GRANVILLE, W.Va. – The West Virginia Black Bears dropped the first game of the three-game series to the Williamsport Crosscutters 7-6 at Kendrick Family Ballpark on Sunday evening. The Crosscutters took an early lead, and despite a rally, the Bears could not overcome the deficit.
Williamsport struck first with two runs in the first frame off starting pitcher Jacob Weaver. Two singles and an error on shortstop Jordan Peyton loaded the bases for former Black Bear DeMarckus Smiley. The designated hitter sent a ball flying into right field for an RBI ground-rule double, scoring Jackson Mayo and Marcus Brodil for the 2-0 lead.
The Black Bears responded with a run in the home half of the inning. With two outs on the board, Jace Rinehart sent a sharp line drive into right field for his sixth double of the season. A single from Judah Morris drove in Rinehart to cut the lead to one.
Weaver struggled to hold the Williamsport batters at bay in the second, giving up four runs on five hits. Joey Parliment doubled to drive in former Bradenton Marauder Braylon Bishop for a two-run lead. Parliment scored on a throwing error by catcher Jake Berg, and an extra-base hit from Mayo scored Vantrel Reed to go ahead by four. TJ Racherbaumer added an insurance run to put the Cutters up 6-1.
But the starter recovered, holding the Williamsport lineup to two hits through the remaining four innings. Weaver retired the side in order in the sixth to end his outing, finishing with four earned runs on 10 hits.
With the Crosscutters’ bats neutralized, the Bears hacked away at their lead with two runs in the bottom of the third. Cutters starting pitcher Josh Leerssen struck lead-off hitter Rinehart on the wrist, before walking Morris and giving up a single to right fielder Alex Ungar to load the bases. The walk of David Coppedge brought home Rinehart, and a groundout from JT Carter advanced the runners to cut the Crosscutters’ lead in half.
Four scoreless innings later, Williamsport pulled ahead by four with a triple from Bishop that scored Smiley in the eighth. Reliever Joe Steeber pulled together two straight outs to end the Cutters’ threat.
West Virginia continued battling back with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Berg scored Ungar with an RBI single that moved Coppedge within 90 feet of home. The next at-bat, third baseman Landon Frei cut the Williamsport lead back to two with a sacrifice fly that scored Coppedge.
Right-handed reliever Wes Burton entered in the ninth for Steeber. Burton made quick work of the heart of the Cutters’ order to send the Bears back to the plate. After Drew Collins picked up his fourth triple of the year, Rinehart drove him home to bring the Bears within one run. Unfortunately, West Virginia could not capitalize, ending the game with three straight outs for the game one loss.
Despite the loss, Jace Rinehart continued to show his dominance at the plate with two hits in four at-bats. The West Virginian recorded a double, two runs, an RBI and a stolen base, bringing his batting average to .421 for the month of August with a 1.021 OPS.
The Black Bears hold a 6.5 game lead on the second-place Frederick Keys heading into the last 10 days of the season, still working toward a title shot against the State College Spikes on September 4. West Virginia returns for game two against Williamsport on Monday evening at 6:00 p.m.
