West Virginia Power (4-7) at Hickory Crawdads (5-6)
Game 11 | April 17, 2017 | L.P. Frans Stadium | Hickory, NC
Radio: The Jock 1300 & 1340 - wvpower.com      Airtime: 5:45 P.M.
PITCHING MATCH-UP
RH James Marvel (0-0, 2.00) vs. RH Argenis Rodriguez (0-1, 4.15)
Marvel: Allowed 3 R (2 ER) on 6 H over 4.0 IP in 4/12 ND vs. ASH w/ 5 K & 3 BB (8-3 Power)
Rodriguez: Allowed 2 R on 6 H over 4.1 IP with 5 K & 2 BB in 4/12 Loss @ COL (3-0 Fireflies)

 

LEADING OFF: West Virginia throttled the Lexington Legends on Sunday, pounding out 18 hits in a 13-5 win to take the series. The Legends took a 1-0 lead in the third, but the Power scored five times on four doubles and a home run by Clark Eagan for a 5-1 lead. After Lexington got within one in the fifth, West Virginia added six more in the sixth, keyed by a Carlos Munoz grand slam to build an 11-4 lead. The Legends plated one in the seventh and the Power countered with one in the eighth and one in the ninth. Matt Anderson earned the win with five innings of work. Eduardo Vera pitched the final four innings for his first save.

 

HAVING A DAY: For the second time in the series, all nine Power batters in Sunday’s win had at least one hit. Six players had multi-hit games for West Virginia, led by a four hit afternoon from Kevin Mahala. During the four game series, the Power hit .321 and raised their team average from last in the league at .219 to sixth at .258. The team also belted six home runs in the series for a season total of ten; third most in the South Atlantic League.

HICKORY BOUND: West Virginia opens a three game series against the Crawdads in Hickory tonight. The ‘Dads lead the all-time set 60-57 and hold the edge at L.P. Frans Stadium 35-26. The clubs will meet again twice this season, including a three game series in Charleston early next month.

 

NO PLACE LIKE THE ROAD: The Power won three of four at Lexington and took their first series of the season. In 2016, West Virginia won 18 series, lost 18 and split three.

ROUND THREE: James Marvel starts tonight, marking West Virginia’s third trip through the rotation. The Duke product pitched five scoreless innings on game one of the delayed Opened Day doubleheader on April 7 versus Rome and worked the homestand final last Wednesday against Asheville. Marvel has allowed three runs, two of which are earned, over nine innings this season.

 

DIVISION RIVALS? West Virginia plays 59 games against fellow South Atlantic League Northern Division opponents this season and 81 against teams from the Southern Division. The next seven games are all against Northern Division opponents; three in Hickory and four at home against Lakewood. West Virginia only plays 24 of 70 first half games against teams from their own division.

 

WILLY GETS THE CALL: Willy Garcia was called up on Friday by the Chicago White Sox and made his Major League debut against the Minnesota Twins. The outfielder is the 58th former Power player to reach the Majors and the first this season. Garcia played 122 games for West Virginia in 2012 for then-manager Rick Sofield and hit .240 with a team-high 18 home runs and 77 runs batted in. Pittsburgh designated Garcia for assignment in December and the Chicago claimed the 24 year-old, who doubled in his first big league at bat.

 

POWER POINTS: Kevin Mahala is the only Power player who have seen action in all 11 games this season. Mahala has also started at least one game at all four spots on the infield... Ty Moore drove in six runs over 22 games for the Power last season. He has five RBI in six games this year and carries a team-best six game hitting streak into play tonight... Cam Vieaux was added to the Power roster from Extended Spring Training on Saturday and reliever Mike Wallace was transferred back to Extended... Shane Carle was recalled by the Colorado Rockies on Friday, but has yet to make his Major League debut. Carle was initially picked by the Pirates in the 10th round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft and pitched for West Virginia in 2014.

 

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh finished a three-game sweep of the Cubs with a 6-1 win on Sunday. Adam Frazier homered to back Jameson Taillon in the victory... Indianapolis lost 9-5 at Toledo. Cody Dickson allowed three runs in relief and took the loss... Altoona and Bradenton were both idle on Easter Sunday.

 

PROMO PREVIEW: On Saturday, April 22, the first 1,000 fans through the gate at Appalachian Power Park will receive a 97.5 WQBE Rabbit bobblehead giveaway. Gates will open at 1:00 P.M. for the 2:05 game.

 

ON THE AIR: West Virginia Power games can be heard on The Jock 1300 & 1340 AM in the Kanawha Valley, online at wvpower.com and on the TuneIn Radio App.