MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com – Lakewood, NJ (August 1, 2008) – The Lakewood BlueClaws held the West Virginia Power to just a run on five hits at First Energy Park on Friday night and came away with a 4-1 victory to split the four game series.     

Tim Kennelly ripped a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the first inning to give Lakewood an early lead.   The Power tied the game in the third inning when Eric Farris belted an RBI double.  The BlueClaws plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to take the lead again.  Dominic Brown ripped a run scoring triple and scored on Freddy Galvis’s sacrifice fly.   

Tim Kennelly smacked a one-out triple in the sixth inning and scored the game’s final run on a wild pitch.  West Virginia was held without a hit since Farris’s double in the third until Matt Cline ripped a one-out single in the top of the eighth inning.  Farris’s double was West Virginia’s only extra base hit of the night.  

Mike Stutes (2-0) tossed six great innings, allowing just a run on two hits and fanned six to get the victory.  Jared Simon (23) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save and Lucas Luetge (0-1) was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits over five and a third.  Roque Mercedes pitched two and two-thirds scoreless innings of one hit ball in relief.  The Power bullpen surrendered just two earned runs over 18 and a third innings in the series.   

The Power fell to 60-50 on the year and 28-13 in the second half with the loss.  The BlueClaws improved to 64-47 on the year and 26-15 in the second half with the win. Farris and Wilson paced the Power with three hits a piece.  Matt Cline reached twice to bring his on base streak to 21 games and Gindl reached once to extend his on base streak to 24 games.  Steffan Wilson went 1-for-4 and extended his road hitting streak to 25 games while Lee Haydel went 0-for-3, bringing his ten game hitting streak to an end.   

The Power will begin a four game series against the Delmarva Shorebirds at Appalachian Power Park on Saturday night.  The Power will start right hander R.J. Seidel (7-4, 5.21) and the Shorebirds will counter with right hander Zach Britton (10-5, 2.83).  The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.   
Box Score: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_08_01_wvaafx_lwdafx_1&t=g_box&did=milb

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