Link Report for Sat. 9/6 -- Power In Deciding Game to Reach Championship Series

[Mass Haas]

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Saturday's Daily Menu:

 

West Virginia: LHP Lucas Luetge at Lake County (Indians), 5:55 PM Central Time pre-game, 6:05 PM gametime; Game Three of a Best-of-Three; series tied, 1-1

 

Audio link via WSWW, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link):

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t525

 

***

 

Box Score / Game Log:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_09_06_wvaafx_lcoafx_1

[jjfanec]

1-0 after 3. Luetge is starting off well. No runs, and 4 Ks through 3

[Mass Haas]

Incredible Houdini job by Mike Ramlow in the bottom of the 5th to get out of a one-out bases-loaded jam upon entering the game to preserve a 1-1 tie.

 

C'mon, boys!

 

Lake County Bottom 5th

• - Juan Valdes pops out to third baseman Zelous Wheeler in foul territory.
• - Mark Thompson singles on a line drive to left fielder Lee Haydel.
• - Karexon Sanchez hit by pitch. Mark Thompson to 2nd.
• - Matt McBride walks. Mark Thompson to 3rd. Karexon Sanchez to 2nd.
• - Pitcher Change: Mike Ramlow replaces Lucas Luetge.
• - Todd Martin grounds into a force out, third baseman Zelous Wheeler to catcher Eric Fryer. Mark Thompson out at home. Karexon Sanchez to 3rd. Matt McBride to 2nd. Todd Martin to 1st.
• - Dustin Realini flies out to center fielder Logan Schafer.

[Mass Haas]

Still 1-1, bottom of the 7th as of 8:20 Central -- listen in now that Benny has completed his masterpiece at Miller Park!

[Minigoon]

Big 2 out hits by Zelous Wheeler and Curt Rindal give WV a 3 run lead. 4-1!

[Minigoon]

Yee-Haw!! Link report continues to live on for 2008! Power win 4-1. Outstanding pitching efforts by Luetge, Ramlow and Wooten!

[battlekow]

Wooten slams the door. Nice.

[TheCrew07]

Who would have guessed in April that the Power would be the only affliliate in the postseason, and playing for championship.

 

Congrats to all the players, coaches, and the organization. This team is proof that it's truly not how you start but how you finish.

[wvpowerblkwel]

http://images.yuku.com/image/pjpeg/f091589b74e7c1ec0a3627d617e21c7536f234f.pjpg

I agree!! Congrats to you all! I definitely think Caleb would agree with your last statement....he also put up one heckuva 2nd half!

[brewmann04]

Kudo to WV and hopefully you can give the Fans a Championship in your last season there

[colbyjack]

Who would have guessed in April that the Power would be the only affliliate in the postseason, and playing for championship.

 

Who would have guessed at midseason that the Power would have even made the playoffs? Their second half turnaround from top to bottom was very impressive.

 

Congrats to the Power. There's been a lot of talk of both sides moving on from their current relationship, but I have really enjoyed following this team the past several years and hopefully their 2nd half surge (yes, pun intended) continues.

[battlekow]

Power earn another shot at SAL title

Wheeler singles in go-ahead run in eighth to sink Captains

By Steve Conley / Special to MLB.com

In just their fourth year of existence, the West Virginia Power have established themselves as a perennial championship contender in the South Atlantic League.

Zelous Wheeler drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth and Mike Ramlow tossed 3 1/3 innings of shutout relief Saturday as the Power beat the Lake County Captains, 4-1, in the decisive third game of their SAL first-round series.

West Virginia returned to the Championship Series, a year after getting swept by the Columbus Catfish.

The game was knotted at 1-1 with two outs in the eighth, when Steffan Wilson reached on an error by Captains third baseman Karexon Sanchez. After a wild pitch, Caleb Gindl was intentionally walked to get to Wheeler, who lined a base hit to left field to score Wilson. Curt Rindal followed with a two-run double to provide insurance.

"We had nobody on and two outs there and [Wheeler] came up big at that point with that base hit," said Power manager Jeff Isom. "We've gotten big hits like that all year and tonight we got another one."

