West Virginia Power (5-7) at Hickory Crawdads (5-7)
Game 13 | April 18, 2017 | L.P. Frans Stadium | Hickory, NC
Radio: The Jock 1300 & 1340 - wvpower.com      Airtime: 5:45 P.M.
PITCHING MATCH-UP
LH Oddy Nunez (0-2, 10.50) vs. RH Demarcus Evans (0-1, 6.00)
Nunez: Surrendered 6 R (2 ER) on 9 H over 3.0 IP in 4/13 Loss @ LEX w/ 3 K (14-5 Legends)
Evans: Pitched two innings of scoreless relief on 4/11 @ COL w/ 4 K & 2 BB (5-1 Crawdads)

 

LEADING OFF: West Virginia hammered Hickory 19-3 on Monday night. The Crawdads took a 1-0 lead in the first, but the Power answered with two-run home runs by Arden Pabst and Logan Ratledge in the second for a 4-1 edge. That advantage was extended to eight runs in the third on a bases loaded walk and an Alexis Bastardo grand slam; the first of his career. West Virginia scored two in the fourth, one in the fifth and added two more in the sixth on a Sandy Santos home run. After Hickory plated two in the bottom of the sixth, the Power slammed the door with five more runs in the eighth, including a bases loaded double by Carlos Munoz. James Marvel earned his first win with five innings of work. Argenis Rodriguez took the loss for the Crawdads after surrendering the first eight runs.

 

7-7-7: Seven different Power batters had multiple hits on Monday night, seven scored multiple runs and seven drove in at least two runs. All nine players had at least one hit for the second straight day and third time during the Power’s four game winning streak.

 

MATCH GAME: The 19 runs scored matched the most by West Virginia in a single game during the Pirates affiliation, which dates back to 2009. The Power plated 19 in a game at Appalachian Power Park on June 1, 2016, against the Lakewood BlueClaws. The Brewers-affiliated Power scored a franchise record 24 runs in a game against the then-Pittsburgh affiliated Crawdads on June 12, 2007, in Hickory.

 

RISING TO THE TOP: Since the road trip began on Thursday, the Power are batting .354 and have raised their team average from last in the league at .219 to third at .281. The team has also hit 10 home runs during the five game stretch.

 

ALL-TIME HIGH: 22 hits by West Virginia is a new single-game high for any game during the Pittsburgh Pirates era in West Virginia. Prior to Monday, the club’s high water mark was 21 hits, done twice, but not since 2012. It also ties for third most in a single Power game since 2005.

 

FAMILIAR TERRITORY: West Virginia continues its only 2017 series in Hickory this evening. The Crawdads lead the all-time set 60-58 and hold the edge at L.P. Frans Stadium 35-27. Pittsburgh was affiliated with Hickory from 1999 to 2008 and 27 of the Power’s wins in the all-time series came as a Brewers affiliate against the Pirates club from 2005 through 2008.

 

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 six games are all against Northern Division opponents; two more in Hickory and four at home against Lakewood. West Virginia only plays 24 of 70 first half games against teams from their own division.

 

POWER POINTS: Kevin Mahala was the only Power player who had seen action in all 11 games this season before getting Monday off... 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... 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’s three game winning streak was snapped with a 2-1 loss at St. Louis. Gregory Polanco’s pinch hit double in the eighth drive in the Pirates only run... Indianapolis was idle on Monday and hosts Durham tonight... Altoona lost 7-1 against Erie. Yeudy Garcia allowed the first five runs and took the loss... Bradenton snapped its three-game slide with a 5-1 win over Clearwater. Mitchell Tolman drove in a pair.

 

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. Adam Marco will call the action and will be joined by Steve Granado when the team plays at Appalachian Power Park.