ABERDEEN, Md. – The West Virginia Black Bears mounted a late comeback but were unable to erase an early deficit, falling 10-8 to the Aberdeen IronBirds on Tuesday night at Ripken Stadium.
West Virginia jumped out to an early lead in the opening inning. Owen Henne scored the game's first run after Beau Sylvester reached on a throwing error by the Aberdeen third baseman. Later in the inning, Derrick Tarpley Jr. drove in Kahanu Martinez with a groundout to give the Black Bears a 2-0 advantage.
Aberdeen answered with a run in the third before tying the game in the fourth. The IronBirds then broke the game open with two runs in the fifth, three more in the sixth, and another three-run inning in the seventh to build a 10-2 lead.
The Black Bears refused to go away. In the seventh inning, infielder Ty Dalley delivered a two-run single to score Isaac Wachsmann and Tarpley. Moments later, Dylan Schlaegel ripped a two-run triple to right field, plating Sam Miller and Dalley to cut the deficit to 10-6.
West Virginia continued to battle in the ninth. Sylvester led off the inning with a double before Tarpley launched a two-run home run to left field—his second homer of the season—to bring the Black Bears within two runs.
The comeback ended there as Aberdeen recorded the final out to secure the 10-8 victory.
Tarpley finished with three RBIs, including the late two-run homer, while Schlaegel drove in two with his seventh-inning triple. Dalley also collected two RBIs during the comeback effort.
The Black Bears look to take the rubber game on Thursday evening at Ripken Stadium before returning home for a three-game set against the first-place Trenton Thunder on Friday evening.
