One month of play is in the books for the West Virginia Black Bears (9-9). The team will resume on July 1st, kicking off a 26-game stretch across 31 days. Morgantown’s MLB Draft League squad had its ups and downs in June, setting up what should be an action-packed July. Read More: WV Black Bears Wrap Up June Slate, Prepare for July
June, By the Numbers
The Black Bears began the 2025 season by winning seven of their first nine games, dominating the competition. The highlight of this stretch came by way of sweeping the current first-place team, the Williamsport Crosscutters, in the opening home series for West Virginia. The Black Bears won five of their seven home games in June, but struggled on the road, finishing 4-7 away from Morgantown.
Mother Nature left an impact on the first month of play, causing five weather cancellations on the Black Bears’ slate. It is hard to tell whether those cancellations benefited or hurt the Black Bears, but they ruined more than one series nonetheless.
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As for the action on the diamond, the Black Bears averaged six runs per game and had several games with outbursts of nine or more runs. Across June, West Virginia outscored its opponents 108-92. T
he Black Bears only got shut out once, another statistic supporting the claim that the team relies on offensive firepower. On the flip side, the pitching and defense for West Virginia have been rather lackluster so far this season, especially in the final 10 games. The Black Bears went 3-7 in the last 10 games of the June schedule, allowing 61 runs in that stretch. It was a tale of two halves in June, something the Black Bears will aim to try and change in July.
Looking Ahead to July
The Black Bears return to action on July 1st to kick off a short homestand, with two games against the Frederick Keys and one against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
This first homestand is just three of a dozen games the team will host at Kendrick Family Ballpark in July, with 12 home games and 14 road games slated for the middle third of the MLB Draft League schedule. The Black Bears will face all five teams in the league once again, with six games against the Keys, Scrappers, and Thunder respectively, five against the Crosscutters, and three against the Spikes. West Virginia beat all of those teams at least once in June, except for the Scrappers, who swept the Black Bears to end the June slate.
An interesting concept that the MLB Draft League utilizes is the first-half champion vs second-half champion format for the league’s championship game at the end of the season. That being said, the first half of the season wraps up on July 12th. Whichever team is in first place at that time will automatically have a spot in the title game on September 4th. West Virginia had control over that spot for most of June, but now sits in third. The Black Bears have 11 games to make up the 2.5 game deficit and steal first place. One more thing to note, the second half of the season will have a whole different roster and playing level. Expect an article on that concept when the season reaches the aforementioned break.
What to Expect
The West Virginia Black Bears finished the month of June with a 9-9 record and are headed into July riding a four-game losing streak. With 26 games in 31 days for the Bears, the hottest month of the summer will welcome plenty of baseball across the MLB Draft League. For all things West Virginia sports, stay up to date with WV Sports Nation.
