Game 23 Preview: Power at Legends
Game #23— Road Game #8
West Virginia Power (12–10) at Lexington Legends (11–9)
Saturday, April 28–6:35 p.m.
Whitaker Bank Ballpark (Lexington, KY)
WEST VIRGINIA BLANKS LEXINGTON IN OPENER: Calvin Mitchell carried the Power offense once again on Thursday, registering his second four-hit game of the season in a 4-for-5 effort with two doubles and an RBI, while West Virginia used four pitchers to shut out the Lexington Legends, 6–0, in Friday’s series opener at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. The Power scored a run in the first on a ground ball from Deon Stafford and tacked on two more in the third when Lolo Sanchez scored on an errant throw and Mitchell came across on an RBI single from Mason Martin. West Virginia tallied additional runs in the fourth and the fifth thanks to one of Mitchell’s two doubles and a bases-loaded walk to Chris Sharpe before Ben Bengtson slugged his first homer of the season in the seventh to cap the scoring. Braeden Ogle spun the first two frames for the Power before Beau Sulser and Drew Fischer each tossed three scoreless frames in their Low-A debuts, with Sulser fanning a career-high six batters in the win. Blake Weiman finished off West Virginia’s second shutout win of the season by working around a couple of hits in the ninth.
THE PITCHING MATCHUP: LHP Ike Schlabach (0–0, 4.02 ERA) will look to continue West Virginia’s winning ways on Saturday evening as the left-hander makes his third start of the season for the Power. The Ohio resident tossed a season-high five innings and recorded a season-best five strikeouts in his last outing on 4/22 against Asheville in a no-decision. Lexington sends RHP Janser Lara (0–0, 1.13) to the slab for his second start with the Legends. Lara allowed one run on three hits over 3.1 innings while striking out four batters against Hagerstown on April 21.
POWER LINEUP:
Lolo Sanchez — CF
Calvin Mitchell — RF
Deon Stafford — C
Oneil Cruz — SS
Rodolfo Castro — 2B
Mason Martin — 1B
Kyle Watson— DH
Ben Bengtson — 3B
Chris Sharpe — LF
Ike Schlabach— LHP
ODDS AND ENDS:
MASHING MITCHELL: Mitchell’s four-hit performance in Friday’s series opener extended his hitting streak to a team-best 13 games and his on-base streak to 15 games. His fourth-inning double moved his team-leading RBI total to 18 on the year, a mark which ranks highest in the Pirates system. Over Mitchell’s 13-game stretch, the 2017 second-round selection is boasting a .452 (24-for-53) clip with a home run and 12 RBI. Mitchell is the first Power player to string together at least a 10-game hitting streak since Carlos Munoz posted a 12-game stretch from July 9–22, 2017. Due to this recent surge, Mitchell has upticked his season average to .381, which leads the South Atlantic League. His 32 hits top the SAL, while his .436 on-base percentage is fourth-highest and his three triples rank tied for second. The outfielder earned SAL Player of the Week honors for the week of April 16–22, 2018.
MORE ON MITCHELL’S STREAK: Mitchell’s 13-game hit streak is tied for the longest hit streak in Low-A ball in 2018 with Bowling Green’s Vidal Brujan, who hit safely in 13 consecutive contests from April 5 to April 21. Mitchell’s stretch is the longest active hitting streak in all of Single-A baseball, and the fourth-longest active one in all of Minor League Baseball.
HAMMER TIME: With Bengtson’s solo shot in the seventh inning of Friday’s series opener, West Virginia now has 21 home runs on the year, tied for second-best in the South Atlantic League with Lexington, while just Asheville has more home runs than these two clubs, as the Tourists have 23 long balls on the year.
HANGING ZEROS: West Virginia’s four-pitcher shutout on Friday was the second shutout the Power have tossed in 2018, as Travis MacGregor, Ike Schlabach and Adam Oller combined to blank Asheville, 3–0, on April 19 in Charleston. West Virginia is one of six teams in the South Atlantic League with at least two shutout victories this season.
HATFIELDS AND MCCOYS: The Power and the Legends renew the Hatfield and McCoy series this weekend at Whitaker Bank Ballpark, as West Virginia contends with Lexington in the first three of 20 matchups between these two clubs in 2018. Each team will host 10 contests over the season series, with the Power trekking to Kentucky in late May and July, while Lexington travels to Appalachian Power Park in mid-May, early June and July, including the Power’s July 4th extravaganza game. West Virginia claimed the Golden Pig trophy in 2017 by ekeing out a 13–12 series win over Lexington. The Power hold the all-time series lead over the Legends, 143–116. As a part of the Hatfield and McCoy rivalry, West Virginia and Lexington will don special Hatfield and McCoy jerseys, respectively, during several of their matchups to represent the ancient feud between the two families.
POWER POINTS: Power relievers have held the first batters they have faced in an appearance to a .171 (7–41) stroke, with 14 strikeouts… The Power are 10–2 when they hit a HR… Sanchez’s three runs scored tied a career-high.
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. Saturday’s pregame coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on the West Virginia Power Baseball Network.
