MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Pete Ice stood outside the gates of Monongalia County Ballpark more than two hours before Friday night’s first pitch. Rain soaked his day-old West Virginia Black Bears hat. He waited years for a pro baseball team to play so close to his home in Fairmont, W.Va., and 10 more minutes of disagreeable weather while waiting for the gates to open seemed inconsequential.
Ice was one of 3,500 people in a sellout crowd for the inaugural game of the Pirates’ short-season Class A team in the New York-Penn League. The team formerly operated as the Jamestown Jammers, located in New York.