Game #118 Preview — Power vs. Fireflies
Game #118 — Home Game #61
Columbia Fireflies (21–30, 55–63) vs. WV Power (24–27, 61–56)
Friday, August 17–7:05 p.m.
Appalachian Power Park (Charleston, WV)
LATE COMEBACK VAULTS POWER TO WIN: Travis Swaggerty legged out an infield single in the eighth inning that ended up scoring the winning run as Rodolfo Castro hustled around from second to give the Power their first lead of the series, and the win in the middle match, 3–2, Thursday evening at Appalachian Power Park. Luke Mangieri started the eighth-inning rally with a ground-rule double to right before Castro doubled him in to tie the game at two against Marcel Renteria, who had shut West Virginia down over the first 7.1 innings. After Renteria struck out Sanchez, Swaggerty grounded a ball to second that Giovanny Alfonzo struggled to field, with his throw coming in late to first. Jose Brizuela did not notice Castro rounding third on the play, so he held the ball as Castro scored and put the Power in front. This late surge backed up another quality start from Oddy Nunez, who worked seven strong innings in his second start with West Virginia in 2018. Elvis Escobar earned the win after tossing a scoreless eighth, while John Pomeroy locked down his first save in the South Atlantic League after hurling a hitless ninth frame.
PITCHING MATCH-UP: RHP Hunter Stratton (5–5, 4.57 ERA) toes the rubber for West Virginia, while Columbia counters with righty Yeizo Campos (1–4, 4.23 ERA).
POWER LINEUP:
Travis Swaggerty — CF
Connor Kaiser — SS
Deon Stafford— C
Dylan Busby — 3B
Robbie Glendinning— DH
Rodolfo Castro — 2B
Luke Mangieri — 1B
Ryan Peurifoy — RF
Lolo Sanchez — LF
Hunter Stratton — RHP
ODDS AND ENDS:
QUAL-A-TEE OH-DEE: Nunez was stellar in his second start for the Power this season, recording his second straight quality start and tying his second-longest outing of the year (also threw seven innings May 22 at Fort Myers with High-A Bradenton). Dating back to 2017, five of Nunez’s last 10 starts with West Virginia have been quality outings. The Power are now 24–15 when their starter tosses at least six innings in a game, and 8–3 when they go seven-plus frames.
NEW FACES CONTRIBUTING IN BIG WAYS: The Pittsburgh Pirates promoted three of their 2018 draft picks to the Power Wednesday afternoon: Swaggerty (1st Rd), Connor Kaiser (3rd Rd) and Mangieri (25th Rd). All three played roles in the Power’s 3–2 win Thursday night, as Swaggerty stroked the go-ahead RBI single in the eighth, while Mangieri ignited the two-run rally in West Virginia’s last at-bat. Meanwhile, Kaiser recorded his first multi-hit game at the Low-A level with a 2-for-4 night at the dish, tallying a pair of singles.
WELCOME BACK, BUSBY: Dylan Busby was activated off the disabled list Wednesday afternoon after completing a rehab assignment with the rookie-level Bristol Pirates. In his first two games back with West Virginia since May 20, he has gone 2-for-6 with a double, a triple, an RBI and a run scored, while holding down the hot corner and batting in the sixth spot in the order. The Florida State product registered his first career triple in the fifth inning Thursday.
EXCELLENT ESCOBAR: Escobar has made a very nice conversion from the outfield to the bullpen with West Virginia in 2018. He has not allowed a run in eight of his 12 appearances with the Power, and boasts a 2.57 ERA (6 ER/21 IP) overall. Over his last six outings, the Venezuelan native has ceded just two runs on six hits over 12 innings of work with 13 strikeouts compared to four walks, good for a 1.50 ERA.
GOOD START: Pomeroy has had an easy transition to the South Atlantic League since joining West Virginia on August 8. He made his SAL debut Friday in the series opener against Rome, spinning a scoreless inning and striking out two batters. The Mossyrock, Wash., native replicated that effort in the finale Monday night, setting down all three batters he faced. The righty then completed West Virginia’s comeback win in the ninth Thursday against Columbia and picked up the save. Pomeroy has not allowed a run in his last eight outings, dating back to July 27 when he was in the New York-Penn League with the Short-Season A West Virginia Black Bears. The 23-year-old is in his first season back since undergoing Tommy John surgery in early April 2017 after suffering a torn UCL at the end of 2016.
FINDING HIS GROOVE: Friday starter Hunter Stratton continued his recent run of consistency by turning in the best start of his career last Saturday night against the Rome Braves, tossing a career-high seven innings and giving up just two runs on six hits while fanning three batters. The Walters State (TN) Community College product turned in the third quality start of his career (all this season) and completed the fifth inning for his fifth straight start. Over those last five starts, Stratton has posted a 2.57 ERA (8 ER/28 IP) while striking out 13 batters. His season ERA has shrunk from 5.25 to 4.57, a difference of 68 points.
PLAYOFF PUSH: Though West Virginia defeated Columbia yesterday, Kannapolis trounced Augusta, 10–1, so the Intimidators maintained their 2.5 game lead in the race for the South Atlantic League’s Northern Division Wild Card spot. West Virginia has 17 games remaining in the 2018 season with one series left against an above-.500 team.
POWER POINT: Busby, Castro and Mangieri turned the Power’s 86th double play, tied for seventh-most in the SAL.
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. David Kahn and John Kocsis will handle play-by-play duties in 2018. Friday’s pregame coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on the West Virginia Power Baseball Network.
