CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia Power started and finished its home schedule with losses this season.
But in between, the Pittsburgh Pirates farmhands made some strides in their climb through the organization's minor league system.
Pirates roving instructor Gary Green, who managed the Power the last two seasons, liked the improvement he saw.
"They had a younger group here than we had in the past," said Green, following the Power's 4-2 loss to the Lexington Legends Tuesday evening. "I think if you watched them from the beginning of the year to where they're at now, they've improved.
"They've got a long way to go, but you can see the improvement they've made. You just want to see if they're better at the end than they were at the beginning, and I think the majority of these guys are."
Tuesday's loss in the club's home finale, dropped the Power to 29-36 in the South Atlantic League's second half, and 64-69 overall.
The Power can finish with a .500 record if they win their final five games of the season at Delmarva, beginning Thursday.
The 3,150 fans looked on Tuesday at Appalachian Power Park, which increased the club's home season attendance to 165,996, for an average attendance of 2,554 in 65 home games.
That average attendance level dropped for the fourth consecutive season, down from 172,344 fans a year ago.
Still, the players enjoyed their time in the Capital City.
"I loved it here," said shortstop Drew Maggi, a 15th-round pick in the 2010 draft. "The team here was great and the fans here were great. I had a lot of fun this year. I met some great people and great fans."
Maggi also enjoyed his time off the field.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia Power started and finished its home schedule with losses this season.
But in between, the Pittsburgh Pirates farmhands made some strides in their climb through the organization's minor league system.
Pirates roving instructor Gary Green, who managed the Power the last two seasons, liked the improvement he saw.
"They had a younger group here than we had in the past," said Green, following the Power's 4-2 loss to the Lexington Legends Tuesday evening. "I think if you watched them from the beginning of the year to where they're at now, they've improved.
"They've got a long way to go, but you can see the improvement they've made. You just want to see if they're better at the end than they were at the beginning, and I think the majority of these guys are."
Tuesday's loss in the club's home finale, dropped the Power to 29-36 in the South Atlantic League's second half, and 64-69 overall.
The Power can finish with a .500 record if they win their final five games of the season at Delmarva, beginning Thursday.
The 3,150 fans looked on Tuesday at Appalachian Power Park, which increased the club's home season attendance to 165,996, for an average attendance of 2,554 in 65 home games.
That average attendance level dropped for the fourth consecutive season, down from 172,344 fans a year ago.
Still, the players enjoyed their time in the Capital City.
"I loved it here," said shortstop Drew Maggi, a 15th-round pick in the 2010 draft. "The team here was great and the fans here were great. I had a lot of fun this year. I met some great people and great fans."
Maggi also enjoyed his time off the field.
"I did a community service session today in a classroom with a bunch of kids that loved the Power," Maggi said.
"The teacher loved it too, so it was great. This is a smaller town that I'm used to, but I liked it because it's all about one thing and the fans are into it."
Maggi, along with second baseman Kevin Mort, had RBI doubles in the fifth inning to account for both of the Power's runs.
Like Green, Power Manager Gary Robinson also saw improvement during the season.
"I loved the town, I loved the fans and I really loved my ball club," Robinson said. "This is a special group and people got to watch some guys play that are going to be playing in the Big Leagues.
"Our guys learned to deal with adversity while they were here. There were many times this year when they could have just shut it down, but they never did.
"It's been a good clubhouse. I can't tell you that we haven't had our skirmishes, but it's healthy as long as you resolve conflict.
"I've seen a lot of growth. Heck, I grew myself, so I can't wait for the next season to start."
Lexington started the scoring in the first inning Tuesday, with a pair of runs off of Power starter Porfirio Lopez.
Maggi and Mort knotted the score in the fifth inning, before the Legends regained the lead in the seventh, with a pair of runs off of reliever Brooks Pounders (5-5).
Lexington's Alex Sogard (2-4) picked up the win in relief, while Jorge DeLeon tossed a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 15th save.
