MLBDL West Virginia Black Bears

West Virginia Takes the Series at State College

June 13, 2021 - Major League Baseball Draft League (MLBDL)
West Virginia Black Bears News Release


STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The West Virginia Black Bears take the series against the State College Spikes with a 4-1 win on Sunday afternoon at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. After a win on Friday night, followed by a tough loss Saturday, the Black Bears leave State College with the series after the 4-1 victory on Sunday afternoon. West Virginia moves to third in the MLB Draft Standings with a 9-5-3 record.

Game 1: Friday, June 11

In Friday evening's matchup, the Black Bears' defense had a terrific night, allowing only two hits the entire game in the 4-0 win over the Spikes. West Virginia took the lead early when a single from 1B Tucker Mitchell scored 3B Kaeber Rog and 2B Eli Hammill. The Black Bears added to their lead in the fourth inning with a single from LF Ryan McCoy on a 2-1 count to score Hammill. In the seventh inning, a walk put McCoy on base before advancements on a wild pitch and a passed ball allowed him to successfully steal all the way home.

Pitching was the star of the evening, as the Black Bears bullpen combined for a shutout. Starting RHP J.P Massey exited in the fourth with only one hit from the Spikes dugout in his three innings pitched. Reliever RHP Luke Summers added to the scoreless streak in his three innings pitched as he also allowed only one hit. In his second outing for the Black Bears, RHP Madison Jeffrey struck out all three batters in his one inning appearance.

Offensively, Rog had one of his best nights of the season as he went 4-for-4 with 1R and a double; while Mitchell recorded 2 RBI and on his single hit of the evening.

Game 2: Saturday, June 12

The Black Bears looked to repeat their Friday night performance in game two of the series, but the Spikes came out on top, 8-2, in the hard-fought battle on Saturday night.

With a score from the Spikes in the bottom of the first inning, the Black Bears knotted the game 1-1 in the second with a walk of LF McCoy with the bases loaded. However, in the bottom of the fifth, the Spikes escaped the tie and then some with six total runs scored off RHP John Czeslawski. Though West Virginia scored in the top of the sixth with a sacrifice fly to left field by Kaeber Rog, they failed to plate additional runners in the 8-2 loss.

In his Black Bears debut, starting P Cam Baumann threw for four innings while giving up one run in the first. The redshirt junior from Iowa recorded 4 SO and only 2 H in his first start for West Virginia.

Game 3: Sunday, June 13

Heading into the series finale, West Virginia took the rubber match with State College in a dominant 4-1 win at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

With a scoreless game until the 5th inning, West Virginia was able to break the tie with a sacrifice fly to left field from CF Garrett Spain which allowed SS Eli Hammill to dive home. In the eighth inning, LF Grant Hussey tripled, allowing pinch runner Amari Bartee to score. The hard-hit triple was the Parkersburg South High School standout's second of the season and brought the Bears up 2-0.

The Spikes aimed for a comeback in the bottom of the eighth with a homerun, but the Black Bears closed the door on a rally in the top of the ninth. A double from Spain put him in scoring position while driving home Hammill. After he advanced to third on an error at first, 2B Freylin Minyety singled to right field and allowed Spain to score the final run of the game. Minyety, who is batting .371 through nine games this season, went 3-for-4 Sunday afternoon.

The Black Bears return home with the series win to take on the Trenton Thunder for a three-game series, June 15-17. First pitch for all three games is scheduled for 6:35pm.

Tickets for the upcoming series with the Frederick Keys (June 22 - 24, June 29 - July 1) and State College (July 2 - July 3) at increased capacity go on sale Monday, June 15. For more information, please visit www.WestVirginiaBlackBears.com.

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