The fireworks show started early Friday night at Appalachian Power Park.

Tony Sanchez, the Pittsburgh Pirates' first-round draft pick last month, hit his first professional home run and the West Virginia Power blasted three in the first five innings in a 15-5 victory over the Delmarva (Md.) Shorebirds.

A paid crowd of 7,632, a season-high for the second night in a row, attended the South Atlantic League Northern Division matchup. The fans were treated to fireworks after the game.

Sanchez, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound catcher, stroked a two-out, three-run homer just right of the scoreboard that broke open the game and handed the Power a 10-3 edge in the bottom of the third inning. He finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, the homer and five RBIs.

"It's really good to get the first one out of the way,'' said the former Boston College standout of his round-tripper. "It's definitely the toughest.

"I'm going to keep my approach and try to stay away from thinking about it. Once you start thinking about it, then they'll never come.''

Things heated up even more when Delmarva had two relief pitchers and its manager ejected by home plate umpire Jay Pierce.  

Shorebirds reliever Brent Allar was tossed after hitting a third Power player in the bottom of the fourth. Two West Virginia batters were plunked after homers. Shorebirds manager Orlando Gomez shortly followed Allar to the showers after walking by home plate and kicking dirt over it.

Shorebirds reliever Shane Mathews was tossed in the bottom of the fifth for arguing balls and strikes. Power third baseman Jeremy Farrell was ejected in the sixth after returning to the dugout arguing a check-swing call.

The fireworks show started early Friday night at Appalachian Power Park.

Tony Sanchez, the Pittsburgh Pirates' first-round draft pick last month, hit his first professional home run and the West Virginia Power blasted three in the first five innings in a 15-5 victory over the Delmarva (Md.) Shorebirds.

A paid crowd of 7,632, a season-high for the second night in a row, attended the South Atlantic League Northern Division matchup. The fans were treated to fireworks after the game.

Sanchez, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound catcher, stroked a two-out, three-run homer just right of the scoreboard that broke open the game and handed the Power a 10-3 edge in the bottom of the third inning. He finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, the homer and five RBIs.

"It's really good to get the first one out of the way,'' said the former Boston College standout of his round-tripper. "It's definitely the toughest.

"I'm going to keep my approach and try to stay away from thinking about it. Once you start thinking about it, then they'll never come.''

Things heated up even more when Delmarva had two relief pitchers and its manager ejected by home plate umpire Jay Pierce.  

Shorebirds reliever Brent Allar was tossed after hitting a third Power player in the bottom of the fourth. Two West Virginia batters were plunked after homers. Shorebirds manager Orlando Gomez shortly followed Allar to the showers after walking by home plate and kicking dirt over it.

Shorebirds reliever Shane Mathews was tossed in the bottom of the fifth for arguing balls and strikes. Power third baseman Jeremy Farrell was ejected in the sixth after returning to the dugout arguing a check-swing call.

The Power (11-4), which remained in first place in the Northern Division after Friday's victory, has won eight of its last 11.

"Every night, there's people here cheering us on and they're into the game and that keeps us into the game,'' Sanchez said. "I love playing here. It's a great place to play.

"We've got great hitters all through the lineup. One through nine, you've got to challenge to get us out, and you've got to work for it.''

After the Power grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, the Shorebirds came right back with three in the top of the second to take a 3-2 edge. 

Power left fielder Robbie Grossman, who had no homers and was hitting .172 in his last 10 games, belted a two-out, two-run round-tripper that bounced across the street into the Kyle Furniture building to regain the lead for good at 5-2 in the bottom of the second.

West Virginia first baseman Calvin Anderson's two-run round-tripper highlighted a five-run fifth and handed the team its biggest advantage at 15-3 in the fifth.

Power points

The Power will play host to the Shorebirds at 7:05 tonight in the finale of the four-game series. West Virginia is off Sunday before embarking on an eight-game road trip. ... Jason Rader, a former standout football and basketball player at St. Albans High, signed autographs during the game. Rader, who is on the Atlanta Falcons roster, will hold football camps at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. today at Crawford Field. ... The Power wore purple jerseys for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness and auctioned those off after the game. ... The Shorebirds used seven pitchers.

Reach Tommy R. Atkinson at tatkin...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-4811.