GRANVILLE, W.Va. — The West Virginia Black Bears didn’t get their desired result Monday in their Major League Baseball Draft league debut, falling to the Mahoning Valley Scrappers 8-1 at Monongalia County Ballpark.
What the Black Bears did get, however, was an opportunity to play for the first time in more than 600 days after covid forced the cancelation of the 2020 minor league baseball season. The franchise had previously been a member of the New York-Penn League, as was Mahoning Valley. Both organizations moved from the NYPL to the first-year MLB Draft League, which provides a showcase for players in advance of the annual MLB draft.
Monday’s opener also marked the debut of Jedd Gyorko as Black Bears’ manger. The Morgantown native had a standout career on the diamond at West Virginia University from 2008-2010 before going on to play eight seasons in MLB for four teams.
“It’s a little weird,” Gyorko said. “It felt like it was time to run on the field and play once the anthem was over. It was different. Seeing that side of the game and the strategy that’s involved is something we’ll get better with.”
Managed by one of the more recognizable names in sports and another former MLB player in Coco Crisp, Mahoning Valley took control of the contest with a five-run third inning. Trent Anderson’s two-run home run produced the game’s first runs and proved to put the Scrappers on top for good.
Black Bears’ starting pitcher and WVU commit Kevin Dowdell was charged with all five runs allowed in the inning, which ultimately forced him off the mound before he could finish it. In 2 2/3 innings of work, Dowdell allowed five hits, struck out three and issued two base-on-balls while suffering the loss.
“We had a couple chances and a couple times with a guy on third and less than two outs, we didn’t get the job done,” Gyorko said. “But these kids are learning. It’s tough for these kids to execute right now. We have to be patient, keep working with them and teaching them as much as we can and they’ll be fine.”
The Scrappers added another run in the fourth and two more in the sixth to build an 8-0 lead, before the Black Bears scored their first and only run on a Mahoning Valley error in the seventh.
Caleb Taylor, a 2019 Morgantown High graduate, finished 0-for-3 with a walk in his Black Bears’ debut. Taylor currently plays at Potomac State, which concluded a 35-8 season on May 8.
Taylor said he didn’t know until last week that he’d be on the Black Bears.
“I was shocked,” Taylor said. “I thought I’d know earlier, but now that I’m on the team, it’s pretty cool.”
The Black Bears and Scrappers meet again at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday to wrap up the two-game set.