Charleston RiverDogs first baseman Chris Gittens has always had good power. Friday night he demonstrated that to the West Virginia Power, homering three times and driving in six to lead his team to the 8-6 victory. That gave the South Atlantic League Southern Division leaders their 40th win of the season, second most in the league.

The RiverDogs jumped to an 8-0 lead before the Power would get onto the board. It started in the first when Hoy Jun Park walked with one out, and Gittens followed with his ninth homerun of the year. The shot easily cleared the wall in center and staked Charleston to the 2-0 lead.

In the top of the second it was Angel Aguilar’s turn to go deep. He led off the frame with his seventh shot of the year, and it was a three-run lead for the RiverDogs.

West Virginia starter Dario Agrazal was actually pitching quite well. He had only allowed two hits through the first two innings but, unfortunately for him, both of those hits were homeruns. In the third he would see that streak continue as well, as Gittens would add his second round-tripper of the game with two outs in the inning. That made it 4-0.

In the fifth, Charleston would extend their lead, putting the game nearly out of reach. Gosuke Katoh reached on an error to start the inning and then stole second. A ground ball moved him to third and Cesar Diaz followed with a single that scored Katoh to extend the lead to five. Park then drew his second walk of the game, bringing Gittens to the plate again. He showed his power to the opposite field, hitting a towering fly ball over the right-center field fence for a three-run shot, making the score 8-0.

While Gittens was putting on an offensive show, Luis Cedeno was shutting down the Power through the first five innings. He allowed just three-hits through the first half of the game, and only found himself in any kind of trouble in the third when he allowed back-to-back singles with one out. However, he got fly ball outs to end the threat and keep West Virginia off the board.

In the sixth the Power would finally get on the board. Daniel Arribas walked with one out. Carlos Munoz and Casey Hughston followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases and there was just one out. Logan Ratledge would plate the Power’s first run of the game when he hit a sacrifice fly that scored Arribas, and two more would come home when Tyler Fillliben doubled. That made the score 8-3 and ended the Charleston starter’s day.

Cedeno (4-2) went 5.2 innings, allowing 6-hits, a walk, and 4-runs. He also struck out 2.

Cody Carroll was able to retire the final batter of the inning, but not before yielding a double that scored Filliben. That made the score 8-4.

In the seventh, the West Virginia Power cut in that deficit even further. Tito Polo started the inning with a single and then stole second, his 2oth stolen base of the season. The throw by the catcher was wild allowing Polo to reach third. He then scored on a ground out by Michael Tolman and it 8-5.

In the ninth, West Virginia made it a lot more interesting. Carroll retired the first two hitters of the inning, but Polo went deep over the left field fence with his 12th homer of the year to make it 8-6. Tolman then drew a walk and the tying run was at the plate. Carroll remained cool, however, striking out Arribas to end the game. That gave the right-hander his third save of the season.

Gittens finished the day 3-5 with 3-runs scored and 6-RBI. That moved his RBI total to 40, putting him in fifth in the South Atlantic League. His 11-homeruns rank him tied for second.

Polo finished 2-5 with 2-runs scored and an RBI for West Virginia. He is first in homeruns in the league and fourth in stolen bases, demonstrating that he is a top prospect for sure.

These two teams will battle again Friday night. Yefrey Ramirez (3-1, 2.96) goes for the Charleston RiverDogs. Game time is 7:05.

Boxscore

By Robert Pannier