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MLBDL West Virginia Black Bears

High-Scoring Affair Ends in 13-9 West Virginia Win Over State College

July 11, 2023 - Major League Baseball Draft League (MLBDL)
West Virginia Black Bears News Release


GRANVILLE, W.Va. - The West Virginia Black Bears defeated the State College Spikes, 13-9, at Monongalia County Ballpark on Tuesday evening. The Black Bears' offense carried the team to victory, with the team batting 0.457 on the night and recording 16 hits.

Brooks Garrett started the game on the mound for the Black Bears. The right-handed pitcher from Fort Worth, Texas, allowed one hit in the first, but kept the Spikes scoreless after getting himself into a jam.

The Black Bears' offense got off to a good start in the bottom of the first. Tyner Hughes's sacrifice fly drove in Ridley to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.

Reliever Jarrett Miller replaced Garrett in the top of the second after he suffered an injury in the first. A wild pitch from Miller allowed Spikes' infielder Braedon Blackford to score from first to tie the game at one run.

West Virginia extended its lead in the bottom of the third. Back-to-back doubles from Anthony Hansen and Bobby Lada, aided by a wild pitch, extended the Black Bears' lead to 5-1. With two outs on the board and two runners in scoring position, Spikes' pitcher Louis Davenport was replaced by Xander Lovin. Cam Ridley popped one to first baseman and 2022 Black Bear, Logan Mathieu to end the inning.

Six more Black Bears' runs followed in the bottom of the fourth off five consecutive base hits. Lada began the scoring run with a hard-hit triple to center field that scored Ben McClain. Cooper singled to bring home Lada before Manny Vorhees sent him across the threshold on another triple. The next at-bat, Harold Torres singled to right field to score Vorhees for a nine-run lead. Cam Ridley nabbed an RBI with a sacrifice fly that scored Torres, and the Bears ended the inning ahead 11-1.

Shandon Herrera took the mound for Miller to start the fifth. In his third year with the team, Herrera managed to secure two outs before the Spikes got on the board again on an RBI double from Harden.

But the Bears got the run back and then some in the bottom of the fifth after a two-RBI single from Vorhees drove in Tyner Hughes and Hansen for a 13-2 lead.

The Spikes dug into the Black Bears' lead in the top of the seventh with seven runs. Two solo home runs from Blackford and Ryan Guardino gave State College a breath of life with no outs. A single from Harden and two doubles from Carlos Contreras and Kelvin Smith, respectively, cut the West Virginia lead to five. With one out, Herrera was called back to the bullpen and replaced by Carson Lambert. One run came in on a Blackford single before Lambert struck out the final two batters to keep the Black Bears ahead by four runs.

Despite West Virginia giving up an 11-run lead in the seventh, Lambert closed out the game for the Bears. The California native retired the side in the eighth and struck out two in the top of the ninth to secure the 13-9 win.

West Virginia began its second-half home schedule with a dominant offensive performance. Led by Manny Vorhees and Bobby Lada, the Bears drove in 13 runs on 15 hits, striking out just six times. Vorhees went a perfect four-for-four at the dish with one run and three RBI, including a triple that brought home Cooper in the fourth inning. Lada, from William Carey University, tallied three hits in five at-bats with two runs and four RBI.

On the mound, Jarrett Miller secured the win for West Virginia in his three innings of work as he allowed just one run on one hit with three strikeouts. Carson Lambert closed the game for the Bears with 2.2 innings pitched and six strikeouts.

The Black Bears face off against the Spikes for game two on Wednesday night at Monongalia County Ballpark. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. For more information, please visit www.WestVirginiaBlackBears.com.

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