SCRAPPERS Auburn rallies for 7-6 victory
The Doubledays scored three runs in the sixth inning for the win.
AUBURN, N.Y. -- The Mahoning Valley Scrappers' first road experience didn't go as planned.
Auburn rallied for three runs in the sixth inning to overcome a one-run deficit and defeat Mahoning Valley 7-6 Monday at Falcon Park.
Wyatt Toregas, a rookie from Virginia Tech, provided the Scrappers' dramatics in the fourth. He hit a grand slam off Auburn starter Jordan Timm, who had pitched three scoreless innings, for a 5-2 lead.
Wildness
Auburn got two runs back in the bottom half of the fourth to cut its deficit to 5-4. Scrappers starter Justin Pekarek, the Cleveland Indians' eighth-round pick in this month's draft, threw two wild pitches to aid the Doubledays' cause.
Pekarek was relieved by Roger Lincoln, who surrendered Mike Macaluso's two-run triple that put Auburn ahead for good.
Trailing 7-5 in the ninth inning, the Scrappers, who finished with 10 hits, made one last effort to rally.
After Brett Parker walked, clean-up hitter Mike Butia drove a ball deep down the right-field line that just missed going over the wall. Butia, the Indians' fifth-rounder, ended up with an RBI triple that got Mahoning Valley within 7-6.
But Teo Encarnacion grounded out to second base, and the Doubledays held on.
Jayson Rodriguez (1-0) got the win for Auburn and Chris Leonard the save. Lincoln (1-1) suffered the loss.
Back to .500
After winning two in a row against the Doubledays to open the season, the Scrappers (2-2) have lost two straight to them.
The two teams are tied for second place in the New York-Penn League Pinckney Division standings and will play again tonight as part of the Scrappers' eight-game road trip, which also takes them to Lowell, Mass., and Brooklyn, N.Y.
The Batavia Muckdogs lead the Pinckney Division with a 3-1 record.