Chauncey takes spotlight

By BILL SULLIVAN
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NILES -- One of the hardest positions to play in baseball is that of reserve catcher.
As a back-up, a player must bide his time and then produce immediate results when called on.
Clint Chauncey showed his value Thursday, collecting three hits to lead the Mahoning Valley Scrappers to an 8-2 win over the Batavia Muckdogs at Cafaro Field.
"Clint's a very good catcher," Scrappers manager Ted Kubiak said. "He's a good guy to have on the club."
Chauncey was hitting .230 with no extra base hits entering the game.
In the second inning he singled to right and drove in Brad Snyder with the first run of the night.
Extra bases
Chauncey led off the seventh with his first double of the season. The Scrappers (19-24) batted around in the seventh, scoring five times for an 8-2 lead.
Then Chauncey led off the eighth frame with another double, giving him his first three-hit game of the year.
"I feel like I've been swinging the bat pretty well and now they are finally starting to fall my way a little bit," Chauncey said.
The Cleveland Indians drafted two catchers in the early rounds of June's amateur draft. Havier Herrera was picked out of Miami (Fla.), and started 12 Scrappers games before being promoted.
Stanford product Ryan Garko has made 11 starts for Mahoning Valley since arriving last month.
Meanwhile, Chauncey has remained focused, ready to help when called on. He's started 19 times.
"Garko came in and they want him to catch but they're going to share the duties," explained Kubiak. "He's [Chauncey] going to catch the next couple of days and give Garko some time off -- let him DH."
Defensive moves
Chauncey also demonstrated his defensive worth in the fourth inning.
Mahoning Valley led 3-1 when Tim Moss of Batavia singled with two outs.
Moss made several All-American teams as the leadoff hitter for the University of Texas team that won the 2002 college World Series.
Moss tried to steal second but was thrown out by Chauncey to end the inning. The Muckdogs did not try to steal the rest of the game.
Chauncey said he never felt lost on the roster or trapped behind the two high draft picks.
"The biggest thing is you can't worry about what everybody else is doing," Chauncey said. "Whenever you get your opportunity, you go in and play your best. That's all you can do."
He likely will be in the lineup tonight when the Scrappers try to win the rubber game against Batavia (17-24).
"He's a great guy to have on the team; he works his tail off all the time," Kubiak said. "He's always ready. He's got good attitude. It's nice to see him do well."
Also producing well at the plate were Kevin Kouzmanoff, Garko and Ryan Goleski, each with two-hit games.
BATAVIASCRAPPERS
abrhbiabrhbi
Moran cf3000Colmenter ss5110
Bourn lf4010Conroy lf3000
Hansen 1b3000Kzmnff 3b4221
Blalock rf4110Garko dh4121
Brunick dh4000Goleski rf4023
Fisher 3b4121Snyder cf3100
Moss 2b3020Chauncey c4130
Diaz c3001Suarez 2b3100
Bramasco ss3000Noviskey 1b4111
Totals31262Totals3481116
Batavia000100100--2
Scrappers01200050x--8
E--Blalock, Fisher, Machi, Padilla. DP--Batavia 1. LOB--Batavia 4, Scrappers 5. 2B--Blalock (13), Fisher (11), Moss (3), Chauncey 2 (2). S--Conroy, Suarez. SB--Moran (15), Bourn (1). CS--Moran (6), Moss (3).
IPHRERBBSO
Batavia
Machi L, 2-422/333011
DeChristofar31/320006
Padilla155102
McConnell110001
Scrappers
Burton W, 2-1541123
Hanson221102
Lincoln100001
White100001
WP--Padilla. Umpires--Home, Wade Page; Bases, Alan Porter. T--2:37. A--3,443.
HOW THEY SCOREDSECOND INNING
Scrappers -- Garko grounded out to second. Goleski grounded out to short. Snyder walked. Chauncey singled to right, advanced to third on error, Snyder scored. Suarez struck out. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
THIRD INNING
Scrappers -- Noviskey grounded to second. Colmenter singled to center. Conroy sacrificed Colmenter to second. Kouzmanoff singled, advanced to second on error by pitcher, Colmenter scored. DeChristofar replaced Machi as pitcher. Garko singled to left, Kouzmanoff to third. Goleski singled, scoring Kouzmanoff, Garko to second. Snyder struck out. 2 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
FOURTH INNING
Batavia -- Blalock doubled to right-center. Brunick grounded out, Blalock to third. Fisher grounded out, Blalock scored. Moss singled to center. Moss out at second, caught stealing. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
SEVENTH INNING
Batavia -- Brunick grounded out. Fisher singled. Moss doubled to left, Fisher to third. Diaz grounded out, Fisher scored, Moss to third. Bramasco struck out. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Scrappers -- Padilla replaced DeChristofar. Chauncey doubled to left. Suarez reached on error by pitcher, Chauncey to third. Noviskey singled to left, scoring Chauncey, Suarez to second. Colmenter struck out. Conroy flied out. Kouzmanoff singled to right, scoring Suarez, Noviskey to third. Garko singled to right, scoring Noviskey, Kouzmanoff to second. Runners advanced on a wild pitch. Goleski singled to center, scoring Kouzmanoff and Garko. Snyder struck out. 5 runs, 5 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
sullivan@vindy.com