Charleston, WV (July 17, 2008) – The West Virginia Power sent 14 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs on eight hits in the bottom of the fifth inning of Thursday night’s game at Appalachian Power Park to defeat the Columbus Catfish 11-4.
Logan Schafer began the inning with a single and scored the tying run on an infield single from Eric Farris. Wilson ripped a bases loaded single to score the go-ahead run. Zelous Wheeler singled in two more runs and an error on the catcher Mike McCormick allowed a third run to score on the play. Gindl’s double scored Wheeler before Lee Haydel cleared the bases with a three-run triple. Farris brought in the final run of the inning on a sacrifice fly. All nine batters reached and scored.
The Catfish scored their final two runs in the eighth inning on a homerun from Quinn Stewart.
Amaury Rivas (8-3) settled down after throwing 33 pitches in the first inning. He allowed a pair of runs on six hits over five innings and fanned four to get the win. Jeremy Hall (4-3) retired the first six batters he faced but allowed eight runs on ten hits over four and a third and was tagged with the loss.
The Power improved to 52-44 on the year and 20-7 in the second half with the win. The Catfish fell to 43-52 on the year and 16-9 in the second half with the loss. Five Power players turned in multi-hit games. Haydel paced the Power with a 3-for-3 performance. The 6-9 batters combined for nine hits and knocked in five runs. Wilson extended his hitting streak to 11 games and he has reached safely in his last 16.
The Power will continue the four game series against the Columbus Catfish at Appalachian Power Park on Friday night. Right hander R.J. Seidel (6-4, 4.65) will make the start for the Power and the Catfish will counter with right hander Jesse Darcy (4-1, 2.66). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.