CHARLESTON, WV (May 3, 2018) - Kyle Watson's walk-off single in the bottom of the 15th inning led the Power to a series victory against the Augusta GreenJackets, as West Virginia outlasted Augusta in the 15-inning, 4:44 affair, 8-7, on Thursday evening at Appalachian Power Park.With the game tied at seven,
CHARLESTON, WV (May 3, 2018) - Kyle Watson's walk-off single in the bottom of the 15th inning led the Power to a series victory against the Augusta GreenJackets, as West Virginia outlasted Augusta in the 15-inning, 4:44 affair, 8-7, on Thursday evening at Appalachian Power Park.
With the game tied at seven, Rodolfo Castro led off the 15th frame with a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher, who threw to third to try and nab Oneil Cruz, the placed-on-runner due to MiLB's pace of play regulations. The throw was late, and everyone was safe. After Castro advanced to second on defensive indifference, Watson drove the third pitch he saw from Augusta (18-8) reliever John Russell (3-1) to right-center to finish off the game.
After taking a 4-2 lead in the fifth, the Power (15-12) were in control until the final frame, when Rob Calabrese tied the game with a two-run homer against West Virginia reliever Blake Weiman . That sent the game to extras, where both teams tallied three runs over the course of five innings before Watson walked it off.
In the top of the 10th, Manuel Geraldo scored off an errant pick-off attempt to first base. It was answered in the home half by Deon Stafford , who stroked a double to score Lolo Sanchez . Sanchez contributed to three of the Power's extra-inning runs.
Tyler Brown scored in the top of the 11th after Calabrese grounded into a double play. Sanchez would again answer the call in the bottom of the frame though, singling in Watson, who was pinch running for Mason Martin .
Joel Cesar played an incredible role in Thursday's win, blanking the GreenJackets for the 12th and 13th frames before allowing the inherited runner to score in the 14th via a Logan Baldwin single to give Augusta a 7-6 lead. However, Sanchez would knot things up at seven after Russell uncorked a wild pitch in the bottom of the 14th.
Ryan Peurifoy (1-0), who started the game as the designated hitter, got the win after tossing a scoreless 15th inning. The Power outfielder benefitted from his defense, as Nick Hill was gunned down at the plate on a great throw from Chris Sharpe to Dylan Busby to Stafford to cut down the possible go-ahead run.
West Virginia starter Ike Schlabach tossed six innings and allowed just one earned run on five hits while striking out five to record his first Low-A quality start.
The Power offense continued their homer-heavy stretch on Thursday. Castro started the home run party, tying the game at one with a blistered ball to right in the second. Cruz hit his own game-tying dinger in the fourth and Sharpe hit a roundtripper in the fifth to give the West Virginia their first lead of the game at 3-2. The Power now have a South Atlantic League-best 29 homers on the season.
Drew Fischer appeared in his second game for the Power and spun two scoreless innings, ceding just one hit and striking out two.
The Power begin a four game series against the Hickory Crawdads on Friday, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. LHP Domingo Robles (1-2, 3.86 ERA) will take the hill for West Virginia and will be opposed by Hickory righty A.J. Alexy (0-2, 9.46 ERA). Pregame coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on The Jock 1300 and 1340 AM, as well as online at wvpower.com, via the TuneIn Radio App and the MiLB First Pitch App.
Tomorrow is Star Wars Night, with costumed characters in attendance, Star Wars-themed merchandise at The Power Outlet and the greatest fireworks show the Rebel Alliance has to offer on tap, sponsored by the West Virginia Lottery and Electric 102.7. For tickets and more information, call the Power at 304-344-2287 or visit www.wvpower.com.
