GRANVILLE, W.Va. – The West Virginia Black Bears suffered their first loss at home Friday night at Kendrick Family Ballpark. A late-game collapse on top of a freezing bat proved to be too much for the Black Bears as they ended their five-game win streak after losing to the Williamsport Crosscutters 2-1.
Starting pitcher and Texas commit Sam Cozart once again delivered a dominant performance on the mound for the Black Bears, pitching three innings and striking out six while allowing only three hits. Trystan Levesque took over in the fourth to relieve Cozart, making his debut for the Black Bears, pitching two innings and striking out two.
The Bears took an early lead in the first when Jonny McGill singled to bring in Sam Miller. The Black Bears went scoreless the rest of the way and only had five hits.
Despite struggling at the plate, the Bears' pitching once again excelled, improving to a league-leading 3.18 team ERA. But strong pitching wasn't enough to secure the win, as they experienced a collapse in the eighth and ninth innings. The Cutters tied in the eighth with a soft groundout to third, and they scored the winning run in the ninth after Zach Todd gave up a solo home run.
In nine innings, the Bears' pitching allowed nine hits, issued two walks, and struck out 13. Zach Todd suffered his first loss of the season after pitching two innings, giving up three hits and two runs to the Cutters.
With the loss, the Black Bears (7-3) still sit atop the MLB Draft League standings. West Virginia returns Saturday evening, looking to get back in the win column for the second game of the series against the Williamsport Crosscutters. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
