GRANVILLE, W.Va. - The West Virginia Black Bears secured their eighth straight win Friday night, defeating the Trenton Thunder 8-1 at Kendrick Family Ballpark. Jace Rinehart led the offense with his 3-3 performance at the plate, while Black Bears starter Jason Bollman fell one out short of a perfect game.
Starting pitcher Jason Bollman took the mound in his sixth start for the Black Bears. Bollman went three up, three down, through the first two innings with three strikeouts.
West Virginia went to work in the second, scoring three runs on two hits. Jace Rinehart got the team started with a single, and Kyle Ratliff followed with a walk. Evan Blum hit a sacrifice fly to score Rinehart, putting the Bears ahead 1-0. David Coppedge followed two pitches later with his second home run of the season, a two-run shot that put the Bears up by three.
As the Bears’ bats attempted to add to their lead, West Virginia’s starting pitcher continued to retire the Trenton lineup with ease. Bollman picked up two more strikeouts in the third and fourth innings before striking out the side in the fifth.
The Bears extended their lead with three more runs in the sixth. Rinehart started the rally once again with a single, and Will Rogers joined him on base after being struck by a pitch. Ratliff hit an RBI single to score Rinehart for a four-run lead. Evan Blum hit a two-RBI triple to left field to bring the score to 6-0.
West Virginia added two insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh. Thunder pitcher Miles Garrett loaded the bases after striking Jordan Peyton and Drew Collins with pitches before walking Alex Ungar. The Bears scored two after Rinehart and Rogers were both hit by pitches with the bases juiced.
Bollman entered the ninth inning with an unspoken buzz around the field as the former Oklahoma Sooner was three outs away from completing a perfect game. Bollman secured the first out on a groundout to Peyton and the second with his ninth strikeout of the game. Just one out away from perfection, Andres Vega hit a single on a 2-2 count to end his perfect bid. Tyler Collins’s RBI single helped the Thunder avoid the shutout as Vega came around to score. But the effort was far too little, too late, and the Bears ended the game with the 8-1 win.
The star of the game, Jason Bollman, pitched a phenomenal nine innings, giving up two hits, one run, and striking out nine batters. Bollman pitched his second complete game for the Black Bears this season (the first on July 23 against Williamsport), falling just one out shy of throwing the first perfect game in MLB Draft League history and the first no-hitter for the Black Bears.
Jace Rinehart completed his second game with a hit in every at-bat. After last night’s highly productive game, Rinehart went 3-for-3 with two runs and one RBI in Friday’s win. David Coppedge recorded his second home run of the season with a two-run bomb that came off the bat at 107 MPH, to give the Bears a 3-0 lead in the second.
With the win, the Bears (21-6) extend their streak to eight games, tying their longest streak of the season, still atop the Draft League standings. The Black Bears return to Kendrick Family Ballpark on Saturday for Margaritaville Night presented by Courtyard by Marriott Morgantown and the second game of the three-game series against the Thunder. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m. with fireworks sponsored by Burke & Herbert Bank scheduled post-game.
