Black Bears' Hot Bats Silence the Scrappers

Granville, W. Va - The temperatures weren't the only hot thing at Monongalia County Ballpark, as the Black Bears' bats were on fire in a 6-2 win over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
West Virginia poured in 10 total hits in the ballgame, with seven of the nine batters in the lineup recording a hit.
The Black Bears got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. After a single from LF Edison Lantigua and a walk from C Zac Susi, 3B Melvin Jimenez smacked a single up the middle to put the West Virginia up 1-0.
DH Jhoan Herrera continued his impressive start to the season in the third inning, as his two-run double along the first base line bolstered the Black Bears' lead. Herrera is up to 11 RBIs on the season, three of which have come in this home stand.
West Virginia also got a nice outing from starting pitcher Michael LoPresti. The tall righty threw four innings of shutout baseball, giving up three hits while striking out two batters without issuing a walk.    
Meanwhile in the fifth inning, the Black Bears continued shelling the Scrappers' pitching staff. With runners on first and second, Susi stepped back up to the dish to drive in a runner on an RBI single.
After a passed ball brought another run around for West Virginia, Jimenez flared another single into the outfield to score Susi from third base, as the home team took a commanding 6-0 lead.
Jimenez finished the game hitting 3-4 on the night, spraying a trio of singles into the outfield to pick up two RBIs.
Mahoning Valley tried to make a game of it late. The Scrappers loaded the bases in the top of the eighth, but after snagging two runs, P Cam Alldred stopped the bleeding to preserve the West Virginia lead.
Leading 6-2, the Black Bears called in P Conner Loeprich to get the final three outs and pick up the team's first win against Mahoning Valley this season. The reliever did just that, tallying two strikeouts and retiring the opposition in order to improve West Virginia's record to 6-8 on the season.
The three-game series between the Black Bears and the Scrappers concludes tomorrow night at Monongalia County Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.