Lexington Legends Stun West Virginia 11-10 In Huge Comeback Sunday
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The Lexington Legends came back from a 10-run deficit to beat the West Virginia Power 11-10 Sunday afternoon, April 24, before a nice crowd of 3,878 at Whitaker Bank Ballpark.
The Power, a Class A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, took the lead with four runs in the first inning. Two came home on a single by Carlos Munoz.
In the top of the third, West Virginia's Daniel Arribas led off with a triple and scored on a double by Ryan Nagle. Nagle went to third on a single by Tyler Filliben and scored on a base hit by John Bormann as Filliben moved to third. After Alfredo Reyes walked to load the bases, Filliben scored on a sacrifice fly by Mitchell Tolman, giving the Power a 7-0 lead.
Munoz started the West Virginia fourth with a double. He moved to third on a single by Arribas and scored on a sacrifice fly by Nagle. Filliben followed with a two-run homer, and West Virginia led 10-0.
Lexington's Marten Gasparini’s solo homer in the fourth put the Legends on the board. And Lexington put the comeback in high gear in the sixth with some help from the West Virginia pitchers. With two outs and D.J. Burt on at first base, Samir Duenez drew a walk. West Virginia starter Bret Helton was relieved by Jake Burnette, who walked the next three batters, forcing in two runs. Cody Jones’ single brought home a run, and a wild pitch allowed another run to score. After Jecksson Flores walked, the Power changed pitchers again, and Amalani Fukofuka, batting for the second time In the inning, greeted reliever Julio Vivas with a double, scoring two runs and cutting the deficit to 10-7.
The Legends, a Class A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, pulled even in the eighth inning. With one out, Jones’ solo homer made the score 10-8. Flores followed with a double and Fukofuka singled, moving Flores to third. After Fukofuka stole second, Gasparini doubled to right, scoring Flores and Fukofuka to tie the game at 10-10.
West Virginia put runners at second and third with one out in the top of the ninth, but Lexington pitcher Jacob Bodner retired Casey Hughston on a ground out to third as the runners held, and got Munoz on a fly ball to center field.
Outfielder Ben Johnson led off the bottom of the ninth with a double to left field. He moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Xavier Fernandez, and scored on a wild pitch by Eric Karch to win the game.
Bodner (1-0), a native of Danville, Ky., and a graduate of Boyle County High School, got the win. Karch (0-1) took the loss.
The Power won three of the four games in the series.
The Legends will open a three-game series in Columbia, South Carolina Tuesday night. Game time is 7:05 p.m. The Columbia Fireflies are new to the South Atlantic League this year. The team relocated from Savannah, Georgia after last season and is still affiliated with the New York Mets.
Stanley Listed As Day-To-Day
Legends outfielder Tanner Stanley, who was taken from the field in an ambulance after colliding with the left field wall in the first inning, suffered no serious injuries and is now listed as day-to-day. He will travel with the team on its road trip to Columbia and Hickory.
Legends Honor American Pharoah Saturday Night
The West Virginia Power hit three home runs in a 5-1 win over the Lexington Legends in front of 4,902 fans Saturday night at Whitaker Bank Ballpark.
Lexington starter Foster Griffin (pictured) only allowed three hits and no walks in seven innings, but the Power managed to score three more runs in the eighth and ninth inning to secure the victory.
The Legends wore special jerseys Saturday night to salute 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.The jerseys resembled the Zayat Stables silks worn by jockey Victor Espinoza when he rode American Pharoah to victory in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont, as well as the Breeders Cup Classic.
Photo by Mary Lay/Lexington Legends
