Savannah 1, West Virginia 0
Rainy Lara and Bret Mitchell combined on a six-hit shutout to propel the Gnats to their fifth straight win, a 1-0 shutout of the West Virginia Power in front of 2,969 fans at Historic Grayson Stadium Saturday night. The shutout was third of the season for the Gnats (14-8).
In his fourth start, Lara became the first Gnats’ starter to work into the eighth inning in 2013. He threw first-pitch strikes to 20 of the 25 batters he faced in his 7.1 shutout innings. He struck out nine and did not walk a batter to win his third game of 2013 with a 1.88 ERA.
The Gnats scored the game’s only run in the bottom of the fifth. LF Stefan Sabol began the inning with a single to left field and 3B Yucary De La Cruz followed with a single to right that sent Sabol to third. SS Phillip Evans then bounced into a fielder’s choice to bring home Sabol.
The Power (9-14) only had one inning all night in which they had more than one baserunner.
Reliever Bret Mitchell recorded the final five outs, working around a leadoff single in the ninth, for his second save of the year.
The Gnats send RHP Matt Koch (1-1, 8.38) to the mound Sunday against RHP John Kuchno (1-0, 4.26). First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 pm.
Key Stats
Kevin Plawecki: 2-for-3
Gregory Pron: 1-for-3
Stefan Sabol: 1-for-3, 1 R
Phillip Evans: 1-for-3, 1 RBI
Rainy Lara: 7.1 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 9 K
Bret Mitchell: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 2 K
(Team Report)
