West Virginia Black Bears Go Back-to-Back, Winning Second Straight Title

They did it again. You can now call the West Virginia Black Bears back-to-back champions.

The Black Bears won their second consecutive MLB Draft League title on Sunday beating the Trenton Thunder 9-4. West Virginia won in dominating fashion, getting both pitching and hitting from start to finish.

🏆 BACK-TO-BACK 🏆

YOUR WEST VIRGINIA BLACK BEARS ARE THE 2023 @mlbdraftleague CHAMPIONS! pic.twitter.com/KBfr0jSuLp

— WV Black Bears (@WVBlackBears) September 3, 2023

Pitcher Brady Tedesco struck out nine batters in eight innings while Patrick Lee hit a three-run home run in a big fifth inning. Tyner Hughes’ bat also showed up when it counted the most, hitting two doubles that each helped get runs on the board.

The Thunder did put a fight late and rallied with three runs in the bottom of the ninth, but the Black Bears didn’t let them get any closer and took home the win and league championship.

Unfortunately, West Virginia was not able to win this one at home like last year at Monongalia County Ballpark, but the championship counts the same nonetheless. One constant of the two titles is both teams were led by a WVU baseball product. Jedd Gyorko was the manager during the 2022 run and David Carpenter followed his fellow former Mountaineer by repeating.

The Black Bears capped off a season in which they finished with a 46-27 regular season record, going 31-16 down the stretch. The Bears clinched a trip to the championship game by defeating the Mahoning Valley Scrappers on August 29.