The top of the BlueClaws order brought their big bats to West Virginia, as Lakewood beat up the Power 7-3 at Appalachian Power Park on Saturday night. The first four hitters in the BlueClaws order-T.J. Warren, Derrick Mitchell, Dominic Brown and Michael Taylor- combined to go 9-for-18 with five runs scored and five RBIs. Mitchell was especially productive, slugging his fourth home run of the season in a 2-for- 4 performance.
Taylor also picked up three hits, two of which went for doubles.
Mitchell helped the BlueClaws get on the board early, drilling a two-run home run to left-center before there was an out recorded in the game. Lakewood never trailed after that point.
The big night from the top of the order helped Jacob Diekman (1-3) to his first win of the season. The BlueClaws southpaw gave up three earned runs on seven hits in five innings, but departed while Lakewood was leading 4-3.
The Lakewood bullpen continued their recent run of success, combining to throw four scoreless innings. Ben Pfinsgraff was the latest BlueClaw reliever to make his mark, throwing four scoreless innings to close out the game. It was the first save of the season for the 24-year old right-hander.
Pfinsgraff was called to duty after Diekman gave up a leadoff home run to Zelous Wheeler to start the sixth inning. Five of the seven hits allowed by Diekman went for extra bases.
Roque Mercedes (1-4) took the loss for West Virginia, giving up four runs in nine hits in six innings. He saw his ERA jump to 7.05 after the performance.
The win helped move the BlueClaws (25-24) to a game above .500 for the first time since they were 19- 18. The 'Claws have now won six of their last seven games and three straight against the Power.
The BlueClaws will look for a season-high fifth straight win on Sunday afternoon when they square off against the Power (19-29) for the sixth time this season. Chance Chapman will take the mound for the BlueClaws with first pitch scheduled for 2:05 p.m.