CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Charleston RiverDogs scored four runs in the third inning, held a five-run lead and thwarted off a late rally by the West Virginia Power to win 6-5 Wednesday night at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
After two scoreless innings, the RiverDogs (32-34) sent eight batters to the plate and exploded for four runs in the third inning. Ryan Lindemuth started the frame with a base hit to right and Devyn Bolasky was hit by a pitch from West Virginia’s Colten Brewer which put two on with nobody out.
They moved up to second and third on a wild pitch and Dustin Fowler drove them both in with a one-out double to right. Fowler came home to score on another wild pitch, and Vince Conde hit an RBI double to score Angel Aguilar later in the inning.
West Virginia (36-30) answered back two innings later with a run in the top of the fifth. Tyler Filliben led off the inning with a double. He advanced to third on an error by Justin Kamplain on a pickoff attempt and scored on Cole Tucker’s RBI single.
Charleston increased their lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Fowler singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and moved to third when Chris Breen singled. With runners on first and third with one out, Conde hit a line drive that dropped in front of the center fielder Elvis Escobar to increase the lead to 5-1. Collin Slaybaugh followed with another RBI single on a ground ball to left field.
West Virginia cut into the Charleston lead in the seventh and made it 6-3. With the bases loaded and two outs, Chase Simpson hit a ground ball to third base. Lindemuth fielded it cleanly, but he threw the ball away on an attempt to get the final out at second base and two runs scored, silencing the 2,832 fans in attendance.
The Power loaded the bases again with two outs in the top of the eighth. Jordan Luplow hit a line drive off the bag at first that rolled into shallow right field and scored two more runs. Dillon McNamara entered the game with the potential tying run on third and walked Jerrick Suiter to re-load the bases, but he struck out Chase Simpson to end the threat.
McNamara worked around a leadoff bunt single by Escobar and retired the side in the ninth, earning his fourth save of the season. Escobar stole second to move into scoring position with two outs, but Filliben flew out to center to end the game. Justin Kamplain (2-8) picked up the win in his first relief appearance by going 3 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run. The win snapped a personal skid, during which the southpaw had lost 8-of-11 outings.
BOX SCORE: http://atmilb.com/1HVCQC8
BALLPARK FUN: Gerard Urrita, a Special Olympics bronze medalist, threw out the first pitch at Wednesday night’s game. Ribbon dancing entertained fans and the contest ended in a dramatic tie. It was also senior Wednesday, and many seniors came out early to enjoy a free meal before the game. Fans once again brought their best hands as one fan made a nice play in the Ashley View Pub and another fan in the box seats made a grab on the carom from the suites above.
COMING UP: The RiverDogs wrap up their three-game series with the West Virginia Power Thursday at 7:05 p.m. Charleston will send RHP David Palladino (1-4, 3.47 ERA) to the mound to face RHP Yeudy Garcia (4-5, 2.50 ERA) for the Power. You can watch the game on MiLB.tv or listen to the action on “The Big Talker” 1250 WTMA, WTMA.com, and RiverDogs.com.
The final game of the series with the West Virginia Power is a Thirsty Thursday, the fifth of 10 Thirsty Thursdays during the 2015 season. Enjoy ‘Happy Hour’ with $1 beers and music in the Ashley View Pub presented by Budweiser. DJ Natty Heavy will be at “The Joe” spinning popular tunes throughout the game presented by 95SX. There will be a moment of silence before the game in memory and respect of the nine Charleston firefighters who lost their lives on June 18, 2007. The RiverDogs will be wearing Charleston Fire Department caps during the game to honor the Charleston 9. Thursday is also We <3 Dave Night. Come out to The Joe and celebrate the man himself, Dave Echols! We will be celebrating our favorite General Manager all night long. Festivities include a game of “Are you smarter than Dave?”, photo and autograph opportunities with the man himself, and anything we can find to make him turn red. If you see him in the park on this night, make sure you stop to give him a hug and tell him how much you love him.
-RIVERDOGS-
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