STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The West Virginia Black Bears rode a strong pitching performance to a 2-1 victory over the State College Spikes at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Starting pitcher Cédric de Grandpré and reliever Wyatt Wendell led the team on the hill, while SS Blaze Brothers and CF Sam Crail pushed across the two West Virginia runs.
The scoring began in the top of the third when Crail reached first on a walk and proceeded to steal second. In the next at-bat, Brothers reached first on a fielding error by the Spikes’ third baseman that advanced Crail to third. The throw then went to the base allowing Crail to swipe home to put the Black Bears up 1-0.
State College answered in the bottom of the inning as DH Alex Toral drove in 3B Kevin Karstetter with an RBI single to knot the game at one. However, de Grandpré and the West Virginia defense closed the inning without sustaining any more damage despite the Spikes threatening with two men on base.
Brothers continued to produce offensively in the fifth inning. After a single and a fielding error put Crail on second, Brothers doubled on a line drive to left field that scored Crail and put another run in for the Black Bears. West Virginia closed the inning with two strikeouts, but not before taking a 2-1 lead.
In a low scoring game, West Virginia’s pitching shined as the Bears allowed only seven hits through nine innings. Starter de Grandpré (2.25 ERA) allowed the only run of the night while striking out four. The Québec native has recorded 26 strikeouts on the season, the second highest in the league and the most for a pitcher with less than 18 innings pitched. Relievers Austin Becker – who picked up the win – Rhian Mann, Wyatt Wendell and Zach Ottinger combined for five scoreless frames, allowing just four hits with four strikeouts.
Trey Braithwaite entered in the ninth for the Black Bears for the second time in three days and slammed the door shut on State College. The MLB Draft League “Pitcher of the Week” and NCBWA All-American struck out two Spikes players with seven pitches, before a groundout to Brothers ended the game. Braithwaite picked up his third save of the season with tonight’s win.
West Virginia improves to 11-13 while State College falls to 10-14 on the season. The Black Bears return to take the series against the Spikes on Saturday evening, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m.
