Walking into Appalachian Power Park on Wednesday evening, no one knew.
Not the man working midnight shift who was waiting on the gates to open. Not the kids from Central Elementary in St. Albans that visited. Not even the Toast Man.
No one knew if it would be the last chance at hot dogs, nachos, beverages and America's pastime at the APP this season. No one knew if it would be a last chance at checking out the West Virginia Power this season. The team is in the division playoffs. It won Wednesday night, 4-2 over the Hickory Crawdads. Now it needs to win one of two games to get to the championship series. The problem: Games 2 and 3 of this round are in Hickory, North Carolina.
This season, 160,429 attended the team's regular-season games for an average of 2,468. Not great. In fact, it was 10th in the 14-team South Atlantic League.
Still, the Power represents family summer fun in Charleston, and a very fun season for the club resulted in the fourth appearance in the postseason. West Virginia made it in 2013 and advanced to the SAL Championship Series both in 2007 and '08.
It all had Power pitching coach Mark DiFelice smiling on Wednesday, especially over the team chemistry.
"It's been fun," he said. "We didn't only win, we established a culture of friendships. I played minor league ball and I still reach out to my former teammates."
Don't underestimate a close team, he said.
"I remember the Boston Red Sox that won the World Series," he said. "They weren't the most talented, but in the locker room you couldn't beat them. They jelled together."
Wednesday night, the Power did. A surprising two-run homer from Taylor Gushue in the fifth inning and a leaping stab in the rain by Tyler Filliben in the ninth pushed the hosts to the win.
On the field, though, the Power won in a different way this season. It's different than at the low-Class A level. It's different than at any professional baseball level.
It's just so, well, anti-Matt Harvey. In case you've missed it, the New York Mets have talked about capping the ace's innings count to save wear and tear on his arm. His agent, Scott Boras, has suggested Harvey shouldn't go past 180 innings. He was over 166 with the playoffs looming.
The Power hasn't reached that point with their pitchers. But Wednesday's starter, Austin Coley, entered with over 147 innings pitched this year. Scheduled Game 2 starter Stephen Tarpley has 116. Scheduled Game 3 starter Yeudy Garcia has over 124.
In sum, Power manager Brian Esposito and DiFelice have identified five horses this season and ridden them. Coley and Alex McRae started 27 games. Colten Brewer started 22. Garcia and Tarpley started 21 and 20, respectively.
"Ever since the middle of May we've gone with those five guys," DiFelice said. "It's been great not only for their routine, but for defining the roles of the other pitchers."
He said there have been different strokes for the different folks. Coley and McRae, DiFelice said, have been in the rotation most of the way. Tarpley came along. Then there was Brewer.
"He was an interesting case," DiFelice said. "He hadn't thrown more than 30 innings. We decided to go off how he felt. He showed he's an able starter."
John Sever, who had nine starts early in the year, is the only one within shouting distance. After that, one has to drop to Dovydas Neverauskas' five starts.
"These five guys have been great all year," DiFelice said. "There was maybe a little fatigue in July, but they actually seemed stronger in August and September."
So call it old-school thinking. The five main starters weren't babied. They learned how to pitch. Meanwhile, the Power hit. And hit. The team was tied with Lexington as the Sally League's top hitting teams, averaging .269.
DiFelice suggests, however, West Virginia was alone at the top in team chemistry.
"Honestly, it's been great to watch these kids grow on and off the field," said the pitching coach. "The [parent club] Pittsburgh Pirates have a program to grow the baseball player, but the person as well. They all love baseball, but are young. We teach integrity. Watching them grow that way has been the best thing for me."
DiFelice, in fact, said the Power staff met earlier Wednesday. The coaches talked about the players' growth. And they talked about how fortunate they were to have West Virginia in the playoffs.
The fans in the stands didn't know, however, if it would be the Power's last APP appearance this season. They didn't know if it was the last "You are toast!" when Jairo Beras struck out in the ninth. And DiFelice said, hey, you never know if you'll see the postseason again.
"I've been in pro baseball for 17 years as a player and coach," he said. "I've been in one playoff on the independent level. I was in one on the minor league level. And I was in one as a player with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008.
"This is just my fourth."
Most in the stands Wednesday hope this one won't be his last. And that this playoff run will last - into late September.