West Virginia Black Bears series wrap-up v. Scrappers

The Pittsburgh Pirates Short Season-A affiliate, the West Virginia Black Bears, wrapped up their tenth road series of the season Sunday night. The Black Bears traveled to Mahoning Valley to face the Scrappers. The Scrappers are an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The Black Bears entered the series with a record of 29-29, while the Scrappers came into the series with an 26-30 record.

Game 1

Game one on Friday resulted in a 1-0 win for the Black Bears.  Pitching was the name of the game in this one. Black Bears starting pitcher Seth McGarry picked up his second win of the season while going five innings and allowing just two hits, two walks and two strikeouts. Nick Hibbing pitched three innings in relief and allowed just two hits. Julio Eusebio picked up his fourth save of the season while allowing just one hit and striking out three.

Kevin Kramer led the way on offense as he collected three hits. Kramer also scored the only run in the game on a bases loaded walk to Mitchell Tolman. Tolman also added a double in the game. Christian Kelley, Ty Moore and Alexis Bastardo each added a hit in the game.

Game 2

Game two on Saturday resulted in a 3-1 win for the Black Bears. The Scrappers would get on the board first by a Connor Marabell sacrifice bunt that scored Ka’ai Tom. In the top of the sixth, Kevin Kramer walked to lead off the inning. He would advance to second on a ground out, then to third on a wild pitch. Kramer would then score on a balk. Daniel Arribas led off the seventh inning and was hit by a pitch. David Andriese would later double scoring Arribas. Erik Forgione would then single scoring Andriese to give the Black Bears the 3-1 lead. Neither team would score again.

The offense was led by Erik Forgione and David Andriese with two hits and an RBI each. Mitchell Tolman, Ryan Nagle and Casey Hughston each added a hit.

Starting pitcher JT Brubaker went four innings, allowing one run on four hits, two walks and a strikeout. Jerry Mulderig picked up the win while throwing two innings and allowing just one hit and one walk. Daniel Zamora picked up his first save by going the final three innings and allowing three hits and four strikeouts.

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Game 3

Game three on Sunday resulted in a 5-3 loss for the Black Bears. Kevin Kramer got things started with a ground-rule double to start the game. He would later score on a Ty Moore ground out. The Scrappers would answer in the bottom of the first with a double from Mark Mathias that scored Ka’ai Tom. Kevin Kramer reached on an error in the third and would later score on a wild pitch. Christian Kelley would then score on a Ty Moore ground out giving the Black Bears a 3-1 lead. The Scrappers would fight back in the seventh. Daniel Salters hit a double that scored Willi Castro and Ka’ai Tom to tie the game. Then, in the bottom of the eighth, the Scrappers would score two more runs. Austin Fisher scores on a wild pitch and Alexis Pantoja scores on a sacrifice fly.

The offense was led by Kevin Kramer with two doubles. Ty Moore didn’t get a hit but collected two RBIs. Daniel Arribas, Albert Baur and Erik Forgione each added a hit.

Black Bears starting pitcher Dario Agrazal went six innings and allowed just one run on six hits, one walk and two strikeouts. Juan Paula pitched 0.1 innings and allowed two runs on three hits and a strikeout. Cesilio Pimentel picked up the loss while going 1.2 innings and allowing two runs on two hits and five strikeouts.

Looking Ahead

The Black Bears  return home to host a six game home stand featuring three games with the Batavia Muckdogs and three games with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

Be sure to get your tickets now as the Black Bears only have nine home games remaining in the regular season! For tickets, visit www.westvirginiablackbears.com, visit the ticket office at the ballpark, or call 304-293-8422.

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!

Next: Black Bears/Doubledays Recap