It was a successful week for Bluefield as they went 6-2 from August 7-14 and with a 6-2 win over the Princeton Rays on Thursday, the Blue Jays secured the famed Mercer Cup. For a brief history on the Mercer Cup, read here. Bluefield also has a one game lead over Danville in the Appalachian League East Division with 15 games to go.

Here are player recaps from the past week:

Hitter of the Week

Kevin Pillar is the batter this week in Bluefield. Pillar went 14/31 with 3 doubles, 1 triple, and 1 HR. He had 7 RBIs and 1 SB. Over the past 10 games, the outfielder is hitting .436/.465/.667.

Debuts:

Dalton Pompey made his Bluefield debut and in 5 games has hit .333/.555/.611 with 2 doubles and 1 HR. The 18 year old outfielder was drafted in the 16th round of the 2010 draft out of John Frasor High School in Mississauga, Ont. He had been in the GCL.

Tim Mahler also made his Appy League debut after stints in the GCL and Dunedin. The catcher has 2 hits in 5 at-bats while appearing in 4 games.

How the others did:

Gustavo Pierre had 6 hits in 26 at-bats with 2 doubles and 1 triple. Plate discipline remains a concern as he struck out 10 times and walked only once in 7 games.

Chris Hawkins had 8 RBIs in 8 games last week to go along with 9 hits in 28 at-bats, including 3 doubles. He walked 6 times and struck out 6 times.

First baseman Art Charles had 2 HRs on the week with 9 RBIs and 3 doubles.

Pitcher(s) of the Week:

This is a special “Mercer Cup Edition” of Pitchers of the Week.

The first POTW is a personal favorite Myles Jaye. Jaye went 5 innings against Princeton on the 11th giving up only 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 3 and walking none. He has allowed 2 or fewer earned runs in every appearance since July 4th.

Following Jaye on the mound against Princeton was 2010 First Rounder Aaron Sanchez. Sanchez threw the final 4 innings, matching Jaye by surrendering only 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 1. He was the winning pitcher and together, Jaye and Sanchez shut down the Princeton offense and propelled Bluefield to the Mercer Cup win

Don’t Forget Us!

Ajay Meyer had a fine start himself on the 12th against Pulaski. In 6 innings, he struck out 7 batters and scattered 5 hits and 1 run.

Tyler Ybarra made on start and had one relief appearance during the week. He struck out 13 batters in 8.2 innings, allowing only 6 hits and 2 runs.

Tucker Jensen made one start on the 13th against Pulaski. He gave up 6 runs, but only 2 were earned in 2.2 innings while striking out 3 batters.

What’s Next?

Bluefield is at home all week as they try to build on their slim divisional lead. Burlington is in town for 3 games followed by 3 more with the Pulaski Mariners.  The Blue Jays had a strong pitching week with many great and clutch performances and will look for more of the same during the stretch run!

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