GRANVILLE, W.Va. – The West Virginia Black Bears defeated the State College Spikes in walk-off fashion at Kendrick Family Ballpark on Friday evening. After the Black Bears offense, led by Alex Ungar, took an early 4-0 lead, the Spikes tied it in the seventh. Jace Rinehart drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly to keep the Bears perfect at home (5-0) in the second half of the season.
Taking to the mound, Solomon Washington got his third start for the Bears. Washington retired the side with two strikeouts in the first after catcher Jake Berg caught lead-off runner Trotter Boston stealing second. Washington struck out two more in the second to keep the Spikes scoreless.
In the bottom of the inning, Landon Frei’s sacrifice fly scored Jace Rinehart for the first run of the game. West Virginia added to its lead in the third with a two-run home run smashed over the left centerfield wall by Alex Ungar. Heading into the fourth, the Bears led 3-0.
State College managed a base hit in the fourth on a line drive by Cole Caruso, but the Spikes left him stranded as Washington ended the inning with a punchout.
An aggressive display of baserunning from Ungar added to the West Virginia lead in the bottom of the fifth when the right fielder stole home to put the Bears up by four.
The Spikes fought their way back with a run in the sixth and three in the seventh. With Chenar Brown in scoring position, an RBI single from center fielder Adonis Forte brought home Brown to tie the game.
A scoreless eighth led into the final stand for the Bears as they headed into the bottom of the ninth with the heart of the lineup due at the plate. After Judah Morris was struck with a pitch, pinch-runner Alex Rodgers took first. Ungar continued his hot streak with a single that put runners on the corners. No stranger to handling pressure at Kendrick Family Ballpark, former Mountaineer Rinehart popped the ball into shallow center to Forte, giving Rodgers time to tag from third and beat the throw home. The Black Bears ended the game with a Gatorade bath and a 5-4 win.
Despite outhitting the Bears, West Virginia’s defense held the Spikes to four runs on nine hits. Solomon Washington, who pitched six innings for West Virginia – five scoreless – struck out nine while giving up just one run on one hit. Cameron LeJeune, the righty from Virginia Tech, recorded his second win, maintaining his 0.00 ERA through 8.2 innings pitched.
Alex Ungar, the reigning MLB Draft League “Hitter of the Week” made his argument for back-to-back honors with a stellar offensive performance. Ungar finished the game going 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. The New York native scored two runs, including stealing home, and now leads the league for most runs scored (16).
With the win, the Bears (10-4) tighten their grip on first place in the MLB Draft League standings, having won nine of their last 10 games. West Virginia returns to Kendrick Family Ballpark on Saturday for game two against the State College Spikes and Military Appreciation Day, presented by United Bank and Operation Welcome Home. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m.
