GRANVILLE, W.Va. – The West Virginia Black Bears dropped the second game of the series to the Williamsport Crosscutters, 12-2, Friday night at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
Williamsport struck first in the second inning when Chris Stanfield scored on a stolen base. The Crosscutters added another run in the third on a fielding error to take a 2-0 lead.
The Black Bears threatened in the bottom of the third as Cayden Gaskin doubled and later advanced to third on a walk, but West Virginia was unable to bring him home.
Four runs in the fifth inning broke the game open for the Crosscutters. A double from James McCoy brought home Joey DeMucci and AJ Solomon. Stanfield’s line-drive single to center scored Jack Kail and McCoy for a 6-0 advantage. The Crosscutters continued to pull away with another run in the sixth after a missed-catch error as DeCarlo crossed the plate to go ahead by seven.
West Virginia finally got on the board in the bottom of the seventh. Two doubles from Owen Petrich and Jackson Trout, respectively, brought home Petrich for the first Black Bears run.
Williamsport created a comfortable cushion in the ninth, ensuring any attempts at a rally were moot point. Back-to-back walks put Solomon and Kail on base in time for McCoy to bring them all home with a hard-hit ball that breached the outfield wall. DeCarlo doubled to score Nick Romano before the Bears could secure the final out.
Down to their final stand, Petrich drew a walk before Noah Jouras moved him to second with a groundout. Elijah Cook then doubled to left field, driving in Petrich for the Black Bears' final run of the night.
Starting pitcher Reilly Shafer recorded his first loss, giving up six runs – four earned – on five hits through his 4.0 innings of work. Aydan Decker-Petty and Tom Chmielewski were bright spots on a difficult day with Decker-Petty striking out five in his 2.0 innings on the mound. Chmielewski struck out three while allowing one hit through two frames.
The Black Bears look to bounce back and close out the series on Saturday evening for Fairmont State University Night. First pitch for the series finale is set for 7:00 p.m.
