West Virginia Splits Doubleheader with Aberdeen

Granville, WV - On a sunny afternoon at Monongalia County Ballpark, the West Virginia Black Bears split their double header versus the Aberdeen Ironbirds. 
Due to Thursday's rainout, the teams played two, seven-inning games. The first matchup ended in a 3-1 score in favor of West Virginia, and the Ironbirds took the second game 4-1.
After holding Aberdeen scoreless in the opening frame, West Virginia took up their bats and scored two runs in the home half. 3B Jared Triolo stepped up to the plate and crushed a double to the center field wall, bringing home RF Will Matthiessen and DH Blake Sabol.
Aberdeen found a run in the fourth inning on an RBI single to cut into the early lead. Both teams were quiet from the batter's box until the bottom of the sixth where Sabol smashed his second home run of the season to extend the West Virginia lead to 3-1.
The score would stay unchanged as the Black Bears held the Aberdeen offense at bay. LHP Denny Roman gave his team three strong innings, throwing three strikeouts and retiring the side in order twice. In the top of the seventh, RHP Garrett Leonard took the mound and closed the final inning of game one leaving to seal the win for the Black Bears.
"These guys are really starting to settle into their 'battle rhythm,'" said West Virginia Black Bears manager, Drew Saylor. "It's going to be evermore important for them to be present in the game."
Game two took a turn as the Ironbirds started off with an early 1-0 lead over West Virginia. A double steal brought an Aberdeen baserunner across home, putting the home team in an early deficit.
The Ironbirds scored another run off a solo homer in the fourth inning., taking the score to 2-0. They later brought another pair of runners home in the top of the sixth to build a four run lead heading into the final inning. 
The Black Bears clawed back in the bottom of the seventh thanks to an RBI double from SS Ethan Paul, but fell short as the team only totalled one run on four hits.
"We started deviating off our attack plan," said Saylor. "We have to take games like today's and days like today as learning experiences."
West Virginia will be on the road tomorrow to take on the Brooklyn Cyclones and will return home to Mon-County Ballpark July 17 to take on the State College Spikes.