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MLBDL West Virginia Black Bears

West Virginia Beats Mahoning Valley 6-5 in a Tight Contest at the Mon

July 26, 2023 - Major League Baseball Draft League (MLBDL)
West Virginia Black Bears News Release


GRANVILLE, W.Va. - In a back-and-forth contest between West Virginia and Mahoning Valley, the Black Bears came away with a 6-5 victory at Monongalia County Ballpark on Wednesday evening. Anthony Hansen continued to dominate this series with three hits and one RBI, while Michael Cooper added to the series' home run total with one in the bottom of the first.

West Virginia scored early in the first inning. Michael Cooper put the Bears on the board with a home run that traveled 363 feet into the Scrappers' bullpen.

The next inning, Mahoning Valley evened the game with a solo shot from D'Aires Davis.

The Bears responded immediately the next half inning after Anthony Hansen singled and Tyner Hughes reached base via error. Andres Ugarte then loaded the bases on a single with Blaine McIntosh stepping up to the plate. On a sacrifice fly from McIntosh, Hansen scored to retake the lead. Heading into the third, West Virginia led by one run.

Anthony Arguelles got the start for West Virginia. Aside from the home run, Arguelles did not allow another hit in his two innings of work. Southpaw Dylan Taliaferro replaced him in his first appearance for West Virginia for this season.

Taliaferro ran into some trouble in the top of the fourth. After getting the first out, the next three batters loaded the bases. The Scrappers took back the lead with RBIs from Braylin Marine, Corey King and two on a double from Mason Sykes. The Black Bears ended the inning trailing 5-2.

West Virginia did not back down offensively in the bottom half of the fourth. After Hughes, Noah Lucier and Ugarte reached to load the bases, McIntosh cut the deficit to two with a fielder's choice groundout that brought home Hughes.

Shrinking the deficit even more, the Black Bears came within one in the bottom of the fifth when Hansen plated Bobby Lada on an RBI double. Ugarte then tied the game on with a single to score Hansen.

In his first appearance out of the bullpen, Brooks Garrett escaped two crucial jams in the sixth and seventh innings to keep the score even and give the team some momentum.

That momentum carried into the bottom of the seventh for the offense. West Virginia got runners on the corners with no outs thanks to a successful hit-and-run by Hughes and Hansen. The Bears captured the lead the next at-bat as Lucier scored Hansen on a single. After McIntosh was intentionally walked, Ben McClain grounded into a double play to end the inning. However, the Bears led 6-5.

Reliever Jarrett Miller escaped another jam without any runs surrendered in the eighth inning, and the Black Bears headed into the ninth with a one-run lead.

Looking for his sixth save of the season, Brady Choban escaped the inning with a strikeout and a groundout into a game-ending double play.

Clutch pitching and timely hitting led the way for West Virginia to scrape away a win. Brooks Garrett picked up his first win of the season in his 2.1 innings of work on the mound. He ended his appearance with four walks and four strikeouts.

It was another productive night for Anthony Hansen as he recorded three hits, three runs and one RBI. Putting the Bears up in the first inning, Michael Cooper got his first home run of the season while going two-for-four at the dish.

With the win, West Virginia takes game two of four from Mahoning Valley and looks to keep the streak alive again on Thursday evening. First pitch for game three is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

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