Four-run fifth extends winning streak to three games

CHARLESTON, W. Va. (August 24, 2019) - West Virginia socked three doubles and scored four runs in the fifth inning to cruise to a 5-2 win over the Lakewood BlueClaws Saturday night at Appalachian Power Park.
Ryne Inman was electric from the start, as the righty tossed three scoreless innings with six strikeouts to begin his outing. West Virginia (29-32, 66-65) got the scoring underway in the third, as Manny Pazos cracked a one-out triple down the right-field line and Billy Cooke singled on the next pitch to plate him. Inman delivered a shutdown inning in the top of the fourth, as he fanned the side in order and ran his strikeout total to nine.

The righty recorded the first out of the fifth with his 10th strikeout, but left the game after 4.2 innings. The Power added some run support in the bottom of inning, as Ryan Ramiz  stroked a double down the right-field line and drove in both Cooke, who doubled earlier in the frame, and Caleb Ricca to make it 3-0. The inning continued as Matt Sanders roped an RBI double off Kevin Gowdy (0-6) that scored Ramiz, and Nick Rodriguez extended the West Virginia lead to 5-0 with an RBI single that sent in Sanders a couple batters later.
Brendan McGuigan (1-1), who closed out the fifth, twirled scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh before he ran into trouble in the eighth. Two errors at the beginning of the inning put runners on for Jonathan Guzman, who singled in a pair to put the BlueClaws (26-33, 55-74) on the board at 5-2. Robert Winslow (S,1) entered to finish out the stanza and did so with a strikeout to Carlos De La Cruz. Winslow then fanned the first two batters in the ninth inning and put the finishing touches on a 5-2 win.  
The Power concludes their penultimate homestand Sunday afternoon against the Lakewood BlueClaws at Appalachian Power Park, with first pitch set for 2:05 p.m. West Virginia will send RHP Evan Johnson (0-4, 5.26 ERA) to the hill, while Lakewood counters with LHP Taylor Lehman (2-0, 1.37 ERA). Pregame coverage begins at 1:45 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.
The series finale is also another Kidz Sunday Funday, where kids 12 and younger can run the bases after the final out, courtesy of the SMART529 College Savings Program, as well as play catch in the outfield before the game. Select Power players will also be available for postgame autographs. Also, members of the Sheetz Power Kidz Club can get free tickets courtesy of Sheetz. All Kidz Sunday Fundays are presented by Shawnee Park Foundation. For tickets and more information, call the Power at 304-344-2287 or visit www.wvpower.com.