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Facing a big leaguer: Thursday’s game between the Scrappers and State College had a little extra flavor to it. The starting pitcher for the Spikes was Zach Duke, a member of the Pirates starting rotation who was in Happy Valley for his fourth and final rehab assignment. Although Duke and the Spikes won the game 4-1, a few of the Scrappers took away some memories from the game.

White excited: “I was excited because it is not every day you have a chance to face a major league pitcher in low A ball,” said Scrappers outfielder Adam White. “It was definitely a tough task because he is a quality pitcher who has been pitching at the major league level. I didn’t change my approach because I just figured, hey, he is a pitcher so I tried to see the ball and hit it.” White wasn’t overly impressed with Duke’s fastball. “I would say his fastball is about the same as I have seen from some of the better pitchers in the [New York-Penn] league,” White said. “The big difference was the presence he had on the mound as a big league pitcher. He had excellent command of his pitches and when he began using his breaking pitch, it was a pretty good breaking ball once he threw it over the plate.”

Thompson got hit: Scrappers infielder Mark Thompson got a line drive single off Duke. “I was sort of excited to face him, but when it comes down to it, he is just another guy on the hill,” said Thompson. “All you can do is try and see the ball and get a hit some place.” Of his hit, Thompson said, “It was a 3-2 count and since he was throwing nothing but fastballs, I was sitting on it. “It was a little away, and I was just able to hit it up the middle.”

Bill Albright