Crosscutters Take Game One in Granville

GRANVILLE, W. Va. - On a fireworks night at Monongalia County Ballpark, the Williamsport Crosscutters defeated the West Virginia Black Bears 8-3.
The loss opens up a three-game series with the visiting Crosscutters, who broke a nine-game losing streak to take the victory in game one.
Williamsport opened things up in the top of the first inning with an RBI double to score the game's first run. The team proceeded to drive home five more runs in the following inning on five-hits to put the score at 6-0 with seven innings to play.
The visitors got another run in the third thanks to an RBI single to tack on the seventh run of the game.
Then in the fifth inning, the Crosscutters tallied their final run of the evening on an RBI groundout, making it an eight-run ballgame entering the final three innings.
West Virginia got on the board in the sixth thanks to one of the team's new additions. CF Matt Fraizer cranked a single into left field to drive home a run and put the score at 8-1.
The Black Bears kept things going in the bottom of the seventh with a pair of runs to cut the deficit to five. LF Blake Sabol 's RBI double and DH Matt Gorski 's sacrifice fly helped the home team climb back going into the final two innings.
Another bright spot for West Virginia was relief pitcher Xavier Concepcion , who tossed two innings of scoreless relief with three strikeouts. Austin Roberts immediately followed his lead on the rubber, tossing a pair of blank frames while allowing just one hit to go with four strikeouts.
The Black Bears were unable to mount the comeback in the ninth inning, finishing off the first game of the series as the team drops to a 7-7 record on the season.
Both teams are back in town on tomorrow night, with first pitch coming at 7:05 p.m. in Granville. West Virginia will be featuring its annual Star Wars night with alternate jerseys that will be auctioned off to benefit WVU Medicine Children's.
For more information on tickets and promotions, visit www.westvirginiablackbears.com.