Conroy has 'break-out' performance

The Scrappers outfielder took extra hitting practice Monday and it helped.
By BILL SULLIVAN
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NILES -- Just like a well-crafted musical instrument, baseball hitters sometimes need a slight fine-tuning to produce enjoyable results.
A little adjustment is usually all it takes to turn an average performance into a thing of beauty.
"I needed a break-out game -- a break-out game -- and this might have been it," said Mike Conroy of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, after his hitting Monday helped to ignite an 8-3 win over the Batavia Muckdogs.
Last year Conroy, 20, hit just .186 (35-for-188) in 56 New York-Penn League games.
This year started much the same for the 6-foot-3 left-fielder from Ft. Myers, Fla. In the first five games he had just two hits in 19 at-bats (.105) and only two RBIs.
Extra hitting practice
Then, manager Ted Kubiak invited Conroy in for some extra hitting practice Monday afternoon, and positive results were quickly realized.
In the second inning, with two outs and two runners on base, Conroy tripled to the Cafaro Field wall to wipe out a 1-0 Batavia lead.
"Conroy's triple was a good at-bat for him," said Kubiak. "We did some things with his hitting today and made some changes.
"He's been a little stubborn about it, but I think he felt something; maybe that will jump start him a little bit."
Kubiak, who played in the major leagues for 10 years (1967-76) and who has 15 years of experience managing minor league teams, knows plenty about hitting a baseball. His pep talk paid off.
"He's been wrapping the bat around his head, basically," Kubiak said of Conroy's approach. "It kills his load. It doesn't give him a load and he's got no follow-through so he doesn't swing with any authority.
"So, we just tried to flatten his bat out a little bit so his load works better and he gets his strength into the ball."
Batavia pitcher Julio De La Cruz tempted Conroy with a fastball to open the count and the Scrapper made him pay.
"I'm a first-pitch hitter," Conroy said. "He threw a ball right down the middle -- middle in -- and I just drove it to the gap. I've been working hard at it."
Best game of year
With Mahoning Valley ahead 6-3, Conroy led off the bottom of the seventh inning with his second base hit. He scored ahead of Eric Johnson, who homered to center for the final score.
Conroy finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and scored his first run of the season. The individual offense doubled his hit and RBI totals for the year.
"Lately I've been feeling a lot better than I was last week," Conroy said.
Kubiak agreed.
"His bats looked better to me from third base," Kubiak said. "He was a little more relaxed and it looked like he was a little more ready to hit than he has been. That was a positive."