West Virginia Power Game Notes
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WEST VIRGINIA POWER GAME NOTES South Atlantic League - Class-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates since 2009 - 601 Morris St. Suite 201- Charleston, WV 25301 - 304-344-2287 - www.wvpower.com West Virginia Power (10-6) vs. ASHEVILLE TOURISTS (3-13) Game 17 (Home: 11) | April 22, 2018 | Appalachian Power Park | Charleston, WV Radio: The Jock 1300 and 1340 AM - wvpower.com Airtime: 1:45 P.M. PITCHING MATCHUP LHP Ike Schlabach (0-0, 5.91) vs. LHP Lucas Gilbreath (1-0, 8.18) Schlabach: Making second spot start for West Virginia in 2018 (L: 4IP, 5ER at HIC) Gilbreath: Earned first victory vs. ROM on 4/17: 4.1 IP, 1H, 5K in relief MITCHELL GOES OFF IN 13-2 WIN: Calvin Mitchell went 4-for-5 with four RBI and a pair of runs scored, tying CURRENT HOMESTAND his career highs in hits, RBI and runs scored, along with a triple as West Virginia’s offense posted 13 runs on 15 hits, including a seven-run eighth frame, to pummel the Asheville Tourists, 13-2, on Saturday afternoon at Appalachian Record: 3-0 Power Park. In the win, Braeden Ogle spun his second consecutive quality start with another six-inning, one-run gem Batting Statistics: while striking out a career-high eight batters, and the bullpen duo of and held steady AVG: .309 (30-for-97) Matt Seelinger Jacob Taylor AB: 97 over the final three frames to give the Power their fourth consecutive win, and seventh in their last eight games. In RISP: 13-for-35 (.371) the Power’s second seven-run inning of the year, they sent 11 men to the plate, with Dylan Busby bookending the H: 30 scoring with his second career home run and an RBI single in the frame. Rafelin Lorenzo also contributed a 3-for-4 R: 22 effort with three runs scored, whileMason Martin and Oneil Cruz drove in multiple runs as well. HR: 3 BB: 8 MASHING MITCHELL: Mitchell’s 4-for-5 effort with a triple and four RBI in Saturday’s game pushed his team- SO: 29 leading RBI total to 15 on the season, also the most in the Pirates system. Mitchell is currently riding a seven-game SB: 3 Pitching/Defensive Statistics: hitting streak and a nine-game on-base streak, with the latter dating back to April 12 when the Power opened up their W-L: 3-0 road schedule in Hickory. Over Mitchell’s seven-game stretch (April 14-current), the 2017 second-round selection ERA: 2.33 is boasting a .484 (15-for-31) clip with a home run and nine RBI, along with a 1.242 OPS. Due to this recent surge, Quality Starts: 3 Mitchell has upticked his season average to .371 and slugging percentage to .677, both of which are fourth-best in IP: 27.0 the South Atlantic League. His 15 RBI are third-best amongst league sluggers, while his 23 hits top the SAL and his H: 19 three triples rank tied for second. The Power outfielder’s .371 average is second-highest in the Pirates system, trailing R: 7 only Christopher Bostick (.378) of Indianapolis. Mitchell’s four RBI game was the second time a Power player drove ER: 7 Saves/Opportunities: 2/2 in four runs in a contest, as Cruz accomplished the feat on April 13 at Hickory. BB: 6 SO: 27 A QUALITY ROTATION: The Power rotation has come on strong over its last six games, with their last five starters, HR: 2 who had the opportunity to do so, turning in quality starts, while Evan Piechota spun a defacto quality outing after Errors: 3 relieving Sergio Cubilete in the first inning when he was struck by a line drive on April 17 against the RiverDogs. Counting Piechota’s six-inning relief gem, West Virginia’s rotation has gone 5-0 over its last six contests with a 1.50 2018 VS. TOURISTS ERA (6 ER/36 IP), giving up 23 hits and seven walks while collecting 37 strikeouts. MacGregor’s season ERA of 0.73 would lead all Pirates farmhands and sit at fourth-best in the South Atlantic League if he had enough innings 3-0 to qualify, while Piechota’s 1.29 mark ranks eighth. Ogle’s 3.00 ERA is the ninth-best among Pirates farmhands. Date Location Result April 19 Charleston 3-0, W BREAK OUT THE BROOMS: After taking the first three games of their series against the Asheville Tourists, West April 20 Charleston 6-5, W Virginia has the opportunity to go for their first series sweep of the season on Sunday