Sunday, July 22, 2001
The Renegades threatened in the ninth inning.
By BILL SULLIVAN
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NILES -- In the sort of baseball game that leaves the fans hungry for more, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers hung on to defeat the Hudson Valley Renegades 11-10 Saturday at Cafaro Field.
Clinging to an 11-10 lead after eight innings, the Scrappers (8-24) allowed the Renegades (17-14) to load the bases with just one out.
But then the fourth Scrapper pitcher of the night, Brian Curtin, got a pair of fly balls to end the threat.
Not only did the game feature 21 runs scored, there were 33 hits, including six doubles, two triples and four home runs.
Blasts: Rickie Morton and Francis Finnerty homered for the Scrappers in a six-run first inning, and Mahoning Valley scored four more tallies in the second.
The 10-3 lead nearly disappeared when the Renegades scored seven times between the fifth and eighth innings.
Mike Edwards singled three times to lead the Scrappers, and Miguel Quintana, Morton, Angel Bastardo and Finnerty each had two hits.
The biggest blow of the second inning came when Brian Kirby, who was recently added to the team, doubled in three runs.
Scrapper starter Luke Field (1-3) yielded a double, a home run and two singles to fall behind 3-0 in the first inning, but a double play got him out of trouble.
From there, Field allowed nine total hits over five innings to get his first win of the season.
Louis DePaula of the Renegades hit for the cycle and drove in three tallies in a 19-hit attack.