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NYPL West Virginia Black Bears

Dynamic Offense Powers West Virginia's Sweep of Scrappers

August 7, 2019 - New York-Penn League (NYPL)
West Virginia Black Bears News Release


NILES, Ohio - As several days of unpredictable weather rolled into Northeast Ohio, the Black Bears took advantage of a rain-shortened series to sweep the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in two games. Though the second game of the series was postponed due to weather, the teams will make up the date back at Eastwood Field on August 31.

Game 1

West Virginia looked to bounce back after the last loss on the road at Hudson Valley. In a game powered by strong pitching and dynamic hitting, the Black Bears beat the Scrappers 5-2 at Mahoning Valley.

After two games of slow offensive starts, the Black Bears came out hot against the Scrappers. In the top of the second inning, CF Brett Kinneman doubled on a sharp ground ball to right field that scored C Kyle Wilkie and 2B Cory Wood. Kinneman, who struggled in mid-July, found his swing during the series against Staten Island and has recorded a hit in each of his last four games played.

The Scrappers answered in the bottom of the second with a run driven in off a double to Kinneman to cut the lead 2-1.

However, from the third inning on, it would be all Black Bears as they continued to drive up the score. A single from Wilkie scored RF Blake Sabol and LF Matt Gorski and gave the Black Bears a three-run lead. A force out off a ground ball hit by Wood scored DH Matt Fraizer to bring the score to 5-1 going into the home half of the third inning.

While Mahoning Valley attempted a comeback in the bottom of the fourth with a run driven in by Raynel Delgado, West Virginia held off the advancing offense to keep the Scrappers at bay 5-2.

RHP Braxton Ashcraft (1-7) had one of his best starts of the season as he gave up only two runs over five innings pitched with three strikeouts. Ashcraft, the Pirates second round pick of the 2018 MLB Draft, recorded his first win of the season with the win over the Scrappers. RHP Jacob Webb was credited with the save. Webb threw a hitless ninth inning to cap the Black Bears dominant performance over the Scrappers.

Game 2

A downpour in Mahoning Valley forced a postponed game on Tuesday, and West Virginia entered the second game looking to sweep the series. After ten high-octane offensive innings, the Black Bears completed the two-game sweep of the Scrappers in extras by a score of 11-9.

Though both teams failed to score through the second inning, Mahoning Valley struck first in the bottom of the third with an RBI single that broke through the defense and rolled into right field.

In the top of the fourth, West Virginia's offense exploded. The onslaught began with the top of the order when lead-off hitter 2B Cory Wood drove a hard, line drive to center field to make it to second base. After stealing third, Wood was driven home on a single by DH Blake Sabol. Sabol then scored on a throwing error to give the Black Bears a 2-1 lead.

CF Matt Gorski continued to drive up the score when he tripled on a fly ball to center field that brought home C Kyle Wilkie. Gorski scored on another Scrappers' error that put RF Matt Fraizer on first with two outs. A triple driven to the right field wall by 3B Dean Lockery brought in Fraizer and 1B Brendt Citta to put the Bears up 6-1 going into the fifth inning. Lockery's triple would be the second of the inning as the Black Bears scored six runs on four hits.

The Scrappers responded in the bottom of the fifth with two runs off RHP Alec Rennard. The Bears retaliated the next inning with three consecutive base hits and a series of RBI singles that extended the lead 9-3. In total, nine Black Bears went to bat during the productive three-run inning.

But Mahoning Valley scrapped back and scored an additional three runs in the seventh and eighth innings to bring the score to 9-6. RHP Cameron Junker (4-0), the sixth Black Bears pitcher to take the mound that evening, came into the game with bases loaded. Junker allowed three more runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game 9-9.

Heading into extras, the Black Bears began the top of the 10th inning with two runs off Citta and Wood to take an 11-9 lead. Then, after four hours of dramatic play and over 20 total runs scored, Junker closed the game with three strikeouts to give the Black Bears the win after 10 innings.

In his fifth start of the season, RHP Grant Ford continued his stellar rookie campaign as he pitched two scoreless innings for West Virginia and allowed only one run through four innings. Since joining the team, Ford has given up a paltry eight runs over 24.2 innings to give him the lowest ERA on the team (3.05) for a starting pitcher with at least three starts.

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West Virginia returns home to play a doubleheader on Thursday, August 8, to make up for a rain out at Williamsport on July 6. The first seven-inning game of the doubleheader begins at 6:35 p.m., with 30 minutes between each game. Fans will also enjoy the Kevin Kramer bobblehead giveaway presented by Mylan. The first 1,000 fans through the gate will receive a bobblehead of former Black Bear and 2015 second round MLB Draft pick, Kevin Kramer.

For more information on games and promotions, visit www.westvirginiablackbears.com.

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