The West Virginia Miners were looking for some revenge at Sunday night’s game at the Linda K. Epling Stadium.
They would never get it, dropping an 8-0 decision to the Johnstown Mill Rats. The loss was the fifth straight for the Miners.
The night wouldn’t start in the Miners’ favor, as they gave up one run on a balk in the top of the first failing to answer in the bottom of the inning.
Newcomer to the Miners Hunter Eplin would strike out two in the top of the second, but not before Johnstown clinched two more runs.
The host team still couldn’t find an offensive rhythm in the second, pulling three straight outs for a quick end to the inning.
Johnstown wouldn’t give the Miners any breathing room, smashing a home run in the first play of the top of the third. They would add two more runs, both off RBI triples, to widen the lead 6-0. While it was a difficult top of the third for the Miners, all three outs were strikeouts by Eplin.
The drought continued for the Miners in the bottom of the third. They managed to get players on second and third but left them both stranded by the end of the inning.
While Eplin did notch five strikeouts overall, he managed to throw 84 pitches in just the first three innings. The Miners pulled him there, sending in Colby Cooke to take his place. Cooke and the defense managed to not allow any runs in the top of the fourth, the Rats’ first scoreless inning of the game.
The Miners got another fresh pitcher in the top of the fifth with Andrew Neff. The defense would again prove to be their strength for the game, only allowing one on base before a strikeout ended the top of the fifth.
Offensively, the host team still couldn’t gain any ground. The Rats took out three straight batters with two flyouts and a strikeout to put a close to the inning.
Team Manager Tim Epling spoke about the team’s struggles on offense.
“It’s frustrating for sure, but we’ve just got to take it one pitch at a time,” Epling said. “Our pitchers and defense did great, and so we’ve just gotta get our hits up. No excuses though, you take accountability for what you do.”
Although the Rats were crushing it offensively early in the game, the Miners would hold them for another inning. Neff struck out another two players, giving the Miners another chance to come back.
However, this comeback would not happen in the sixth. Johnstown refused to allow anyone on base for the second inning in a row.
The Rats would snap their short offensive skid on an RBI double in the top of the seventh. The Miners again switched pitchers to Chase Swain. Swain would prove to help the defense out with three strikeouts to start his night.
Swain’s night came to a quick close as the Miners subbed in Austyn Coleman in the top of the eighth. The Miners defense did exceptional again, ending the inning with a double play. The hosts had another opportunity to have an offensive comeback.
As hard as they tried, the Miners couldn’t make any headway the rest of the game. Johnstown managed to clinch one more run, ending the game 8-0. The host team would only end up with three hits the whole game.
The Miners will return to action Tuesday at Champion City. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.
