Five-run second pushes Power to 7-2 win in opener

Ike Schlabach hurls his second quality start of the season in the win

Calvin Mitchell drove in three runs in the second inning of West Virginia's 7-2 win over the Suns. (Chad Foreman)

By John Kocsis Jr.

August 27, 2018

CHARLESTON, W.V. (August 27, 2018) - The Power offense gave Ike Schlabach's quality start plenty of run support with a five-run second to eclipse the Suns, 7-2, Monday night at Appalachian Power Park.Calvin Mitchell ripped the game open with a bases-clearing double in the second with Jesse Medrano, Luke Mangieri and Rodolfo Castro on the bases. This three-run

CHARLESTON, W.V. (August 27, 2018) - The Power offense gave Ike Schlabach's quality start plenty of run support with a five-run second to eclipse the Suns, 7-2, Monday night at Appalachian Power Park.
Calvin Mitchell ripped the game open with a bases-clearing double in the second with Jesse Medrano, Luke Mangieri and Rodolfo Castro on the bases. This three-run two-bagger capped off a five-run inning where Sam Held (5-7), the Suns' (24-34, 51-75) starter, issued two bases-loaded walks to Mangieri and Castro that scored Raul Hernandez and Robbie Glendinning, who reached on an error and a single, respectively, earlier in the frame.

The offense added two more runs in the fifth. Deon Stafford was plunked with two outs before Hernandez drove him in, lacing a double to left to increase West Virginia's lead to 6-1. Glendinning tacked on an RBI single to plate Hernandez and push the Power (30-30, 67-59) ahead, 7-1, heading into the sixth frame.
Schlabach (7-4), West Virginia's starter, twirled his second quality start of the season. The southpaw spun six innings, striking out a handful of Suns batters while allowing six hits.
Ryan Valdes (S, 1) relieved Schlabach in the seventh. In his South Atlantic League debut, the righty hurled three shutout frames, ceding just two hits and a walk to pick up the save.
Hagerstown scored one in the fourth and one in the sixth. Anderson Franco led off the fourth with a single before Phil Caulfield brought him in with a double. Franco came up again in the sixth and worked a walk before coming home on an Omar Meregildo sacrifice fly to left field two batters later.
West Virginia continues their four-game set against the Hagerstown Suns Tuesday evening at 7:05 p.m. at Appalachian Power Park. LHP Oddy Nunez (0-0, 1.88 ERA) gets the ball for the Power, while the Suns counter with southpaw Jackson Stoeckinger (2-5, 7.16 ERA). Pregame coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on The Jock 1300 and 1340 AM, as well as online at www.wvpower.com and via the TuneIn Radio App and MiLB First Pitch App.
Tuesday marks the last Two for Tuesday, presented by Rock 105, at Appalachian Power Park in 2018. Fans can enjoy 2-for-1 16-ounce domestic beer cans, as well as chicken salad sandwiches and sloppy joes, all evening long. For tickets and more information, call the Power at 304-344-2287 or visit wvpower.com.