Ramlow (1-0) came up big in the fifth, when he inherited a bases-loaded, one-out situation. He retired Todd Martin on a groundout and got Dustin Realini to fly to the warning track in center field to keep the game tied. The 22-year-old left-hander also retired the Captains in order in the sixth and seventh before leaving with two on and two out in eighth.

"We wouldn't have had the chance to win it late if he [Ramlow] didn't do the job there," Isom said. "We had our backs against the wall there and he did an excellent job in a tough spot. That fly ball was just hit to the wrong part of the park."

Robert Wooten bailed out Ramlow and recorded the final five outs, fanning three, for the save.

Eric Farris scored on a balk in the opening inning and Wheeler went 2-for-3 for West Virginia, which will take on the Augusta GreenJackets in the best-of-5 Finals. Augusta swept the Asheville Tourists in the first round.

"Their pitching is the best in the league," Isom noted. "The ball doesn't travel well in their park and we're the kind of team that relies on the home runs once in a while and hitting the ball in the gaps. Their pitching staff has our number, but we're gonna try to change some things."

Power starter Lucas Luetge allowed one run on five hits and two walks while striking out five over 4 1/3 innings.

Jonathan Holt (0-1) was charged with three unearned runs on three hits and a walk with one strikeout in 2 1/3 frames. Captains starter Eric Berger went three innings and yielded one run on two hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

Realini singled and scored on Matthew Brown's double in the fourth and Matt McBride had two hits for the Captains.

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2008/09/07/P8hdXaQZ.jpg
Mike Ramlow allowed one hit over 4 1/3
scoreless innings in the Power's first-round
win. (Tom Priddy/MLB.com)

[Mass Haas]

Andy Barch's Game Summary:

POWER advance to SAL championship with 4-1 win

 

The West Virginia Power scored three times with two outs and snapped a 1-1 tie in the top of the eighth inning of Saturday night's game at Classic Park to defeat the Lake County Captains 4-1 and advanced to the South Atlantic League Championship.

 

Eric Farris walked on five pitches to begin the contest. The Power executed the hit-and-run to perfection with two outs when Steffan Wilson singled to right field with Farris off and running on the pitch. With runners at the corners and two outs, Erik Berger balked and allowed Farris to score.

 

The Captains tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. After Dustin Realini's one-out single, Matt Brown smashed a double into right-center field, allowing Realini to score the tying run. West Virginia scored three times with two outs in the eighth inning to re-gain the lead. Wilson reached on Karexon Sanchez's errant throw with two outs. Caleb Gindl walked on four pitches and Zelous Wheeler belted an RBI single to score Wilson. Curt Rindal capped the inning with a two-run double.

 

Mike Ramlow (1-0) tossed three and a third scoreless innings of relief to get the victory. Rob Wooten fanned three and allowed just a hit over an inning and a third to get the save. Jonathan Holt allowed a three unearned runs over two and third and was tagged with the loss. Lucas Luetge allowed just a run on five hits over four and a third.

 

The Power took the best of three game series 2-1 to advance to the South Atlantic League Championship for the second year in a row. Wheeler paced the Power with a 2-for-3 performance and reached three times. Seven Power players reached safely in the victory.

 

The Power will begin the best of five game Championship Series against the Augusta GreenJackets at Lake Olmstead Stadium on Monday night. The starting pitchers have not been announced. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

 

West Virginia Box Score

Errors -- Lake County 4, West Virginia 0...

 

West Virginia Game Log

[Mass Haas]

The best-of-five championship series starts Monday night at Augusta, Ga., when the Power takes on the Augusta Green Jackets (Giants), who won the Southern Division playoff. The second game is scheduled for Tuesday in Augusta, with the third game set for Thursday at Appalachian Power Park. If necessary, games four and five would also be in Charleston Friday and Saturday.

[powermom]

With the fans who went from Charleston there to cheer them on. The Power showed what they have shown us in the second half. Never count them out. The defense was there when it was needed and the Pitching was outstanding. Way to go Evan Andunsen, Mike Ramlow, Rob Wooten & Lucas Lutge. We are all proud of them and are rooting them on to the Championships.