Hoppers Drop First-Half Finale…

Greensboro Finishes Half with 38-32 Record

Charleston, W.V. – The first half of the season came to a conclusion Sunday with Greensboro dropping its third straight game, 10-6, to West Virginia.

A Hoppers team that was in a two-horse race for the Northern Division first half title when they entered the series pulled within a game and a half before stumbling over the finish line on a three-game skid.

Out of the four-spot, Emilio Ontiveros led Greensboro with his 3-for-4 performance, but six of the nine batters for West Virginia collected multiple hits on the evening as the Power put up 17 hits in all.

The Power jumped out to a two-run lead in the third inning, and after Greensboro pulled within one in the top of the fourth, West Virginia tacked on four more in the home-half of the inning and three more in the seventh.

Trailing 9-1, Greensboro rallied with five runs in the eighth inning on six of their 10 total hits.

Kyle Kaminska was tagged with the loss after allowing six Power runs in 3 2/3 innings on the hill. He was one of 10 total pitchers used in the contest; West Virginia’s Dan Merklinger earned his first win of the season after five innings in the start.

Greensboro and the rest of the South Atlantic League will enjoy three days off over the all-star break before returning to action on Thursday; the Hoppers open the second half on the road against Lexington.

Six Hoppers, including A.J. Battisto, Corey Madden, Garrett Parcell, manager Edwin Rodriguez, pitching coach John Duffy and athletic trainer Julio Hernandez will all be on hand to participate in the 49th annual South Atlantic League All-Star Game when the gates open at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday at NewBridge Bank Park.

Tickets for the SAL All-Star Game are available by calling the Grasshoppers Ticket Office at 268-2255 or by visiting www.gsohoppers.com on the World Wide Web.

Postgame Quick Stats
Win – Dan Merklinger (1-5); Loss – Kyle Kaminska (4-3); Save – None
Time – 2:22; Attendance – 2,653
*****from Justin Stottlemyre Hoppers’ media assistant*****