NILES, OH – The West Virginia Black Bears were shutout by the Mahoning Valley Scrappers at 7 17 Credit Union Field at Eastwood on Tuesday evening. Scrappers’ starting pitcher Jeremiah Newman and the bullpen held the Black Bears to two hits in the five-run loss to give Mahoning Valley the two-game sweep.
Looking for a series win, the Scrappers worked quickly, scoring in the bottom of the first with a home run from Maddox Mihalakis. The following inning, the walk of Julian Hernandez put a runner on base in time for Kaikea Harrison to bring him home on a single deflected off Bears’ second baseman Cayden Gaskin.
While West Virginia starter Malik Abdul retired the order in the third and fourth, Mahoning Valley extended its lead in the fifth with a second home run, this time from Davis Mauzy.
Aydan Decker-Petty relieved Abdul to face the heart of the Scrappers’ order in the sixth. A triple from Mike Young followed by Hernandez’s double to center plated another run before the Bears got out of the inning. Heading into the seventh, West Virginia trailed by four.
After another scoreless inning, Mahoning Valley added its final run after the stretch. With Rene Lastres on the mound for Decker-Petty, Harrison’s lead-off single got away from center fielder Elijah Cook and bounced to the wall, allowing Harrison three extra bags for an inside-the-park home run.
West Virginia went down in order through the final two frames to take the 5-0 loss, ending its three-series winning streak.
In a tough game for the Bears’ batters, only Cayden Gaskin and Ben Barrett recorded hits, though Gaskin, Barrett, Zack Thompson and Jackson Trout all reached base on walks. The pitching staff allowed five runs on nine hits including two homers with Malik Abdul (0-1) taking his first loss after 5.0 innings of work.
The Black Bears return to Kendrick Family Ballpark to begin their penultimate home stand of the season on Thursday against the first-half champions, the Williamsport Crosscutters, for Healthcare Worker Appreciation Night presented by WVU Medicine. Thursday’s contest features a shoe charm giveaway with the WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s “cookie-cutter kids” logo and free tickets for healthcare workers with valid workplace ID. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.
