GRANVILLE, W. Va. - The West Virginia Black Bears completed the sweep of Team Mexico with a 7-5 victory Sunday afternoon at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
The Bears quickly jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Owen Henne led off with a triple before Isaac Wachsmann drove him in with an RBI sac fly.
West Virginia added another run in the following frame. Back-to-back doubles from Derrick Tarpley Jr. and Ty Dalley put runners in scoring position. Marcus Bradshaw then grounded into a force out that scored Tarpley.
Team Mexico responded in the third inning with a two-run home run off reliever Thomas Santana to tie the game at two.
But the Black Bears answered in the home half of the inning. Following a Team Mexico pitching change, a walk from Kahanu Martinez and a single by Sam Miller put runners on base. A throwing error allowed Martinez to score while Miller advanced to third. Ben Barrett then singled to plate Miller and gave West Virginia a 4-2 lead.
West Virginia added two more runs in the fourth. Dalley led off with a walk before stealing second base for his first steal of the season. Bradshaw followed with a walk, and the pair later advanced into scoring position. Dalley scored on a sacrifice fly from Henne before Wachsmann picked up his second RBI of the afternoon, bringing home Bradshaw to extend the lead to 6-2.
Team Mexico continued to battle in the fifth, using a two-run double to cut the deficit to 6-4.
The Bears added a much-needed insurance run in the sixth when a wild pitch allowed Bradshaw his second run of the game.
After two scoreless innings, Team Mexico added one final run in the ninth, but West Virginia’s defense held firm to secure the sweep.
With the win, the Bears improve to 9-9 on the season. West Virginia hits the road to face the Aberdeen IronBirds June 23-25 before returning home on June 26 for a three-game home stand against the first-place Trenton Thunder.
