GRANVILLE, W.Va. – The West Virginia Black Bears shut out the Mahoning Valley Scrappers 7-0 to take the series in one of their most complete performances of the season. After Tuesday’s long game, the Black Bears pulled out Wednesday night’s win at Kendrick Family Ballpark with striking efficiency, facing the minimum number of batters in six innings.
Failing to jumpstart the offense in the first two innings, West Virginia finally found a spark in the third to take a two-run lead. Catcher Dayne Leonard led off with a base hit, advancing to second on a single from Connor McGuire the next at-bat. T.J. Williams moved the runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, setting up Kasten Furr for an RBI groundout that scored Leonard. With McGuire on third, a base hit from J.T. Marr brought him home for the second run. Scrappers’ starting pitcher Brayan Villar pulled together a strikeout to end the inning, entering the fourth down 2-0.
In his 11th start of the season, Christian Womble settled into an early rhythm, retiring the side in order in four of the first five innings. Though he allowed a hit in the second, the HBCU All-Star pitcher erased the Scrappers’ progress with a strikeout to end the frame.
The Black Bears got hot in the bottom of the fifth, scoring four runs to go ahead by six. Villar struck McGuire with a sinker to send him to first before a catcher interference call on Drey Dirksen put Furr on base. On the sixth offering from the Scrappers’ starter, Marr lined a ball to right field for an RBI double, scoring McGuire and Furr. Jack O’Dowd continued to move the offense along with a groundout to first that sent Marr to third. Trace Willhoite picked up his ninth double of the season, bringing home Marr in the process for the fifth run. A mound visit ensued as Villar struggled to stop the Black Bears’ advance, but to no avail as Jeff Liquori got under a ball that bounced over the wall for an RBI ground-rule double. The Mahoning Valley defense ended the inning on a play at home, but not before West Virginia took a commanding six-run lead.
Womble and the defense made quick work of the Scrappers’ lineup in the sixth, ending the top half of the inning with a 5-4-3 double play.
After two scoreless innings for both teams, the Black Bears pulled away for good with a run in the eighth. A sharp line drive to left field put Vergara on second before Leonard drove him home, recording his first RBI of the game.
Conner Mackay took the mound for reliever Jackson Kirkpatrick to close the game. Any hope for a Scrappers’ rally was quickly extinguished as the righty from Dallas Baptist University struck out the side to give the Bears the 7-0 win.
Starter Christian Womble got his first win in a standout seven-inning performance on Wednesday evening. The right-handed pitcher from Jackson State recorded seven scoreless innings with precision, dealing 67 strikes out of 99 pitches with six strikeouts. The Black Bears’ bullpen totaled 10 strikeouts in the shutout, with Connor Mackay notching three in his closing frame.
J.T. Marr shined in the win with two hits in his four at-bats. Marr drove in three of West Virginia’s seven runs – including two on his RBI double in the fifth – and scored one on Trace Willhoite’s double the same inning. Connor McGuire went one-for-one at the plate with two runs scored.
The Black Bears return for the series finale against the Scrappers on the last Thirsty Thursday™ game of the season at Kendrick Family Ballpark. First pitch for Thursday’s game is set for 6:30 p.m.
