Black Bears Drop Home Finale to Batavia

GRANVILLE, W. Va. - In the final home game of the 2019 regular season, the West Virginia Black Bears lost to the Batavia Muckdogs 4-1.
The defeat puts West Virginia 1.5 games out of the Pinckney Division lead, as the team heads on the road for its final four regular season contests.
Fans were treated to a historic night at the ballpark, as Double-Stuffed Dave won his first ever Julia's Pepporoni Roll Race. The beloved mascot came out on top in the final race of his career before his official retirement.
There was also a firework display and postgame autograph session on the field for season ticket holders to commemorate the final regular season game at Monongalia County Ballpark.
After a quiet start, the Muckdogs got on the board first with a solo home run in the third inning to take an early 1-0 lead. That was the only run that RHP Austin Roberts allowed in his start for the Black Bears, as he threw six innings of two-hit baseball with five strikeouts and only one walk.
West Virginia tied up in the game in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI double from CF Brett Kinneman. That unfortunately was the only hit the home team picked up in the ballgame, with the rest of the team struggling at the plate.
Batavia reclaimed the lead in the eighth inning. A double with the bases loaded plated three runs for the visiting Muckdogs to put the score at 4-1 in the late innings.
All-Star RHP Cameron Junker kept Batavia at bay in the top of the ninth, but the Black Bears couldn't put anything together in the bottom half to close out their final home game of 2019.
West Virginia heads on the road for four games against the Mahoning Valley Scrapper. The team kicks things off with a doubleheader tomorrow evening, with first pitch for the first game scheduled for 5:05 p.m.