STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The West Virginia Black Bears won the first game of the series against the State College Spikes at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Tuesday evening. In its second straight multi-home run game, West Virginia battered the State College pitchers with 14 hits in the 9-2 win.
Brenton Thiels got the start for the Bears in Happy Valley, leading off with two empty frames. A walk of Cameron Bufford and a single from Kyle Russell put two Spikes on in the bottom of the first, but Thiels picked up two strikeouts to strand both. Thiels began the second inning with a punch out before giving up a base hit to shortstop Parker Coddou. After stealing second, the shortstop’s efforts were erased as Thiels picked him off for the second out. Austin Baal popped out to Connor McGuire to end the inning.
After two quiet innings for the Bears, they roared ahead with five runs in the third. Right fielder Jeff Liquori led off the inning with a base hit off Spikes’ starter Nick Hohenstein. A hard-hit line drive for McGuire scored Liquori for an RBI double and the first run of the game. Hohenstein continued to struggle, hitting Kasten Furr with the second offering to put a runner in scoring position. J.T. Marr extended the inning with a single that brought in McGuire for a 2-0 lead before Jack O’Dowd cleared the bases with a three-run home run. State College quickly halted the West Virginia advance on a flyout to center field but not before the Bears took a five-run lead.
State College responded with a long ball in the bottom of the inning as Josh Spiegel got his third home run of the year, scoring Russell in the process. Heading into the fourth, the Spikes trailed 5-2.
Jack O’Dowd got a run back in the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Vergara for a 6-2 lead. Vergara recorded his first hit with a lead-off single, reaching third the next at-bat on a Furr ground ball deflected by Coddou. O’Dowd’s sac-fly plated Vergara before the Spikes sealed the inning on a fly ball caught in right field.
The runs kept coming for West Virginia as they scored two in the sixth. Brandon Bergert took the mound for Hohenstein to start the inning. A base hit for catcher Ryan Grabosch put two Bears on after the lead-off walk of Kendal Ewell. With two outs on the board, Vergara roped a line drive to right field, scoring Ewell. Bergert walked Furr to load the bases, prompting manager Tim Battle Jr. to replace Bergert after 0.2 innings. Right-handed pitcher Phillip Bryant walked in Grabosch to give the Black Bears a six-run lead before striking out O’Dowd to get out of the inning.
West Virginia’s bullpen stepped up with three scoreless frames to keep the lead intact. Sayer Diederich posted a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth while Will Carsten allowed one hit but no runs in the seventh. A.J. Stinson struck out one in the eighth as the Bears retired the side in order.
The nail in the coffin came in the top of the ninth as Trace Willhoite sent a deep ball straight up the middle for his sixth home run of the season. Noah Manning closed the game for the Bears, punching out two to seal the win.
West Virginia’s offense came through with nine runs on 14 hits in Tuesday night’s contest. Trace Willhoite led the Bears offense with his second home run in as many games. Willhoite, from Georgetown, Kentucky, sent a solo shot 418 feet for his sixth homer, going three-for-five at the plate. One of the most consistent hitters across the season, Jack O’Dowd continued to drive in runs for the Bears with four RBI – three coming off his home run in the third. With 69 hits and 37 RBI on the year, the former Texas Longhorn leads the league in hits and ranks second in RBI behind teammate Jeff Liquori (44).
The Bears’ bullpen stayed strong, allowing two runs off seven hits. Despite the efficiency, West Virginia totaled just seven strikeouts with starter Brenton Thiels striking out four. Thiels recorded his third win with a solid five-inning performance, giving up six hits and both State College runs.
West Virginia returns for the second game of the series against State College on Wednesday evening at Medlar Field. First pitch for the matchup is set for 6:35 p.m.
