West Virginia Black Bears series wrap-up v. Tigers
The Pittsburgh Pirates Short Season-A affiliate, the West Virginia Black Bears, wrapped up their eighth road series of the season Sunday night. The Black Bears continued the road trip in Connecticut by taking on the Tigers in a three-game series. The Tigers hail from the Stedler division of the New York Penn League and are an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. The Black Bears entered the series with a record of 20-19, while the Tigers came into the series with an 18-19 record. The Black Bears entered the series with three straight losses.
Game 1
Game one on Friday resulted in a 7-1 win for the Black Bears. Kevin Newman got the scoring started with his second home run of the season in the third inning. Newman then added an RBI single in the three-run seventh inning. Logan Hill was held hitless but was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the seventh inning to pick up an RBI. Albert Baur and Casey Hughston each added two hits. Ty Moore, Kevin Kramer, and Christian Kelley each added a hit as well.
Black Bears’ starting pitcher JT Brubaker had another solid outing and picked up his fourth win of the season. He allowed just four hits and struck out four in five innings of work. Sean Keselica pitched two innings in relief while allowing one earned run on three hits and struck out three. Edgar Santana pitched the final two frames and collected his second save of the season.
Game 2
Game two on Saturday resulted in a 7-6 win for the Black Bears. The Black Bears started the game with a four-run first inning. The Tigers battled back with six runs in the second. The Black Bears added a run in the fourth and two runs in the sixth. The story of the night for the Black Bears’ offense was Albert Baur leading the way with four hits and an RBI. Ryan Nagle added a hit and two RBIs. Casey Hughston and Christian Kelley each had two hits. Kevin Newman, Kevin Kramer, and Logan Hill each added a hit. Mitchell Tolman and Hughston each had an RBI as well.
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Black Bears starting pitcher Bret Helton lasted just 1.1 innings and allowed six runs (four earned) on five hits and one walk. Jerry Mulderig pitched 1.2 innings and had a walk and a strike out. Daniel Zamora pitched two shut out innings and picked up his first win. Tate Scioneaux pitched two shut out innings and struck out two. Cesilio Pimentel picked up his second save while going two innings and allowing three hits and struck out one.
Game 3
Game three on Sunday resulted in a 4-2 loss for the Black Bears. Mitchell Tolman led the way with three hits. Logan Hill had an RBI double that scored Tolman for the only run of the game for the Black Bears. Maximo Rivera and Ty Moore each added a hit for the Black Bears. Daniel Arribas added an RBI single in the ninth that scored Moore.
Black Bears’ starting pitcher Dario Agrazal suffered the loss. He went five innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits, three walks, and three strikeouts. Eric Dorsch pitched two innings in relief and allowed a hit, a walk, and threw two strikeouts. Julio Eusebio pitched one inning and allowed one hit and struck out two.
Looking Ahead
The Black Bears will return home on Monday to begin a home stand that features two Pinckney Division opponents. They will start the week with a three-game series with the Auburn Doubledays. Then, they will host a three-game series with the State College Spikes.
Make sure to tune in to Rum Bunter as we continue to provide coverage of not only the Pittsburgh Pirates but of the West Virginia Black Bears throughout the season!