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NYPL West Virginia Black Bears

Moonshiners Offense Explodes in Game Two Win

July 24, 2019 - New York-Penn League (NYPL)
West Virginia Black Bears News Release


GRANVILLE, WV - Rebounding from a loss the first game of the series, the West Virginia Moonshiners battled back on Wednesday evening to defeat the Batavia Muckdogs 8-2 at Monongalia County Ballpark.

The Moonshiners poured in 15 hits on the night, compared to four for the visiting Muckdogs. The victory evens the series at one game apiece and puts West Virginia three games back of first place in the Pinckney Division.

"I think it comes down to our decision making," said West Virginia Manager Drew Saylor. "When the ball was there, we put good swings on it and hit the ball hard. We were really good from top to bottom."

The home team wasted no time and plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. 3B Jared Triolo started things off with an RBI double, and C Kyle Wilkie drove him home on a single to center field to give his team a two-run lead.

RF Brendt Citta bolstered the lead in the second inning on a towering home run past the left field wall to give the Moonshiners a comfortable 3-0 lead.

To compliment a solid night at the plate, West Virginia RHP Noe Toribio gave his club an excellent outing. The starter threw five scoreless innings and allowed just one hit and one walk to go with three strikeouts.

In the bottom of the fifth, Citta continued his stellar night and cranked a triple to the right field wall to plate two more runners. Coupled with a wild pitch that brought another run across, West Virginia commanded a 6-0 lead over the Pinckney Division leaders.

Citta had his best game of the season and finished the day 3-for-3 with three RBIs and one walk.

"Baseball is a swing-and-go game," said Citta. "Once you get it, you feel good and things like that happen. I just felt good at the plate and it was one of those days, so I'm happy with it."

Batavia responded in the top of the sixth with a pair of solo home runs to narrow the lead, but West Virginia responded immediately in the bottom half. A pair of singles from Triolo and Wilkie brought three runs around to score and put the game at 8-2 with three innings left to play.

After the bullpen held the Muckdogs scoreless in the seventh and eighth, newcomer RHP Oliver Garcia closed out the game for the Moonshiners in the ninth inning with a scoreless frame to give his team its twentieth win of the season.

West Virginia squares off with Batavia in the rubber match tomorrow night at Monongalia County Ballpark, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. For information on tickets and promotions, visit www.westvirginiablackbears.com.

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