The West Virginia Black Bears Baseball team looks to bounce back after a hard walk off loss against the State College Spikes to even up the series on Saturday, June 7. 

The Black Bears did take an early 4-1 lead in the fourth, but the Spikes clawed back for a wild pitch walk off in the bottom of the ninth. 

Both teams scored one run in the first, West Virginia on a sacrifice fly by infielder Judah Morris to score fellow infielder Tyler Pettorini and State College on an RBI triple hit by outfielder Harrison Didawick scoring infielder Javon Hernandez. 

However, the Black Bears added on to their score with a Merik Carter single, scoring Mario Magana, and a Sam Miller single, scoring Carter, in the top of the second inning and again in the third inning. 

The comeback for the State College Spikes started in the bottom of the sixth when a wild pitch caused Hernandez to score, cutting the score deficit to 4-2. 

State College added on in the bottom of the eighth when Hugh Pickney hit an RBI double scoring Ryan Rivera making the score 4-3. 

The nail in the coffin for the Black Bears was a throwing error in the bottom of the ninth, which led to the Spikes scoring two runs and walking off with the victory. 

Despite the bad loss, the Black Bears sit at second place in the MLB Draft League standings and have the highest scoring differential with +15 thanks to high scoring games against the Frederick Keys (19-4) and the first game of the series against the Spikes (11-3). 

The final game of the series was scheduled for Sunday, June 8. However, the game was canceled due to inclement weather. 

The Black Bears look to get above .500 on the season, with their first home games of the season with a series against the Williamsport Crosscutters.  

The West Virginia Black Bears are a collegiate summer baseball team in the MLB Draft League. The team plays its home games at Kendrick Family Ballpark, where the West Virginia University Mountaineers play. 

Nate Harrah can be contacted at [email protected]