Making the Doubledays pay

By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NILES -- Mahoning Valley Scrappers manager Rouglas Odor is excited about the way his team is playing.
Thursday night the Scrappers took advantage of Auburn's mistakes and posted an 8-3 victory over the Doubledays before 4,593 fans at Eastwood Field.
The win was the Scrappers' fifth in their last seven games and put them over the .500 mark in the New York-Penn League with an 9-8 record. Auburn fell to 8-8.
"These kids are starting to learn the game well," Odor said. "Tonight they gave us some breaks and we took advantage of them. That's what good teams do."
Once again Mahoning Valley had terrific pitching as starter J.D. Martin led the way with three scoreless innings, while Dan Frega, Dan Eisentrager and Matt Meyer allowed just three runs and six hits over the final six innings.
Martin, who was making his fourth start while on rehab assignment from Akron, appears to have made a complete recovery from Tommy John surgery as he struck out three and allowed just one hit.
Frega got the win (1-3), but allowed two runs in two innings of work, while Eisentrager pitched two innings, allowing four hits and one run. Meyer was perfect in his final two innings, striking out three.
The Scrappers committed their first error in three games Thursday, but it was a questionable call. Stephen Douglas appeared to have caught a fly ball to open fifth inning and dropped it while trying to make the throw in, but the umpires ruled he didn't have it long enough for a catch.
"It's a tough call for them [umpires] since they are so far away, but still we played very well in the field again," Odor said.
Early lead
The Scrappers jumped on top early, scoring three times in the first inning. All three runs were unearned because of the first of four Doubleday errors came in the inning.
Adam Davis led off with a double and after Jared Goedert walked, Matt McBride hit a sharp grounder to short, which was booted, allowing Davis to score. Dustin Realini's double to deep right-center drove in the final two runs.
Mahoning Valley added another run in the second when Douglas reached first after striking out when the catcher couldn't hold the third strike. He went to second on a groundout, stole third and scored on Davis' single to left.
The Doubledays made two more errors in the fourth, allowing the Scrappers to score twice more with only one hit, an RBI single by Goedert.
In the fifth Mahoning Valley scored two more as Realini walked and Cirillo Cumberbatch, who had been struggling at the plate, doubled to deep center scoring Realini. Douglas sacrificed Cumberbatch to third and he scored on a sacrifice fly by Evandy DeLeon.
Coming back
The Doubledays scored two runs in the fifth after Douglas' error in center. Jonathan Diaz doubled home one run and Adam Calderone drove in the other with a sacrifice fly.
Auburn got one more in the seventh with two outs as Diaz singled to left and scored on a double down the right field line by Calderone.
Davis led the Scrappers at the plate with two hits, while Diaz had a pair of hits for the Doubledays.
The two teams will meet in the final game of the series tonight at 7:05 at Eastwood Field.
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AUBURNSCRAPPERS
abrhbiabrhbi
Calderone cf4012Davis ss5121
Cmpbell 3b-2b3000Lytle 2b4001
Hall 2b3010Goedert 3b3111
Swppnhsr 3b1010McBride c4110
Hopkins 1b3000Edmundsn dh4000
Lane c4000Realini 1b3112
Scobee rf4110Cmbrbtch rf4111
Baksh lf4000Douglas cf3200
Jeroloman dh4110De Leon lf3111
Diaz ss4121
Totals34373Totals33877
Auburn000020100--3
Scrappers31022000x--8
E--Diaz (3), Hopkins (4), Hall (5), Calderone (2), Douglas (1). LOB--Auburn 7, Scrappers 5. 2B--Diaz (3), Hall (4), Calderone (4), Davis (2), Realini (2), Cumberbatch (1). S--Douglas. SF--Calderone, De Leon. SB--McBride (1), Douglas (4).
IPHRERBBSO
Auburn
Bull L, 1-13 1-356112
Nieves1 2-322211
Overbey200003
Harrison100001
Scrappers
Martin, J.310013
Frega W, 1-3222002
Eisentrager241111
Meyer200003
Eisentrager pitched to 2 batters in the 8th. WP--Bull. Balk--Bull. Umpires--Home, Arcovio; First, Hamari. T--2:41. A--4,593.
HOW THEY SCORED
Scrappers 1st -- Adam Davis doubled to left-center; Andy Lytle lined out; Jared Goedert walked; Matt McBride reached on an error at shortstop, Davis scoring, Goedert to second; Kelly Edmundson flied out; Dustin Realine doubled to right-center, Goedert and McBride scoring; Cirillo Cumberbatch grounded out. 3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error.
Scrappers 2nd -- Stephen Douglas struck out, but reached when the third strike got past catcher; Evandy DeLeon grounded out, Douglas to second; Douglas stole third base; Davis singled to left, Douglas scoring; Lytle grounded out, Davis to second; Goedert grounded out. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors.
Scrappers 4th -- Douglas reached on error at shortstop; DeLeon reached on error at third base, Douglas to second; Douglas and DeLeon advanced to third and second on a balk; Davis popped out; Lytle reached on fielders choice, Douglas scoring, DeLeon to third; Goedert singled to center, DeLeon scoring, Lytle to third on error by center fielder; McBride popped out; Edmundson struck out; 2 runs, 1 hit, 3 errors.
Doubledays 5th -- Shawn Scobee reached on error by center fielder, Jonathon Baksh flied out to center; Brian Jeroloman singled to right, Scobee to second; Jonathan Diaz doubled down first base line, Scobee scoring, Jeroloman to third; Adam Calderone hit sacrifice fly to left, Jeroloman scoring, Diaz to third; Scott Campbell grounded out. 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error.
Scrappers 5th -- Realini walked; Cumberbatch doubled to center, Realine scoring; Douglas sacrifice bunt, Cumberbatch to third; DeLeon sacrifice fly to right field, Cumberbatch scoring; Davis grounds out. 2 runs 1 hit, 0 errors.
Doubledays 7th -- Baksh grounded out, Jeroloman struck out; Diaz singled to left field; Adam Calderone doubled down right field line, Diaz scoring; Scott Campbell grounded out; 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors.