Szabo carries team to win

The second baseman homered and made several nice defensive plays.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NILES -- Even the little guys are having a say in the Mahoning Valley Scrappers' season-high winning streak.
Marshall Szabo, who is generously listed at 5-feet-11 and 180 pounds, connected for a first-inning home run Thursday to ignite the Scrappers to an 8-4 victory over Hudson Valley.
Szabo, a first-year player from the University of Georgia, also executed several outstanding plays at second base to back another strong effort by pitcher Chris Niesel.
"I'm sure I'll make some more defensive plays like that," said Szabo, when asked which part of his game he enjoyed most, "but home runs are few and far between for little guys."
Early edge
Niesel (2-0), a right-hander from Notre Dame, pitched seven innings for the second straight game, allowing three runs and four hits for the win.
The Scrappers provided Niesel with a 7-0 lead after two innings.
"That's part of the reason why we struggled at the beginning of the season," Scrappers manager Mike Sarbaugh said. "It seemed like we were giving up big innings early in the game."
But it was Szabo's two-run homer over the right-field wall at Eastwood Field that jump-started the Scrappers (19-15) to their fifth straight win and 11th in 13 games.
"I got here a couple weeks late, and when I looked at our record, I was like, 'Whoa. We're not in good shape,' " Szabo said. "But we've definitely hit a hot streak."
Szabo was just the second batter faced by Hudson Valley pitcher Timothy King, who came into the game with a 5-0 record and a 3.74 ERA.
King walked lead-off batter Argenis Reyes before Szabo connected for his first professional home run on a warm, muggy night.
"Actually, it was a fastball up and away which I shouldn't have swung at," Szabo said. "It just happened to go out. I was numb, I guess."
After Szabo's home run, the Scrappers continued the slugfest en route to 13 hits. Tim Montgomery also homered, while Chris Gimenez tripled and Teo Encarnacion and Fernando Pacheco doubled.
"When one guy starts doing well, it gets contagious," said Scrappers catcher Wyatt Toregas, who had three singles. "Right now, everybody's hitting the ball. Each guy wants to out-do the other guy, and that's how a team gets better."
Finding his rhythm
Except for the third inning, in which he allowed three runs, Niesel settled into a rhythm. He walked one batter, hit another and struck out two while retiring the final 11 batters he faced.
"He's not afraid to let batters put the ball in play," Sarbaugh said. "Young pitchers are sometimes afraid to have the hitter make contact, but that helps pitchers get deep into games. [Niesel] has a pretty good feel on how to attack hitters."
Niesel pitched 100 innings this season at Notre Dame, so he feels fortunate to have the opportunity to pitch deep into games at the professional level.
"My defense was awesome tonight. That was a sight to see out there -- them diving all over the place and keeping balls in front of them," he said. "That really helped me get through those key innings."
East Palestine High graduate Aaron Walker made his first appearance in the three-game series for Hudson Valley (18-16). The relief pitcher allowed two singles in the ninth inning before coming away unscathed.
"I fell on my first warm-up pitch, so I was excited," said the left-hander, who had about 35 relatives and friends in attendance. "I had a lot of support tonight. I was glad to get a chance to throw."
HUDSON VALLEYSCRAPPERS
abrhbiabrhbi
Perez cf3100Reyes cf4110
Cooper 2b4101Szabo 2b5122
Leandro lf4001Toregas c5230
Baty 1b4022Gimenez lf4221
Breen dh2000Montgmry rf4121
Cottrell 3b4000Parker 3b4011
Jaso c4020Encarnacn dh4010
Cumberland rf3110Pacheco 1b2110
Paredes ss4110Finegan ss4000
Woodruff ph1000
Frias ph1000
Totals34464Totals368135
Hudson Valley003000010--4
Scrappers43100000x--8
E--Pacheco. LOB--Scrappers 8, Hudson Valley 5. HR--Szabo, Montgomery. 3B--Gimenez. 2B--Pacheco, Jaso, Encarnacion. CS--Reyes.
IPHRERBBSO
Hudson Valley
King L, 5-1267722
Wagner341101
Sonnanstine210003
Walker120000
Scrappers
Niesel W, 2-0743312
Lubrano221002
WP--King 2, Wagner 2. HBP--by King (Gimenez), by Niesel (Perez), by Wagner (Pacheco). Umpires--Home, Howard Perez; Bases, Phil Mulroe. T--2:32. A--4,391.
HOW THEY SCORED
FIRST INNING
MAHONING VALLEY 4, HUDSON VALLEY 0
Scrappers: Timothy King pitching. Argenis Reyes walked, Marshall Szabo homered over the right-field wall. Wyatt Toregas singled to left, Chris Gimenez hit by pitch, Toregas to second. Tim Montgomery struck out. Brett Parker singled to right, Toregas scored, Gimenez to third, Parker advanced to second on the throw. Gimenez scored on a wild pitch, Parker to third. Teo Encarnacion struck out. Fernando Pacheco walked, Brian Finegan lined out to center. 4 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 left.
SECOND INNING
MAHONING VALLEY 7, HUDSON VALLEY 0
Scrappers: King pitching. Reyes grounded out to short. Szabo flied out to right. Toregas singled to left, Gimenez tripled to left, Toregas scored. Gimenez scored on a wild pitch. Montgomery homered over the left-field wall. Parker grounded out to third. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 left.
THIRD INNING
MAHONING VALLEY 8, HUDSON VALLEY 3
Renegades: Chris Niesel pitching. Shaun Cumberland singled on a bunt, Salvador Paredes singled to center, Cumberland to second. Fernando Perez hit by pitch to load the bases, Cumberland to third, Paredes to second. Chad Cooper hit into a fielder's choice, Perez out at second, Cumberland scored, Paredes to third. Francisco Leandro grounded out to second, Paredes scored, Cooper to second. Ryan Baty singled to right, Cooper scored. Patrick Breen grounded out to first. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left.
Scrappers: Nicholas Wagner pitching. Encarnacion flied out to second. Pacheco doubled to right center, advanced to third on a wild pitch. Finegan lined out to short. Pacheco scored on a wild pitch. Reyes grounded out to the pitcher. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left.
EIGHTH INNING
MAHONING VALLEY 8, HUDSON VALLEY 4
Renegades: Paul Lubrano pitching. Perez reached on an error by the first baseman, Cooper flied out to first. Leandro flied out to center, Perez tagged and advanced to third. Baty singled to right, Perez scored. Ernest Woodruff in to pinch hit. Woodruff hits into a fielder's choice, Baty out at second. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 0 left.
richesson@vindy.com