NILES, OH – The West Virginia Black Bears dropped game three to the Mahoning Valley Scrappers at Eastwood Field on Saturday evening by a score of 7-1. Held to two hits, the Black Bears were unable to jumpstart their offense, while costly miscues at the plate allowed the Scrappers to win by six.
West Virginia got off to a good start in the first with a quick run to take a 1-0 lead. Lead-off hitter, CF Tré Hondras singled on a line drive to center field before stealing second to get into scoring position. A hard-hit ball by 3B Logan Kohler drove in Hondras for the first run of the game.
The Scrappers responded with a run the following inning. With a runner on second, a wild pitch by Black Bears’ starter Tyson Heaton allowed 1B Braden O’Shaughnessy to make the run to third. Mahoning scored on a single fielded by Hondras to even the game, 1-1.
Despite efforts to overcome the strength of the Mahoning Valley bullpen, the West Virginia offense stalled after the first inning. While the Scrappers racked up 13 strikeouts, the Bears’ offense went hitless through the remaining eight innings with a team batting average of .069 on the evening.
The Scrappers continued to pile on the Bears through the fifth and sixth innings with an additional five runs. In the bottom of the fifth, four consecutive walks and a wild pitch by RHP Ryan Degges allowed the Scrappers to take a three-run lead. Another pitching change by Black Bears’ manager David Carpenter sent Degges to the locker room and RHP Joe Metcalf to the mound. With two outs on the board, a single by SS JR Bedford followed by a Cole Conn double increased the lead to 6-1.
Game play stopped momentarily for injury when Black Bears’ catcher Ryan Grabosch and 1B Chase Becker collided in the bottom of the seventh. Though Grabosch remained in the game, Becker was replaced by Ross Mulhall after leaving the field on his own.
Mahoning Valley tacked on one more run in the bottom of the eighth to take a 7-1 lead. West Virginia, unable to generate any offensive power, went down in order to end the game.
A bright spot for the Bears, starting pitcher Tyson Heaton managed five strikeouts through three innings and accounted for half of the team total.
West Virginia looks to even the series against Mahoning Valley in the series finale on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 2:05 p.m.
