TRENTON, N.J. – The West Virginia Black Bears opened their final road series of the season with a 5-0 loss to the Trenton Thunder on Friday night. The Bears remained within one run through six innings before the Thunder broke the game open late.
After going down without a run in the top of the inning, Bears’ starting pitcher Drew Townson retired the Trenton side in in the first. Townson continued to hold the Thunder off the base paths through the fifth, giving up three walks but no hits, while West Virginia struggled to get on base.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the sixth. After Townson walked two, manager Tim Garland sent in reliever Reilly Shafer with no outs. A single from Taggart loaded the bases before the walk of AJ Swader gave the Thunder a one-run lead.
Back-to-back home runs in the seventh added three runs to Trenton’s tally. Bryson Trammell launched a two-run shot that scored Cy Turner before Swader followed with a solo homer to extend the Thunder’s advantage to 4-0.
The Thunder added a final run in the eighth when Brayden Fraasman drove in Louis Percival, completing the 5-0 shutout.
In his seventh start for the Bears, Townson kept West Virginia within striking distance, allowing just one hit and one earned run while striking out two. Townson held the Thunder scoreless through 5.0 innings before Trenton broke through in the sixth. The Black Bears combined for five hits in loss with Owen Petrich collecting two in four at-bats.
West Virginia returns to Trenton Thunder Ballpark on Saturday night for the series finale against the Thunder. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
