NYPL West Virginia Black Bears

Doubledays Take Two from Black Bears

August 2, 2018 - New York-Penn League (NYPL)
West Virginia Black Bears News Release


GAME ONE

Granville, W. Va. - - Kicking off a three-game series, the West Virginia Black Bears were defeated by the Auburn Doubledays 9-2.

West Virginia opened its six-game road trip in Auburn, coming off of a six-game home stand where the team went 2-4 at Monongalia County Ballpark.

The Doubledays struck first in the bottom of the first inning. A pair of doubles brought three runs around to score, giving the home team an early lead.

Then in the bottom of the fourth, Auburn got its fourth run on a solo homer to left field. After an RBI triple gave the Doubledays insurance in the seventh inning, the Black Bears faced a 5-0 deficit.

West Virginia got two runs back in the top of the eighth inning thanks to RF Brett Kinneman. The team's RBI leader blasted a two-run single into right field, cutting the deficit to just three runs.

LF Paul Brands went 4-4 while scoring one run in his first game in over a week.

Auburn was quick to respond in the bottom of the inning, pouring in four runs of its own. A double, a single, and a balk brought the score to 9-2 heading into the final inning.

After a scoreless top of the ninth, the Doubledays took the win as the Black Bears looked to game two.

GAME TWO

In the second game of the series, The West Virginia Black Bears fell to the Auburn Doubledays 4-2.

The loss was the Black Bears' third straight defeat, as the team combined for only five runs in those three games.

Auburn once again jumped out to an early lead, scoring in the third inning on a single and a double to put the score at 3-0.

Then in the top of the fifth, West Virginia responded. With a runner on first, CF Travis Swaggerty crushed his team-high fourth home run of the season, cutting the deficit to just one run.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Doubledays extended their lead. Auburn laid down a sacrifice bunt with runners on the corners to bring a runner across home plate, putting the home team's lead at 4-2.

A pair of Black Bears relievers kept their team in the game late. P John Pomeroy came on in the seventh to pitch a scoreless frame, followed up by P Cam Alldred, who retired the Doubledays in order to hold the deficit at just two runs.

Unfortunately, the West Virginia bats went cold in the last two innings. After picking up eight hits in the game, Auburn shut down the visitors to secure the win and take a 2-0 lead in the series.

GAME THREE

The West Virginia Black Bears got back in the win column on Wednesday night, coming back to defeat the Auburn Doubledays 5-4.

The victory snapped West Virginia's three game losing streak, as the team scored four runs in the final two innings to complete the comeback.

For the third game in a row, Auburn jumped out to an early lead. A pair of RBI singles gave the home team an early two-run advantage after three innings.

SS Zack Kone responded for the Black Bears with an RBI single, bringing a runner home from third base to cut the lead in half in the top of the fourth.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Doubledays countered quickly with an RBI double to take a two-run lead.

Then in the seventh inning, Auburn scored again. A line-drive single brought another run in to score, bolstering the home team's lead to 4-1.

Needing to mount a comeback, West Virginia got things rolling in the eighth inning. 3B Mike Gretler hit a towering sac-fly to score one run, but a fielding error on the play brought another runner across home plate.

After another sacrifice fly in the inning from C Jin-De Jhang, the Black Bears tied the game at 4-4.

P Cody Smith came out in the bottom of the eighth to shut down Auburn. The righty struck out two batters in the frame to bring the game to its final inning.

Then in the top of the ninth, West Virginia took the lead. With 1B Luke Mangieri in scoring position, LF Daniel Amaral drove an RBI single into the outfield to give his team a 5-4 lead.

To seal the victory, the Black Bears called on P Logan Stoelke to get the save. The righty came through for his fourth save of the season, striking out the side to lock up West Virginia's seventeenth win of 2018.

The Black Bears continue their road trip with a three-game series against the Williamsport Crosscutters. First pitch for game one is scheduled for tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m.

Check out the West Virginia Black Bears Statistics



New York-Penn League Stories from August 2, 2018


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