Opening night spoiled

Williamsport scored seven runs in the eighth inning to win, 11-3.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NILES -- There was no opportunity for late-inning dramatics. The Williamsport Crosscutters made certain of that.
Williamsport scored seven runs in the eighth inning to break a tie and send the Mahoning Valley Scrappers to an 11-3 defeat in their home opener Saturday at Cafaro Field.
By that time, last year's home opener against Utica -- won 7-6 on Joe Inglett's RBI single in the ninth inning for the Scrappers -- was long forgotten.
"These guys don't even know where they're at yet," Scrappers manager Dave Turgeon said of his players' development.
"I told these guys in minicamp that they have to be patient with themselves. Otherwise, they're going to start pressing," he said. "It's a long season. The cream will rise to the top."
A lot of runs: The Crosscutters (1-3) rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the score in the sixth inning and went to work against Scrappers reliever Todd Culp in the eighth.
Culp allowed seven runs (six earned) on five hits in 2-3 of an inning. The Crosscutters highlighted the inning with Humberto Aliendo's two-run home run and Avelino Asprilla's two-run triple.
"He was getting the ball up a little bit and out over the plate," Turgeon said. "But, it takes a while to get into a groove, especially the pitchers because it's a feel position."
Asprilla's hit, which rolled to the wall in right center field, ended Culp's tenure; he was replaced by Nate Fernley, the Scrappers' third reliever of the game.
"What really upset me was that I let it snowball like that," Culp said.
"I got a couple of innings in Utica, so I got my feet wet and I felt comfortable this time," he said. "It was just one of those days. You've got to let it go."
Scrapped rally: The Scrappers added a run in the eighth inning on Maximo Made's RBI single. They had runners on first and second with one out, but John Van Every struck out and Miguel Quintana flied out to end the inning.
Adding to the Scrappers' night of disappointments was Walter Young's two-run home run over the right-field wall in the ninth inning off Fernley.
In his professional debut and start, Scrappers right-handed pitcher Nick Moran looked strong. He allowed one run on one hit in three innings.
"I was pretty calm," Moran said. "I was concerned about getting my work done and getting to where I want to be."
The Sacramento, Calif., native was on a pitch count by the Cleveland Indians. He threw 50 while striking out five and walking none.
If Moran could have changed anything, it would have been his preparation leading up to the game. He was scheduled to work his arm Thursday in Utica, N.Y., but the Scrappers were rained out.
"I didn't get to throw for three days," said Moran, who threw a wild pitch and hit a batter. "That hurt my control."
Happy with effort: Turgeon was impressed with his starter's effort.
"He showed me a lot," Turgeon said. "He showed me a good mix of pitches. [Williamsport] was off balance."
Brian Farman relieved Moran in the fourth, holding the Crosscutters to one run on four hits in four innings. He was followed by Culp.
Mahoning Valley, coming off a 1-3 record in its season-opening series in Utica, scored single runs in the first and second innings. Rickie Morton's RBI single and Van Every's walk with the bases loaded put the Scrappers ahead 2-0 after two innings.
Williamsport got one run in the third inning off Moran before tying the score 2-2 in the sixth on Jorge Cortes' RBI single off Farman.
richesson@vindy.com
WILLIAMSPORTSCRAPPERS
abrhbiabrhbi
Veleber cf 5210Made 2b4021
Duffey lf5231Van Every cf3111
Cortess dh5122Quintana rf4000
Young 1b4113Morton dh5011
Aliendo rf5112Gay 1b5000
Bautista 3b5110Finnerty 3b5000
Chapman c3110Bastardo c4230
Cuello 2b4111Thompson lf2000
Asprilla ss3112Uegawachi ss3020
Santini 2b2000
Totals39111211Totals393193
Williamsport001072000--11
Mahoning Valley110000010--3
E--Young, Cuello, Asprilla, Gay, Farman. DP--Williamsport 1. LOB--Williamsport 4, Scrappers 13. HR--Aliendo (W), Young (W). 3B--Asprilla (W). 2B--Chapman (W), Cortes (W), Van Every (S).
IPHRERBBSO
Williamsport
De Los Santos552240
Gilcrest (W)220002
Miller222110
Mahoning Valley
Moran311105
Farman441103
Culp2-357610
Fernley1 1-322203
Umpires--Home, John Blackburn; Bases, Jason Klein. T--2:42. A--6,041.
HOW THEY SCOREDFIRST INNINGSCRAPPERS 1, CROSSCUTTERS 0
Scrappers: Maximo Made grounded out to second. John Van Every doubled to right center field, Miguel Quintana walked. Rickie Morton singled to center, Van Every scored. Curtis Gay hit into a double play, Morton out at second, Gay out at first. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left.
SECOND INNING
SCRAPPERS 2, CROSSCUTTERS 0
Scrappers: Francis Finnerty struck out. Angel Bastardo singled to left, Eric Thompson struck out. Bryce Uegawachi singled to left, Made walked to load the bases. Van Every walked, Bastardo scored. Quintana flied out to second. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 left.
THIRD INNING
SCRAPPERS 2, CROSSCUTTERS 1
Crosscutters: Domingo Cuello grounded out to second. Avelino Asprilla was hit by a pitch, Troy Veleber lined out to third. Asprilla stole second. Chris Duffy singled in the infield, Asprilla scored. Jorge Cortes lined out to third. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left.
SIXTH INNING
SCRAPPERS 2, CROSSCUTTERS 2
Crosscutters: Velber singled to right, went to second on an error by the pitcher. Duffy reached first by bunting. Cortes singled to right, Velber scored, Duffy thrown out at home. Walter Young flied out to right. Humberto Aliendo struck out. 1 run, 3 hits, 1 error, 1 left.
EIGHTH INNING
CROSSCUTTERS 9, SCRAPPERS 3
Crosscutters: Asprilla flied out to left. Velber struck out but reached on a passed ball. Duffy reached on an error by the first baseman. Cortes hit a groundrule double to right center, Velber scored. Young hit a sacrifice fly to right, Duffy scored. Aliendo homered over the left field wall, Cortes, Aliendo scored. Jose Bautista singled to left, Travis Chapman walked, Cuello singled to right, Bautista scored. Asprilla tripled to right center, Chapman, Cuello scored. Velber flied out to right. 7 runs, 5 hits, 1 error, 1 left.
Scrappers: Bastardo was hit by a pitch, Travis Santini struck out. Uegawachi singled in the infield, Made singled to left, Bastardo scored. Van Every struck out. Quintana flied out to left. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left.
NINTH INNING
CROSSCUTTERS 11, SCRAPPERS 3
Crosscutters: Duffy singled to left, Cortes struck out. Young homered over the right field wall, Duffy scored. Aliendo struck out. Bautista struck out. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left.