afternoon. The Power have not swept a four-game series against an opponent since they broomed the Delmarva Shorebirds from August 3-6, 2017, April 21 Charleston 13-2, W at Appalachian Power Park. Last year, West Virginia swept away four different opponent (Delmarva, Lakewood, April 22 Charleston 2:05 p.m. Hickory and Lexington). July 27 Charleston 7:05 p.m. July 28 Charleston 6:05 p.m. ROLLING RIGHT ALONG: With their 13-2 win on Saturday, the Power claimed their first four-game win streak of July 29 Charleston 2:05 p.m. 2018, and their seventh win in their last eight games. Last year, West Virginia’s longest winning streak was an eight-game stretch from August 2-9, beginning with a series finale win in Lexington before sweeping Delmarva and Lakewood. THE PITCHING MATCHUP: LHP Ike Schlabach (0-0, 5.91 ERA) takes the hill for West Virginia on Sunday, as 2017 Results: the southpaw makes his second spot start at the Low-A level. In his previous start on 4/14 at Hickory, the Ohio native allowed 5 ER through 4 IP. Asheville counters with LHP Lucas Gilbreath (1-0, 8.18), making his first start of 2018. ASH 3-2 POWER POINTS: Over their last 10 games, the West Virginia bullpen has posted a 2.55 ERA (12ER/42.1 IP) with All-Time SAL Series: 49 strikeouts... The Power are 6-0 when their starter lasts six innings... West Virginia relievers have held the first batters they have faced in an outing to a .179 (5-for-28) clip thus far, with seven strikeouts... Cruz’s four home runs ASH 61-50 are the most amongst Pirates minor league sluggers, and rank fifth in the SAL (Juan Soto, HAG)... The Power’s 11- run margin of the victory marked their widest run differential in a win this season... West Virginia will play 12 of its next 15 games at Appalachian Power Park. POWER AT A GLANCE 2018 Quick Records ON THE AIR: West Virginia Power games can be heard on The Jock 1300 & 1340 AM in the Kanawha Valley, online Overall Record: 10-6 at wvpower.com and on the TuneIn Radio App. David Kahn and John Kocsis will handle play-by-play duties in 2018. First Half Record: 10-6 2018 SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE FIRST HALF STANDINGS Place: T-2nd Northern Division Southern Division GB: 2.0 W-L GB PCT W-L GB PCT Home: 6-4 Delmarva 12-4 -- .750 Augusta 10-6 -- .625 Kannapolis 10-6 2.0 .625 Columbia 10-6 -- .625 Away: 4-2 West Virginia 10-6 2.0 .625 Lexington 9-7 1.0 .563 Last 5 4-1 Greensboro 9-6 2.5 .600 Rome 9-7 1.0 .563 Last 10 7-3 Lakewood 8-8 4.0 .500 Charleston 7-9 3.0 .438 Hickory 6-9 5.5 .400 Asheville 3-13 7.0 .188 2018 Season Leaders Hagerstown 5-11 7.0 .313 Greenville 3-13 7.0 .188 Batting Avg: Mitchell - .371 Home Runs: Cruz - 4 PITCHING PROBABLES RBI: Mitchell - 15 Date Opponent/Time Power Starter vs. Opponent Stolen Bases: Sharpe - 4 4/23/18 Rome/7:05pm LHP Domingo Robles (1-1, 5.28) vs. RHP Jasseel De La Cruz (1-2, 0.64) Wins: Wallace/Ogle - 2 4/24/18 Rome/10:35am RHP Travis MacGregor (1-1, 0.73) vs. LHP Bruce Zimmermann (2-1, 4.50) ERA: MacGregor - 0.73 4/25/18 Rome/7:05pm RHP Gavin Wallace (2-0, 4.76) vs. RHP Huascar Ynoa (0-2, 10.38) Strikeouts: MacGregor - 20 4/26/18 Rome/7:05pm LHP Braeden Ogle (2-0, 3.00) vs. RHP Odalvi Javier (0-0, 1.93) Saves: Weiman - 2 TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER 30 | IKE SCHLABACH | LHP Height: 6-4 Weight: 219 DOB: December 27, 1996 Resides: Columbus, OH Acquired: Selected in the 19th round of the 2015 draft by PIT Drafted: 2015 (19th Round) 2018: 0-0/4G/1GS/5.91 ERA/10.2 IP/8 K/4 BB/1 HR/.289 2017: 6-4/14GS/2.83 ERA/70 IP/49 K/22 BB/5 HR/.205 Career Stats (4 Seasons): 7-12/35G/32GS/4.19 ERA/152.2 IP/96 K/54 BB/13 HR/.251 AVG 2018: Placed on West Virginia’s Opening Day roster... Made first two career appearances out of the bullpen in 2018, tossing 5.2 innings while striking out four and holding batters to a .200 average... Career: Made 14 starts, including five quality starts, for the Black Bears in 2017 and recorded a career-best 6-4 record and a 2.83 ERA over 70 innings with 49 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .205 batting average, third-best among New York- Penn League arms and first among the starters… Earned a 2017 NYPL Mid-Season All-Star nod… Struck out a career-high six batters on August 9 against Brooklyn..