GRANVILLE, W. Va. – The West Virginia Black Bears completed a dramatic comeback Thursday night, defeating the State College Spikes, 10-8, at Kendrick Family Ballpark. After trailing the Spikes through the final frame, Zack Thompson’s walk-off grand slam erased a two-run deficit and clinched the series for the Bears.
Looking to take an early lead, State College opened the scoring in the second frame. Jacoby Long led off with a ground-ball single before stealing second base. After Blake Bradford struck out, a wild pitch sent Long to third, where Justin Journette’s ground out brought him home.
After a scoreless third, Jett Buck’s ground-ball single in the fourth scored Long and extended the Spikes’ lead to 2-0.
State College continued to pull away with four runs in the fifth. Ryan Rivera led off with a fly-ball single before advancing to second on a wild pitch. A double from Long sent Rivera home with Long following suit on a single from Blake Bradford. Journette ended the frame with a two-run home run to put State College ahead 6-0.
The Bears began clawing away at the Spikes’ six-run lead in the sixth. With two outs, Black Bears newcomer Blake Wilson reached based on a single before Ben Barrett sent him home with a triple to right field. Zack Thompson followed with a double to score Barrett and cut the deficit to four.
State College added another run in the eighth on a Camden Ross RBI double, but West Virginia fought back in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of costly errors. Reliever Juan Reyes gave the Bears a bag after striking Elijah Cook to open the inning. The walk of Cayden Gaskin advanced a runner into scoring position, and a fielding error loaded the bases. Two additional errors allowed Cook and Gaskin to score and forced a pitching change, bringing Patrick Morris out for the Spikes with two Bears on base. An RBI single from Cole Kitchens scored Wilson to pull West Virginia within two heading into the final frame.
Though the Spikes padded their lead with one run in the ninth, the Bears answered with a definitive rally. Owen Petrich drew a walk to open the inning before Cook singled on a sharp ground ball to right field. Gaskin struck out swinging, but Wilson followed with another single to load the bases. After Barrett was hit by a pitch, Petrich came home to make it a 9-7 game.
With the bases still loaded, Thompson stepped to the plate and delivered the biggest hit of the night, launching a 361-foot walk-off grand slam into the Bears’ bullpen to give West Virginia the 10-8 victory and clinch the series.
Catcher Zack Thompson led the Black Bears’ offense, going 3-for-5 on his way to a five-RBI night with a walk-off grand slam. Blake Wilson made an immediate impact in his West Virginia debut with two hits and three runs. Ben Barrett also provided a key offensive spark with his sixth-inning triple, finishing 1-for-4 with two runs and three RBI.
The Black Bears return to Kendrick Family Ballpark on Friday night to open their three-game series against the Aberdeen IronBirds. Game promotions include 90s Night, Friday Night Happy Hour, and post-game fireworks presented by Howard Hanna - Premier Properties by Barbara Alexander. First pitch for Friday night’s game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
