Chris DeVito had four hits, including his league-leading 11th home run of the year, as the Class A Lexington Legends gained a split of a four-game series with a 6-3 win over the West Virginia Power Monday night, May 8 in Charleston.
The Power left 16 runners on base, and left the bases loaded five times.
The Legends took a 1-0 lead with a run in the third inning, but the Power answered with three in the bottom of the third. Ty Moore was hit by a pitch and moved to third on a double by Hunter Owen. Carlos Munoz was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Arden Pabst followed with a two-run single, and after Clark Eagan grounded into a force play at second base and Kevin Mahala walked, Alexis Bastardo singled to center field, scoring Munoz.
The Legend tied the game in the fourth. Meibrys Viloria, who earlier in the day was named South Atlantic League Player of the Week for May 1-7, led off with a double. He moved to third on a single by Angelo Castellano. Viloria scored when pitcher Matt Anderson committed a throwing error after fielding a ground ball hit by Amalani Fukofuka. Castellano was safe at second and Fukofuka reached first on the play. A sacrifice by Marten Gasparini moved the runners to second and third, and Castellano came home on a ground out by Khalil Lee to even the score at 3-3.
DeVito hit a solo homer with one out in the fifth, giving the Legends a 4-3 lead. The RBI was his league-leading 38th of the season. Lexington added a run in the sixth, when Gasparini, who had reached second on an error by center fielder Bastardo, scored from second base on a sacrifice fly to right field by Lee.
The Legends scored their final run in the seventh on a double by Kort Peterson and singles by DeVito and Emmanuel Rivera.
Lexington starter Garrett Davila (3-0) worked the first five innings and got the win. He is now 10-0 as a professional after going 7-0 with Burlington of the Appalachian League in 2016.
Jace Vines pitched four innings of scoreless relief for Lexington. He picked up his third save and lowered his earned run average for the season to 1.78.
Anderson (3-2), who pitched in college for Morehead State, took the loss.
The Legends will open a three-game series against Greensboro at Whitaker Bank Ballpark Wednesday, May 10. First pitch is set for 12:35 p.m.
Legends’ Viloria Named League's Player of the Week
Catcher Meibrys Viloria (pictured) of the Lexington Legends has been named South Atlantic League Player of the Week for the period of May 1-7.
In five games last week, Meibrys Viloria (pronounced as MAY-bris Vuh-LOR-ee-uh) had eight hits in 15 at bats, including three doubles and his first two home runs of the season. He also scored five runs and drew five walks.
Viloria, 20, a native of Cartagena, Colombia, signed with the Kansas City Royals as a non-drafted free agent in July of 2013. In 2016, he was named the Most Valuable Player in the Pioneer League. He batted .376 for Idaho Falls and led the league in batting average, doubles and runs batted in.
“Meibrys had a great week for the Legends, and is showing why he’s regarded as one of the top prospects in the Kansas City Royals organization,” said Legends President/CEO Andy Shea. “We’ll look forward to seeing him play again when the Legends get back home.”
Viloria is currently ranked 14th on the list of top 30 Kansas City prospects by MLB.com.
