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MLBDL West Virginia Black Bears

Strong Pitching Anchors the West Virginia Sweep of State College

July 3, 2022 - Major League Baseball Draft League (MLBDL)
West Virginia Black Bears News Release


STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Another night of strong pitching performances powered the West Virginia Black Bears in an 11-1 win over the State College Spikes on Sunday evening, as the Bears completed the three-game sweep. Starting pitcher Max Alba led the Black Bears on the mound, while a full-team effort propelled West Virginia offensively.

Scoring began early and happened often for the Black Bears as 1B Hernandez broke the ice with an RBI single to center that scored Blaze Brothers to give West Virginia the 1-0 lead. The Spikes countered with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, as Keshawn Ogans ripped a ground-rule double that scored Lyndon Weaver and tied the game.

However, the Black Bears established their dominance quickly as they plated four runs in the top of the second inning. A pair of wild pitches from Spikes' pitcher Will Stevens scored the first two runs of the inning as LF Kyle Hess and C Cam Gurney made it home. The next at-bat, DH Sam Crail sent an RBI single to the shortstop to score Savier Pinales and give West Virginia a 4-1 lead. Crail later scored due to a throwing error on a pickoff attempt that brought the score to 5-1 heading into the bottom half of the inning.

The scoring continued into the third inning as more sloppy defense from State College allowed a sixth run to cross the plate. After 3B Gehrig Anglin stole second base, Spikes catcher Ben Columbus committed a throwing error that allowed RF Marek Chulp to score. The next inning, a double from Hernandez extended the West Virginia lead to six runs.

West Virginia's offensive assault continued deep into the game. In the sixth inning, an RBI single from Chlup brought home Brothers to give West Virginia an 8-1 lead. Then in the seventh, Anglin scored on yet another State College wild pitch, while CF Caeden Trankle tripled on a fly ball to center field that plated Pinales and gave the Bears a 10-1 lead. The scoring finally came to an end in the eighth inning when Hess launched a sacrifice fly to deep center that scored Chlup with the Black Bears' 11th run of the evening.

Powered by dominant pitching performances, the Black Bears held the Spikes from crossing home plate after the first inning. Starter Max Alba (0.69 ERA) notched his first win of the season with his five-inning appearance. The Wisconsin native shined on the mound, allowing just one run on three hits with six strikeouts.

The bullpen continued to anchor the Bears defense for the third consecutive night, as Brett Hansen, Ryan Velazquez and Will Schomberg followed Alba, respectively, combining for five strikeouts with only two hits the remaining four innings. Throughout the series, the Black Bears bullpen has been impenetrable, as they have held the Spikes to three total runs over the course of the three-game sweep.

The Black Bears improve to an even 13-13 (.500) while the Spikes fall to 10-16. West Virginia sits three games behind the first place Williamsport Crosscutters and are now tied for third place in the MLB Draft League. West Virginia returns home to Monongalia County Ballpark tomorrow evening for a three-game series against the Frederick Keys, beginning with the Independence Day celebration. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. with post-game fireworks to follow.




Major League Baseball Draft League Stories from July 3, 2022


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