West Virginia Power (6-7) at Hickory Crawdads (5-8)
Game 14 | April 19, 2017 | L.P. Frans Stadium | Hickory, NC
Radio: The Jock 1300 & 1340 - wvpower.com     Airtime: 5:45 P.M.

 

PITCHING MATCH-UP
RH Luis Escobar (1-0, 1.64) vs. RH Jonathan Hernandez (0-1, 6.00)
Escobar: Allowed 1 R on 5 H over 6.0 IP in 4/14 Win @ LEX w/ 11 K and 0 BB (5-1 Power)
Hernandez: Allowed 1 R on 3 H over 4.0 IP in 4/12 ND @ COL w/ 6 K & 1 BB (4-2 Crawdads)

 

LEADING OFF: West Virginia topped Hickory 8-3 on Tuesday evening. After three innings of scoreless ball, the Power broke through with a run in the fourth when Stephen Alemais tripled and scored on a Demarcus Evans wild pitch. West Virginia added three in the fifth on a Hunter Owen single and Carlos Munoz’s two-run home run. After the Crawdads broke up the shutout without a hit in the bottom of the fifth, West Virginia scored four more for an 8-1 lead in the sixth. Sandy Santos, Logan Ratledge, Ty Moore and Munoz each drove in one to extend the lead. Hickory plated one in the sixth and one in the seventh to close the gap, but would not score again. Blake Cederlind earned the win and Evans was charged with the loss as the Power clinched the series with one game to go.

 

SURGING: Over the first ten games of the season, the Power scored 31 runs and held a 3-7 record. Over the last three games, the club has scored 40 times. No Pirates-affiliated Power club has scored more runs in a three-game stretch than the 2017 edition over the last three days. The previous high was 31 during the 2009 season.

 

OSUNA RECALLED: On Tuesday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates recalled outfielder Jose Osuna from Triple-A Indianapolis and he made his Major League debut as a pinch hitter last night, grounding into a double play in his only at bat. Osuna played first base for West Virginia in 2012, batting .280 with 16 home runs and 72 runs batted in over 126 games. He becomes the 59th former Power player to reach the Majors and second in the last five days. Osuna was recalled when Starling Marte was placed on the restricted list.

 

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.

 

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.

 

POWER POINTS: Seven different Power batters had multiple hits on Monday night, seven scored multiple runs and seven drove in at least two runs.... 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 and optioned out on Monday without appearing in a Major League game. Carle pitched for the Power in 2014 and was traded to Colorado after the season... Starling Marte was removed from candidacy for the Charleston Baseball Wall of Fame induction voting on Tuesday after his suspension for performance enhancing drug use.

 

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh lost its second straight 2-1 final at St. Louis. The Buccos lost despite out-hitting the Cardinals 11-4... Indianapolis lost 6-5 to Durham in 11 innings. Joey Terdoslavich drove in three in defeat... Altoona doubled up Erie 6-3. Tate Scioneaux earned the win in relief of Alex McRae... Bradenton lost 4-2 to Clearwater.

 

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 against the Lakewood BlueClaws.

 

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.