NOTES FROM WILLIAMSPORT

Still out of action: Scrapper first baseman Todd Martin is still on the disabled list as a result of suffering a knee injury during last week's action against Auburn. Martin collided with the Doubledays’ first baseman and fell across the bag, suffering the injury to his knee. With the Scrappers’ playoff chances rapidly fading, it appears as though Martin might not return to action during the remainder of the 2007 season.

Five straight: Going into Thursday’s game, the Scrappers had defeated the Crosscutters in their last four meetings, showing a 5-1 mark against Williamsport for the season. Williamsport's only other win over the Scrappers came in Mahoning Valley's last visit to Bowman field by a 3-1 score.

Opposite directions: The two teams have been going in opposite directions during the past week. The Crosscutters have won six of their last seven outings, while the Scrappers have dropped five of their last eight, including a pair of 3-2 losses to division-leading Auburn. In their last half dozen losses, five have been by one run, three to Auburn, one to Batavia and one to Jamestown.

League leaders: Heading into the final week of the season, Martin is still the league leader in batting with a mark of .360, 13 points ahead of Justin Henry of Oneonta. Joining Martin as the pitching leader in the NY-Penn League is Heath Taylor with a sparkling ERA of 1.37. Taylor sports a 3-2 record. In his 52 2/3 innings of work, he has allowed 43 hits, while striking out 35 and walking 14.

Bill Albright