Black Bears Claim NYPL Championship

(September 15) - The West Virginia Black Bears claimed the New York-Penn League Championship on Tuesday night against the Staten Island Yankees at Richmond County Bank Ballpark. The Black Bears defeated the Yankees 3-1 and swept the series to earn the first championship for the franchise in the team's inaugural season.

Staten Island was the first team to score when Jhalan Jackson hit a solo shot to center field to put the Yankees up 1-0 in the fifth inning.  1B Carlos Munoz tied continued to stay hot as the Black Bears' hottest hitter as he tied up the game 1-1 in the seventh inning on a one-out solo bomb to right field. The Yankees threatened in the eighth inning by having runners at first and second with only one out but West Virginia escaped to head into the ninth.

In the ninth, 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes got things rolling with a one out single and that's when CF Casey Hughston stepped up to the plate. Hughston got his pitch and drilled a two-run shot to right field to put the Black Bears up 3-1.

The Black Bears got a perfect inning from RP Julio Eusebio in the bottom of the ninth to give West Virginia the 3-1 win to claim the New-York Penn League championship.

 SP Dario Agrazal was lights out on Tuesday night as he pitched 5.0 innings, allowing only one run on a solo home run while striking out a season-high nine batters. RP Cesilio Pimentel tossed 2.1 innings out of the bullpen and struck out four Staten Island hitters. RP Julio Eusebio earned the win (1-0) after pitching the final 1.2 innings of the game.

Munoz and Hughston both finished 2-for-4 on the night and each blasted a home run, accounting for all of the Black Bears runs to boost the team to a league championship.