GRANVILLE, W.Va. – The West Virginia Black Bears lost to the Mahoning Valley Scrappers 11-9 at Kendrick Family Ballpark in the final game of the 2024 MLB Draft League season. With the loss, the Black Bears dropped out of post-season contention with the Trenton Thunder earning a spot in Thursday’s title game.
Still aiming for a threepeat, the Black Bears jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. After starting pitcher Alex Brewer retired the Scrappers’ order the first two innings, Trace Willhoite led off the bottom of the second with a walk. Willhoite advanced to second on a Jeff Liquori single. Starter Grant Umberger picked up two strikeouts, but a wild pitch put both in scoring position. On the fourth pitch from Umberger, Ryan Grabosch brought them home on a ground ball that rolled into right field.
A scoreless third inning passed with Brewer and the Bears’ defense holding the Scrappers to one hit before picking up three outs.
But the Scrappers got both runs back in the fourth to tie the game. A lead-off single from Blake McRae followed by the walk of Chang-Yong Lee put two on with one out. Jake Tsukada scored McRae to cut the Bears’ lead to one. With runners on the corners, Tsukada took off for second for his 20th steal of the season. West Virginia got the second out on a ball popped up to center field by Drew Holderbach, but Lee tagged up to bring in the tying run.
West Virginia forged ahead with five runs in the bottom of the inning as seven Bears reached base. For the second time, Willhoite led off with a walk after being hit by Umberger. Liquori followed with a single that put Willhoite on third. With Bears on the corners, catcher Drey Dirksen walked to the mound to talk with his pitcher. A four-pitch walk put Ewell on base to load them in time for Connor McGuire to score Willhoite and Liquori for a 4-2 lead. Back-to-back singles from Grabosch and T.J. Williams juiced the bases again prompting a second mound visit. Once Umberger was set, Alex Vergara lined a ball deep to center field, scoring McGuire and Grabosch as Scrappers’ T.J. McKenzie fielded it at the wall. A third and final mound visit sent Umberger back to the bullpen as reliever Austin Mora took his place. Mora recorded the final two outs, but the damage was done as West Virginia took a 7-2 lead.
Not willing to end the season with a loss, Mahoning Valley scrapped back for six runs in the top of the sixth. A McRae single and a walk of Holmes put two on, but the bases were cleared soon after with Lee’s home run. Tsukada kept the offense flowing with a single, and Brewer hit Holderbach with a pitch to move Tsukada to second. A hit from McKenzie loaded the bases, sending manager David Carpenter out to the mound to take the game ball from Brewer.
Reliever Jackson Kirkpatrick entered the game in a jam, but quickly picked up two outs on a 4-6-3 double play. In the scramble, Tsukada trotted home to cut the deficit to one. The next at-bat, a double from Suzuki tied the game as Holderbach reached home. West Virginia secured the final out at second, but not before Suzuki scored the go-ahead run. Going into the home half, the Black Bears trailed 8-7.
The slugfest continued with two runs scored in the bottom of the inning. Vergara lined a ball to center for a single with Kasten Furr following with a walk. Jack O’Dowd gave the Bears the lead with a double that dropped in center field, scoring Vergara and Furr.
Mahoning Valley reclaimed the lead with two runs in the seventh off Conner Mackay. A double from Lee drove in McRae, who reached on a hard-hit ball fielded by Williams. After intentionally walking Holderbach, the Black Bears’ skipper made a call to the bullpen to send in Noah Manning. McKenzie drove in one more run to give the Scrappers a 10-9 lead before Manning closed the inning with a strikeout.
The Scrappers added a run in the top of the eighth. With the bases loaded once again, the walk of Tsukada brought in Suzuki to go up two.
With the season on the line, West Virginia fought to regain control of the game with a two-out rally in the final frame. Willhoite reached on a walk, racing to second on a single from Liquori. Pinch-hitter J.T. Marr stepped in for Kendal Ewell in the six spot and made it to first on another walk from closer Jonathan Martinez. Down to their last out with the bases loaded, McGuire grounded a ball back to the mound that was knocked down by Martinez. A quick throw to first ended the game and the season for the Black Bears.
West Virginia delivered 10 hits in Wednesday’s loss with Alex Vergara going two-for-five with one run and three RBI. Jeff Liquori recorded three hits in five plate appearances, and Ryan Grabosch posted two hits with a run and two RBI. Connor McGuire and Jack O’Dowd drove in two runs, each, with O’Dowd finishing second in the league for most RBI (40) behind Liquori (49).
The Bears finish the season with a 35-39 record, its first losing record since joining the MLB Draft League in 2021. The Black Bears ended the second half of the season 23-18, winning 15 of 23 games at home after July 17.
The MLB Draft League season concludes on Thursday evening with the championship game at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pa. The first-half champion Crosscutters will face the Trenton Thunder in the third MLB Draft League title game with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. Live streaming coverage of Thursday’s game can be found at www.mlbdraftleague.com.
