Power drops game one; Second game suspended

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (April 20, 2018) - West Virginia struck first in both games of their doubleheader, but Asheville rallied for five runs over their final two offensive innings to take game one, 8-5, while game two was suspended in the top of the fourth with nobody out and the Power leading 6-0 at McCormick Field Saturday afternoon.

GAME 1: Asheville 8, West Virginia 5 (F/7)
West Virginia (9-6) got on the board first in the opening frame, as five of the first six Power batters managed to reach against Asheville (7-9) starter Riley Pint before he was lifted with just one out in the inning. Pint issued three walks in the frame, along with a base hit to Onil Pena and four wild pitches, two of which scored Charlie McConnell and Pena for a 2-0 West Virginia lead.
The Tourists cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning against Steven Moyers, as Grant Lavigne tagged a two-out single to center that plated Terrin Vavra. 
Asheville would continue to surge in the third, tacking on two more runs on four consecutive hits against Moyers, a double and three singles, to jump ahead 3-2. 
The Power provided an answer in the ensuing frame, as five consecutive batters reached with one away to vault West Virginia back in front. Dean Nevarez and Bobby Honeyman stroked back-to-back singles against Frederis Parra to ignite the rally. The next batter, Ryne Ogren, blooped a run-scoring knock just inside the right-field line to plate Nevarez and knot the game at three. McConnell followed that by up grounding into a fielder's choice that brought in Honeyman, while Jarred Kelenic stung an RBI single up the middle to extend the lead to 5-3.
Cade Harris helped bring the Tourists back within one in the bottom of the fifth, leading off the inning with a towering blast to right for his first home run of the year. Moyers induced a pop up from Will Golsan for the first out of the frame, but would be lifted after surrendering a single to Vavra and a walk to Willie MacIver.
Devin Sweet (1-2) relieved Moyers, but could not protect the lead, allowing a single to the first batter he faced, Lavigne, that tied the game at five. He escaped any further trouble in the inning though, striking out Daniel Montano and getting Coco Montes to fly out to leave the bases loaded.
However, Asheville was able to get to Sweet in the sixth, tallying three runs on four hits from the first four batters of the inning to take an 8-5 lead.
Alexander Martinez (S, 3) retired the Power in the seventh despite a leadoff single from Ryan Ramiz to pick up his third save in as many tries, while Nick Kennedy (2-0) secured the win after recording the last two outs in the sixth.
GAME 2: West Virginia 6, Asheville 0 (Suspended in T4)
The Power started the scoring again in game two, as Jake Anchia reached on an infield single in the second and moved to second base on a throwing error by Johnny Cresto to lead off the inning. Ryne Ogren then reached on a missed catch by Cade Harris in right to push Anchia to third, and Bobby Honeyman brought Anchia home with a sacrifice fly to right for a 1-0 lead. 
West Virginia added two more in the third, as Onil Pena stroked an RBI double and Ogren singled him in to extend the lead to 3-0. 
Jarred Kelenic broke it open in the fourth, taking Ryan Feltner deep to right field for a three-run bomb, his second home run of the year, pushing the Power's edge to 6-0. 
The game was put into a rain delay after Feltner was removed in favor of reliever Jake Bird, and ultimately suspended in the top of the fourth with nobody out and West Virginia up 6-0. The game will be concluded when the Power returns to Asheville in late May. The exact date and time will be determined at a later date.
Logan Gilbert did not allow a hit through his three innings of work before the suspension. The Stetson product allowed a leadoff walk to Will Golsan, but retired the next nine batters he faced in order, including six strikeouts.
Following the league's first off day Sunday, West Virginia kicks off its second homestand of the season Monday night with the first game of a three-game series against the Columbia Fireflies. First pitch from Appalachian Power Park is set for 7:05 p.m. RHP Clay Chandler (1-0, 0.53 ERA) heads to the bump for the Power, while the Fireflies send righty Jose Butto (0-2, 5.68 ERA) to the slab. 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.
The second Family Buck Night of the season jump starts our week-long homestand. Fans can purchase box seats for $3.00 and general admission tickets, hot dogs, popcorn and 12-ounce Pepsi products for just a buck! For tickets and more information, call us at 304-344-2287 or visit wvpower.com.