BlueClaws Split and Have Early Morning Wake-up Call

The Lakewood BlueClaws split a double header with the West Virginia Power after being rained out on Monday.  Weather has been an issue for many teams this early season, causing managers to strategically manage their rosters during twin bills.

After dropping the opener 8-5 as the Power lived up to their nickname, blasting three home runs, the BlueClaws took the finale.  The Power came out of the gate right from the start as Oniel Cruz homered to give them a 1-0.  Then it was rare back to back triples that pushed the Power’s lead to 3-0 to end the first.

In the second, leadoff hitter and speedster Lolo Sanchez added to the Power’s attack with an inside-the-park home run of his own.  Sanchez’s home run increased the lead to 5-0.

Lakewood clawed back in the third on a three-run blast off the bat of Cole Stobbe who hit his first round tripper of the year and 13^th of his pro career.  Dan Brito continues to swing a hot bat as his singles in the fourth and sixth drove in runs for the BlueClaws.  But it wasn’t enough to shut down the Power who tied a league record with three triples in the game.

In game two, the BlueClaws exploded with a 14-hit attack scoring a season high 15 runs.  Former Ole Miss Rebel, David Parkinson (1-0) was the beneficiary of the BlueClaws hit barrage as he threw five scoreless innings striking out nine, just one short of his career high.

The BlueClaws hit their first grand-slam since June 2016, when Colby Fitch unloaded to clear the bases.  Nick Maton added his second dinger of the year and when it was all said and done Lakewood walked off the field with an impressive 15-2 win.

The team headed back to the hotel to schedule an early morning wake up call to prepare for the final game of the series, which will be played at 10:35am this morning.  The BlueClaws will put the ball in the hands of righty starter Ramon Russo (0-1) and the Power will look for lefty Domingo Robles to break the deadlocked series.