GRANVILLE — Jake Reinhardt’s single to center field scored Kaeber Rog and the West Virginia Blacks Bears picked up their first win of the season Monday with a 5-4 victory against Mahoning Valley at Monongalia County Ballpark.
West Virginia trailed, 4-2, heading into the ninth, but Ryan McCoy and Cooper Swanson led off the innings with walks before Rog singled home McCoy and then Swanson tied the game when Jesse Pierce reached on an error.
Reinhart won it minutes later with his hit.
West Virginia’s defense suffered through two costly errors in the top of the first inning that allowed Mahoning Valley to strike first with two runs.
The Black Bears cut into the lead in the bottom of the inning when Tucker Mitchell hit home run over the left field wall for his first Black Bears home run.
Mahoning Valley tagged on two more runs in the fourth and fifth innings, widening the gap between the teams, as West Virginia struggled to score.
Finally in the eighth inning, Reinhardt made the trip home on a wild pitch, bringing the score to 4-2.
Starting pitcher Mitch Bratt had six strikeouts in his four innings pitched, but allowed the first three Scrappers runs in the first and fourth innings.
Bratt went four innings in his start and gave up two earned runs on three hits and walked five.
From the bullpen, reliever Drew Talley threw two scoreless innings, allowing only one walk on a night when the Black Bears pitchers allowed eleven.
Newly added pitcher Zach Ottinger closed the game for the Black Bears.
Ottinger pitched for WVU and has three strikeouts over two innings. At WVU this season, Ottinger appeared in 16 games and finished 0-1 with an 8.66 ERA.
West Virginia will finish the two-game series against Mahoning Valley at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday, before heading on the road to take on the Trenton Thunder.
