NILES, OH – The West Virginia Black Bears dropped game two of their three-game series against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, 8-2, on Friday night as the Scrappers secured the series victory.
For the second straight night, Mahoning Valley struck first, this time in the third inning. Maddox Mihalakis launched a two-run home run fly ball over the fence in right-center field, scoring Jayden Hylton. Later in the inning, Cooper Vance crossed the plate on a force out by Julian Hernandez to give the Scrappers a 3-0 lead.
The Scrappers extended their advantage in the fourth. Kaikea Harrison scored on a wild pitch before Jordan Taylor came home on a sacrifice fly from Mihalakis. Vance capped the three-run inning with an RBI single that brought Hylton across to score.
West Virginia got on the board in the sixth. Zack Thompson lined a double into left field, allowing Elijah Cook to score from first and cut the deficit to five.
The Black Bears added another run in the seventh. Kevin Jones hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Cole Kitchens and trimming Mahoning Valley’s lead to four.
Mahoning Valley answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Noah Jouras ripped an RBI single to right field, scoring Jason Torres and restoring the Scrappers' five-run cushion.
A final insurance in the eighth pulled the Scrappers out of reach. Vance delivered a ground-ball single to right field, driving in Hylton for the 8-2 final score.
West Virginia's pitching staff kept the Scrappers off the scoreboard through the opening two innings before Mahoning Valley broke through with six runs over the third and fourth. The Black Bears settled in afterward, holding the Scrappers to just two runs over the final four innings while the offense chipped away with runs in the sixth and seventh.
The Black Bears return to 7 17 Credit Union Field on Saturday for the series finale, looking to avoid a three-game sweep against Mahoning Valley.
