NILES, OH – After West Virginia’s offense carried them to victory last night, the bats picked up right where they left off against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers at Eastwood Field on Wednesday evening. Led by 2B Maddux Houghton’s trio of RBIs, the Bears thumped the Scrappers in game two of the series by a score of 13-6.
Designated hitter Ryan Hernandez got the offense going in the top of the first with an RBI single to left field that scored RF Ruben Fontes.
Mahoning Valley took the lead in the bottom of the second inning with a pair of runs off West Virginia starter Patrick Miner. Scrappers 3B Taj Porter singled and brought home RF Ron Washington Jr., while C Alex Arauz proceeded to hit a sacrifice fly that brought home 1B Adam Fogel.
The Black Bears immediately countered in the top of the third with two runs of their own. Houghton hit his second home run of the season as a Black Bear to tie the game just moments before Hernandez drove in his second run of the game with another single.
Then in the top of the fourth, the Black Bears offense exploded for eight runs. Houghton started the scoring spree with a walk that brought in 3B Jack Elliott, followed by CF Turner Hill driving in C Nolan Metcalf and SS Anthony Stehlin on a line drive to right field. Just a short time later, 1B Logan Mathieu delivered with a single that scored Houghton and Hill. Left fielder Adan Fernandez doubled to plate Hernandez and Mathieu and put West Virginia in double-digits. A wild pitch brought Fernandez home to increase the lead to 11-2.
In an attempt to rally against the eight-run inning, Porter tacked on another RBI for the Scrappers in the bottom of the fourth with a single to left field that scored Fogel. A home run in the bottom of the fifth from Abimael Gonzalez and an Arauz double in the sixth cut the deficit to 11-5.
But the Black Bears offense was not done as Metcalf drove home Fernandez on a ground ball to right field. Houghton plated his third run of the evening with a sacrifice fly that scored Elliott.
Mahoning Valley delivered one more run in the bottom of the seventh when DH Jeffrey Wehler singled, scoring Gonzalez. The run off reliever Tyler Johnson was the only run conceded by the West Virginia bullpen over the final three innings of the contest.
Eight of the Black Bears hitters in the lineup worked their way into the hit column in what was once again a dominant performance at the plate. Of the eight, four Bears had multiple hits including Hernandez, Fontes, and MLB Draft League Hitter of the Week, Turner Hill. Hill, who is batting .500 in 11 games as a Black Bear, went three-for-six with two runs and two RBI. Houghton recorded three RBI with one hit in two at-bats and a home run.
West Virginia goes for the sweep Thursday evening in the series finale against Mahoning Valley before returning for a three-game series against the Frederick Keys at Monongalia County Ballpark on Friday evening. First pitch for Thursday’s game at Eastwood Field is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
