GREENSBORO, N.C. (July 13, 2019) - Onil Pena crushed a three-run long ball and tallied four RBI as West Virginia held off a late Greensboro surge to claim a 10-8 win Saturday night at First National Bank Field.Bobby Honeyman started the scoring for West Virginia (11-12, 48-45) in the second
GREENSBORO, N.C. (July 13, 2019) - Onil Pena crushed a three-run long ball and tallied four RBI as West Virginia held off a late Greensboro surge to claim a 10-8 win Saturday night at First National Bank Field.
Bobby Honeyman started the scoring for West Virginia (11-12, 48-45) in the second inning when he stroked a solo homer over the right-center field wall that put the Power ahead 1-0. Greensboro (12-10, 56-35) responded quickly with three runs on three hits in the second inning and tacked on another in the third on a roundtripper from Jonah Davis that handed the Grasshoppers a 4-1 lead.
In the fourth, David Sheaffer doubled to lead off the inning and was immediately singled in by Joseph Rosa a couple pitches later to cut the Grasshoppers' lead to two. After a shutdown frame from Steven Moyers in the bottom of the fourth, the West Virginia bats came alive in the fifth.
Steven Jennings retired the first two Power batters in the inning, but then J.R. Davis worked a five-pitch walk to extend the stanza and Julio Rodriguez laced a double to the left-field wall that plated Davis. Honeyman followed with a double of his own down the right-field line that tied the game at four. An RBI single from Sheaffer gave West Virginia a 5-4 lead, and a walk issued to Rosa put runners at first and second with Pena at the plate. The first baseman unloaded on an 0-1 fastball for a three-run jack that thrust the Power ahead 8-4.
Greensboro responded with two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings that tied the game at eight. in the seventh, Rodriguez singled to lead off the frame and Rosa tallied his third hit of the game a couple batters later. With two outs and runners at the corners, Pena roped a single to drive in Rodriguez and hand West Virginia another one-run lead. Charlie McConnell singled in the next at-bat off Cam Alldred (2-1) that plated Rosa and pushed the Power lead to 10-8.
Benjamin Onyshko (3-1) hurled a scoreless bottom of the seventh, and Dayeison Arias (S,7) entered in the eighth looking for a two-inning save. The Power closer allowed the leadoff hitter to reach in both the eighth and ninth frames on a pair of singles, but notched a strikeout in five of the six outs he recorded, tying his career-high in strikeouts, to close out the 10-8 West Virginia win.
The Power concludes their three-game series against the Greensboro Grasshoppers Sunday afternoon at First National Bank Field, with first pitch set for 4:00 p.m. RHP Josias De Los Santos (1-6, 5.09 ERA) heads to the hill for West Virginia, while Greensboro counters with RHP Colin Selby (3-2, 4.87 ERA). Pregame coverage begins at 3:40 p.m. on The Jock 1300 and 1340 AM, as well as online at wvpower.com and via the TuneIn Radio App and MiLB First Pitch App.
West Virginia returns home to start a seven-game homestand on Monday, July 15, beginning with a three game set against the Columbia Fireflies. The highlight of the homestand comes on Friday, July 19, with Faith and Family Night, presented by Mako Medical Laboratories and NewLife 94.5! Come experience a night of music, faith and baseball at the ballpark! Enjoy pregame concerts by Kyle Huffman, the winner of the NewLife 94.5 Power Factor competition, and Todd Agnew, as well as postgame fireworks, courtesy of TC Energy and Suddenlink! For tickets and more information, call the Power at 304-344-2287 or visit www.wvpower.com.
