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Ejection, but not dejection: Scrappers erupt in victory
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SCRAPPERS - (27) Lonnie Chisenhall waits on the throw as (13) Robi Estrada comes in to break up the play Saturday night at Eastwood Field.
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SCRAPPERS - LAKE MONSTERS - (28) Isais Velasques of the Scrappers gets tangled up with (25) Derek Norris after a hard slide at second Thursday night at Eastwood Field.
By Pete Mollica
Manager Travis Fryman and two players were tossed in the 9-4 win.
NILES — Mahoning Valley Scrappers manager Travis Fryman thought his first ejection as a manager would be a lot more exciting.
Fryman and two of his players were ejected by umpires, but that didn’t overshadow the Scrappers’ best offensive performance of the season in a 9-4 victory over the Vermont Lake Monsters 9-4 before 5,487 fans Thursday night at Eastwood Field.
Mahoning Valley (10-13) had to battle back from a 3-0 deficit, but once they got the bats working the Scrappers dominated the Lake Monsters, outhitting them 16-6.
All the ejections came in the top of the eighth inning when Scrappers second baseman Isaias Velasquez was tossed after he confronted Vermont’s Derek Norris, who slid hard into second base to break up a double play.
Later in the inning Scrappers’ pitcher Mark Rodriguez was ejected after he hit Vermont’s Stephen Englund to load the bases.
Both benches cleared after the incident at second base.
“The rule is, after both teams had been warned, if the pitcher retaliates in the umpire’s decision, both he and the manager are ejected,” Fryman said.
“That wasn’t the way I pictured my first ejection as a manager,” he laughed.
“It’s a shame that things had to end the way they did, because that was without a doubt our best offensive performance of the year,” Fryman said.
“Overall I thought the umpires handled things very well,” Fryman said. “The slide into second base was a good, hard, clean slide and Isaias is a young kid and he hasn’t had much contact at second base like that. If he hadn’t been ejected and I was in better shape with infielders, I probably would have taken him out of the game at that point.”
The Scrappers, who had hit only five home runs all season, hit a pair Thursday night, one by Jeremy Tice leading off the second inning and another with two outs by Ryan Blair that ignited a three-run rally in the fourth inning and gave the Scrappers the lead for good, 5-4.
“I think a lot of it has to do with these kids just getting used to the wooden bats,” Fryman said. “There’s a big difference between hitting with aluminum and wood.”
Fryman also said that Velasquez getting ejected put him in a bind for infielders since the only one he had available was Lonnie Chisenhall and he was the designated hitter in the contest. The result was that he had to let relief pitcher Daniel Morales bat for himself in the bottom of the eighth.
The Scrappers also got some outstanding pitching, especially from the relievers.
“We’ve been getting good starting pitching, but our bullpen has struggled lately, but not tonight,” Fryman said.
Starter Kaimi Mead went the first five innings, allowing five hits and four runs, while rest of the relievers — Brad Hinkle, Rodrigues and Morales — allowed just one hit and no runs over the final four frames. In fact, the Lake Monsters had only two hits over the final seven innings.
They scored twice in the first on Norris’ two-run single and took a 3-0 lead in the second with the help of a Scrappers’ error.
Mahoning Valley got one back on Tice’s homer in the third, added a second in the third on a Velasquez double and a Vermont error and then took the lead in the fourth on Blair’s shot into the Scrappers bullpen, followed by a double by Robbie Alcombrack and singles by Walter Diaz and Velasquez.
The Scrappers added two more in the sixth with the help of another Vermont error and capped off the scoring with another pair in the ninth on an error, two passed balls and an RBI single by Chisenhall.
Velasquez was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI before being ejected, while Alcombrack also had three hits, and Hernandez, Tice and Diaz all added two each.
The two teams will close out the series tonight in a 7:05 start at Eastwood Field.
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VERMONTSCRAPPERS
abrhbiabrhbi
Stoufler 2b3100Velasquez 2b4232
Keithley 3b5110Rodriguez p0000
Norris c3012Morales p1000
Valdez lf4010Hernandez rf5120
Guerriero cf4010Chsnhll dh-ss5011
Souza dh4110Tice 3b5121
Englund rf3100Pickens c5010
Moore 1b3000Valdes cf4010
Arias ss4012Blair lf3211
Alcmbrck 1b4230
Diaz ss-2b3121
Totals33464Totals399166
Vermont210100000—4
Scrappers01130202x—9
E—Keithley 2 (4), Moore (2), Mead (1), Diaz (2). DP—Scrappers 1. LOB—Vermont 7, Scrappers 8. 2B—Keithley (2), Velasquez (7), Alcombrack (2), Pickens (3). HR—Tice (1), Blair (1). S—Diaz. CS—Velasquez (1).
IPHRERBBSO
Vermont
Milone L, 1-13 2-395403
Pecina4 1-374112
Scrappers
Mead W, 2-3554233
Hinkle200001
Rodrigues2-310011
Morales S, 11 1-300002
WP—Pecina. PB—Norris 2. HBP—By Rodrigues (Englund). Umpires—Home, Tim Eastman; Bases, Shaylor Smith. T—2:33. A—5,487.
HOW THEY SCORED
Vermont 1st — Blake Stouffer walked. James Keithley doubled to left, Stouffer to third. Derek Norris singled to right, Stouffer scored, Keithley scored. Jesus Valdez grounds into fielders choice, Norris out at second. Michael Guerrero hits into double play, short-to-second-to first. Valdez out at second. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Vermont 2nd — Steve Souza singled up middle. Souza to second on error by pitcher. Stephen Englund flies out to left, Souza to third. Tyler Moore walks. Dani Arias grounds into a force play at third, Souza scores, Moore out at second. Stouffer grounds out to second. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Scrappers 2nd — Jeremie Tice homers to left-center. Doug Pickens flies out to center. Juan Valdes reaches on infield single off pitcher. Ryan Blair hits into a fielders choice, Valdes out at second. Robbie Alcombrack singles to center, Blair to third. Walter Diaz grounds out to pitcher. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Scrappers 3rd — Velasquez doubled to right field. Hernandez strikes out. Chisenhall strikes out. Tice reaches on an error by third baseman, Velasquez scores. Tice thrown out at second base. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Vermont 4th — Souza strikes out. Englund reaches on error by shortstop, goes to second on bad throw. Moore flies out to right. Arias singles to center, Englund scores, Arias to second on throw home. Stouffer walks. Keithley flies out to center. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Scrappers 4th — Pickens popped out to first. Valdes grounds out to short. Blair homers into bullpen in right field. Alcombrack doubles to left. Diaz singles to center, Alcombrack scores, Diaz to second on throw home. Velasquez singles to right, Diaz scores. Pitching change: Ricardo Pencina replaces Tommy Milone. Ramon Hernandez singles to right, Velasquez to third. Chisenhall grounds out to pitcher. 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Scrappers 6th — Blair walked. Blair to second on wild pitch. Alcombrack flied out to right. Diaz singles to right, Blair to third. Velasquez his into a fielders choice, Blair scores, Diaz out at second. Hernandez singles to left, Hernandez to second on throw, Velasquez scores on error by third baseman. Chisenhall strikes out. 2 runs, two hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Scrappers 8th — Alcombrack singles to center. Diaz grounds out with sacrifice bunt to pitcher, Alcombrack to second. Morales grounds out to short. Hernandez reaches on error by first baseman, Alcombrack scores, Hernanez to second on passed ball. Chisenhall singles to center, Hernandez scores. Tice singles at shortstop, Chisenhall to second. Pickens pops out to short. 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.