NOTEBOOK Scrappers

Hot hitter: One night after driving in the game-tying run against Lowell, Scrappers outfielder Matt Brown went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored to help Mahoning Valley win its second straight game. He entered the game hitting .370 at Eastwood Field this season. “I’ve been doing a lot of extra work, coming in early and getting extra hacks,” said Brown, a native of Oklahoma City. “I changed a couple things with my stance, helping me not dip my shoulder. I’m seeing the ball a little longer.” Brown was drafted in the 13th round last month out of Wichita State, where he batted .303 with six homers, 61 RBIs, 86 hits and 18 stolen bases in 72 games. He’s batting .286 this season and has worked closely with hitting coach Kevin Higgins on hitting the ball to all fields. “That’s where the money is, hitting it the other way,” Brown said with a smile.
Being aggressive: Infielder Jansy Infante stole his first two bases of the season on Sunday and Stephen Douglas had his first as the Scrappers stayed aggressive on the bases all night, taking the extra base on a couple occasions. Brown was thrown out trying to stretch a single in the fourth, but even that play didn’t bother manager Tim Laker. “It took a perfect throw to get him,” said Laker. “We wanted to put pressure on the other team. We’re not just going to run like crazy, but some of their pitchers had a high leg kick and we tried to take advantage of that.”
Strikeout king: Scrappers starter William Delage struck out seven in just four innings on Sunday, which isn’t all that surprising considering his background. He averaged a strikeout per inning at Lamar University last spring and with the Scrappers last summary. He is Lamar’s all-time strikeout leader.

Joe Scalzo