WEST VIRGINIA TOPS DELMARVA 8-3 IN GAME THREE

RHP Jesse Beal Starts Game Four on Friday Night

Charleston, WV – West Virginia scored five runs in the first four innings to cruise by Delmarva, 8-3 in game three of the series on Thursday night at Appalachian Power Park. The Shorebirds did not record their first hit until the fifth inning.

The Power got on the board early in the second inning. Aaron Baker connected on his tenth homer of the season to right field to open the second. After a double by Ramon Cabrera, Jose Hernandez blasted a two-run homer to give the Power a 3-0 advantage.

West Virginia went back to work in the fourth. Jose Hernandez led off with a single. Then, Jesus Brito followed with a single to advance Hernandez to third. Kenny Moreland proceeded to toss a wild pitch on a third strike to Bengie Gonzalez to score Hernandez. The next batter, Evan Chambers, hit a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Brito.

Down 5-0, the Shorebirds chipped away in the sixth inning . With two outs, Mike Mooney hit a flare double down the left field line. Then, Ty Kelly followed with a sharp double inside the first base bag to plate Mooney. The next batter, Tyler Townsend, smoked a double to the left-center field gap to score Kelly.

The Shorebirds trimmed the deficit to 5-3 in the seventh. Levi Carolus started the frame with a double to left field. Three batters later, Justin Dalles yanked an RBI single to left field to score Carolus.

The Shorebirds would get no closer. With two outs in the home half of the seventh, Tyler Townsend mishandled a grounder off the bat of Aaron Baker, allowing Evan Chambers and Jarek Cunningham to score.

The Power tacked on a run in the eighth inning to establish an 8-3 lead.

Power starter Nathan Baker earned the win in six innings. He allowed four hits and two runs. Baker retired the first 14 batters of the game.

Kenny Moreland was pinned with the loss in six innings of work. He surrendered eight hits and five runs. Moreland struck out six and did not issue a walk.

The Shorebirds and Power square off in game four of the series on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. RHP Jesse Beal makes the start for Delmarva.