schedule Note

Scheduling note: On Wednesday August 24th, the Power were scheduled to take on the Lake County Captains at 1:05 PM for a business persons special, but the game time has changed. The game time has been changed to 7:05 PM.

Upcoming Schedule

Saturday, June 25th @ 7:05 pm
Saturday's game will begin at 7:05 PM featuring a T-shirt giveaway sponsored by T-Graphics. Plus, be sure to visit the colonnade between the box office and the first aid room to view the entries for the West Virginia Power FestivALL Kids Baseball Art Contest.

Sunday, June 26th @ 2:05 pm
Sunday's game is Huntington Community Day sponsored by Heiner's Bakery. Sunday's game is also a Father's Day celebration at Appalachian Power Park. Fathers and children, bring your ball and gloves to the game for a postgame father/child catch in the outfield.

After Sunday's game the Power will take a 3 day break for the All Star game. Second baseman Hernan Iribarren, shortstop Alcides Escobar and right-handed pitcher Robert Hinton will represent the Power in this year's All-Star game to be held in Augusta, Georgia on June 28th.

After the All-Star break the Power will head to Salisbury, Maryland for a four game series with the Delmarva Shorebirds.

Monday, July 4th @ 7:05 pm
On Monday, July 4th at 4:30 pm Appalachian Power Park will host to a B.E. Taylor concert presented by DOW and Walker Machinery and feature a salute to the "Keep Em Flyin" program. Walker Machinery will also present a 30 feet by 50 feet United States flag that will hang in left field throughout the night. Game time is set for 7:05 PM, when the Power play host to the Lexington Legends. After the ball game there will be a post game fireworks extravaganza presented by Tyler Mountain Spring Water and West Virginia Radio. Fans presenting a valid Military ID will receive a $2.00 discount at the gate on July 4th.

Tuesday, July 5th @ 7:05 pm
Tuesday night marks Alltel Two-For-Tuesday presented by 96.1 The Wolf with a post-game fireworks extravaganza presented by Ford and 107.3 WKAZ.

Wednesday, July 6th @ 7:05 pm
The Power will end the three game series with the Legends on Wednesday night, with the second annual Bark in the Park. Fans are encouraged to bring their dogs to the ballpark on Wednesday July 6th for the series finale against Lexington. Wednesday also features the second installment of Baseball Bingo presented by 98.7 The Beat. The first 1,000 fans through the gate will receive a baseball bingo card which they can use to track situations throughout the game. The first 3 lucky fans to win will receive prize packages courtesy of the Power and 98.7 The Beat.

Tickets are $7.00 for a box seat and $5.00 for a bleacher seat. For ticket availability call the Power box office at 344-2287.

Q AND A SESSION WITH RAMON AVILES

RA: RAMON AVILES
AB: ANDY BARCH

How was it for you and the guys being a big part of the race, playing spoiler against Lexington and Hagerstown down the stretch?

Its was very interesting, a lot of fun being able to determine who won the division or not. It felt like a playoff atmosphere and that really made it exciting, and we expect it to be that way when we begin the second half.

AB: The offense has played much better lately. After hitting .210 in April, the team batting average is now at .245, what has contributed to their success?

RA: We've been able to work out in the cages at home now, doing a lot of extra hitting there. Players are taking what they learn and work on in the cages into the field. They've taken what they have learned in our batting practice drills into game situations as well.

AB: Is there anybody on the team that stands out in your mind, that has really exceeded pre-season expectations?

RA: Escobar and Iribarren have been very good so far this year both offensively and defensively. I really feel that Escobar and Iribarren make the best middle infield tandem in the league. Mark Rogers has improved his command of his fastball from the beginning of the season, and that is something that he needed to do. He is starting to realize that he doesn't need to strike everybody out to be successful. Will Lewis has done a very nice job for us and he has done more than a lot of people expected, he is in the mix now for the team lead in RBI. Carlos Corporan is a guy who has been coming around lately with his bat and defensively we've known all along that he would do a great job and he has not disappointed us in defensively this season.

AB: What would you say at this point in the season are the strengths and weaknesses of this team?

RA: The strengths would be our defense and our starting pitching. We have a solid defense all around, Escobar and Iribarren cover a lot of ground on the infield and Josh Murray has done a great job making the switch over to third base, he has been great this year defensively. As long as the starters give us 6 good innings, then we will have good chances at winning ball games in the second half. Our weakness at the beginning of the year was situational hitting, but that has come around lately. We are hitting much better in clutch situations.

AB: Now that the second half has begun, the team has a chance to start over and make some noise in the final 70 games of the season. What do you see happening with this team in the second half?

RA: I see our team having a chance to win the second half if we continue to pitch well, play good defense and continue to improve on our offense. We feel we are really going to do very well in the second half of the season if we can do these things.

AB: Lastly, talk about the thrill of playing in the new ballpark. How exciting has it been for you and the guys to be the first ones to play at this new facility?

RA: I had the opportunity to play and coach in the old ballpark, which was pretty depressing in its final years. Coming to this beautiful new facility is a change from here to the moon. Every day I walk into the ballpark and I get very excited about being here and I get fired up, and I know that the players have the same feeling playing at the new park as well. Our players work hard and play hard every day so the fans can be sure that they are going to give them all that they have day in and day out.

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South Atlantic League Stories from June 24, 2005


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