Rodriguez launches no-doubt homer in 4-1 loss

CHARLESTON, W. Va. (July 1, 2019) - Julio Rodriguez slugged his fourth homer of the year, but it was not enough to overtake Hickory, as the Power fell, 4-1, Monday night at Appalachian Power Park.
On the first pitch of the ninth inning with West Virginia down 4-0, Rodriguez crushed a 452-foot bomb into the Charleston night as the Power (5-7, 42-40) started to stir another rally. David Sheaffer singled a couple batters later to keep the inning alive, but Kelvin Gonzalez closed the door by striking out Onil Pena and inducing a groundout from Ryan Ramiz.

Hickory (10-2, 51-27) flexed their offensive muscles with two outs in the first inning, as a walk and two base hits tallied the first run of the ballgame. Devin Sweet (3-4) tossed a scoreless second frame and recorded the first two outs of the third inning, but allowed a base hit and a two-run Melvin Novoa roundtripper that extended the Crawdads' lead to 3-0.
In the fourth, Hickory tacked on another two-out tally on a Frainyer Chavez solo homer, his first of the year, that pushed the lead to 4-0 'Dads.
Cole Winn (1-3) built off the momentum of the Hickory offense, as the 19-year-old prospect set a new career-high with five scoreless innings and five strikeouts. Winn was replaced in the sixth by Jesus Linarez, who hurled three shutout innings of his own and surrendered just two hits before ceding way to Gonzalez in the ninth.
The Power continues their three-game series against the Hickory Crawdads Tuesday evening at Appalachian Power Park, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. LHP Steven Moyers (6-4, 4.03 ERA) heads to the hill for West Virginia, while Hickory goes with righty Tyree Thompson (3-3, 3.12 ERA). Pregame coverage begins at 6:45 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.
Tuesday is another Rock 105 Two For Tuesday at Appalachian Power Park! Fans can enjoy two-for-one concession specials, as well as purchase two tickets for the price of one only at the Power Box Office. And if the Power wins, all fans in attendance are invited to run the bases after the game! For tickets and more information, call the Power at 304-344-2287 or visit www.wvpower.com.