GRANVILLE, W. Va. – The West Virginia Black Bears held off a late push from the Aberdeen IronBirds to earn a 4-3 victory on Thursday night at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
Aberdeen struck first in the opening inning when outfielder Bishop Quarles drew a walk, stole second and later scored on an RBI double from JT Taylor to take an early 1-0 lead.
The Black Bears threatened in the third after Dylan Schlaegel singled and Marcus Bradshaw worked a walk, but the IronBirds turned an inning-ending double play to preserve their advantage.
West Virginia broke through in the bottom of the fifth. Schlaegel was hit by a pitch and Bradshaw drew a walk to set the bases before Kahanu Martinez launched a three-run home run to left-center field, giving the Black Bears a 3-1 lead.
The Black Bears added an important insurance run in the eighth inning. Martinez reached on a walk before right-handed batter Owen Henne singled to put two runners aboard. Walker Barron followed with a ground-rule double down the left-field line, scoring Martinez and extending West Virginia's lead to 4-1.
The IronBirds made things interesting in the ninth inning. Hollis Porter doubled to begin the rally before Elijah Coston walked and Brian Heckelman singled to load the bases. Outfielder Nelson Zapata lined a two-run single to left field to cut the deficit to 4-3, bringing the tying run to third base with two outs.
Jake Kramer entered in relief and struck out Bishop Quarles swinging to end the game, sealing the Black Bears' 4-3 victory.
Kahanu Martinez took top honors for his fifth-inning home run that put the Bears up 3-1. The three-run shot was the first for Martinez and gave West Virginia its second lead of the series. Starting pitcher Victor Christal held the IronBirds off the bags with six strikeouts through 3.0 innings pitched. The JUCO World Series champion allowed one run on two hits with two walks in his first start of the season.
With the win, West Virginia improves to 6-9 on the season, 6.5 games behind the first-place Trenton Thunder in the MLB Draft League standings. The Black Bears return to Kendrick Family Ballpark for a weekend set against Team Mexico as part of the league’s International Series. First pitch for Friday’s Lou Gehrig Day presented by WVU Medicine Home Medical Equipment is set for 7:00 p.m. with post-game fireworks to start once both teams clear the field.
