Scrappers can’t hold early lead, fall 7-5 to Batavia

By Pete Mollica

The game was hampered by a steady rain.

NILES — As long as Travis Fryman can remember baseball and rain just never went together.

Thursday night Fryman’s Mahoning Valley Scrappers had to battle both rain and the Batavia Muckdogs and unfortunately came out on the short end of a 7-5 decision before 3,357 fans at Eastwood Field.

Mahoning Valley (5-5) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but just couldn’t hold onto it as the Muckdogs pounded out 12 hits off five Scrappers’ pitchers and evened their season record at 5-5 also in the Pinckney Division of the New York-Penn League.

“It was really a great ball game,” said Fryman. “Even with all the rain and although we made a good showing we just couldn’t pull one out tonight.”

Fryman said that he was excited that the team carried over its hitting ways from the Auburn series.

“We didn’t play very well against Batavia up there, but still managed to pull out a win in three games, but we played much better against Auburn and it carried over the way we were swinging the bats tonight,” he said.

“We’re still a young bunch of kids, but the one thing that I’ve drilled into them is that they have to play for all 27 outs and we did that tonight,” he added.

The Scrappers got a little help as they took the 3-0 lead in the second inning.

With two outs the Scrappers started a rally as Doug Pickens walked and Ryan Blair followed with a single to left. Donnie Webb then lofted a short fly ball behind third base near the line and Batavia shortstop Colt Sedbrook chased after it, but couldn’t hang on and both Pickens and Blair, who were running on the play scored and Webb reached second.

Isaias Velasquez then singled to center scoring Webb with the third run.

Then the rain started to fall, but it didn’t affect the Muckdogs as much as it did the Scrappers.

Batavia scored in each of the next five innings.

Two of those were on solo home runs by Christian Rosa and Jermane Curtis in the fourth and fifth innings. They scored twice in the seventh on two hits to take a 6-5 lead and then added an insurance run in the top of the ninth (which they needed) when Jon Edwards homered to left-center field.

The Scrappers added single runs in the fifth, when Lonnie Chisenhall tripled to deep center to open the inning and scored on Jeremy Tice’s single, and another in the sixth on back-to-back singles by Blair and Webb and a Doubleday’s error.

They made a last ditch effort in the bottom of the ninth when they loaded the bases with one out and scored one run on a sacrifice fly by Webb, but the Doubleday’s fifth pitcher Rigoberto Lugan managed to retire Velasquez for the final out.

Travis Turk, the Scrappers third pitcher, took the loss. Starting pitcher Russell Young went three innings and allowed just one run. Carlos Arias gave up three runs and Dave Roberts one.

Josh Hester picked up the win for the Doubledays.

Tice, Blair and Velasquez all had two hits for the Scrappers, who finished with nine on the night. Curtis and Edwards each had three for the Doubledays as Curtis’ included a home run and a double and Edwards’ a home run and triple.

mollica@vindy.com

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BATAVIASCRAPPERS

abrhbiabrhbi

Riportella cf5100Armstrong lf3000

Curtis 3b5132Chisenhall ss5110Sedbrook ss5010Simpson 1b5000

Peterson lf4120Tice 3b2021

Murphy c4110Valdes dh4000

Edwards rf5231Pickens c2110

Scruggs 1b4000Blair rf4220

Rosa dh3121Webb cf4110

Garcia 2b4000Velasquez 2b3021

Totals397127Totals32592

Batavia001111201—7

Scrappers030011001—5

E—Sedbrook (6), Edwards (2), Tice (3); DP— Scrappers 1, Batavia 1; LOB—Scrappers 10, Batavia 9; 2B—Curtis (4), Rosa (1); 3B—Edwards (1), Chisenhall (1); HR—Rosa (1), Curtis (1), Edwards (2).

IPHRERBBSO

Batavia

Lynn1 2-323021

Cardenas1 1-320012

Hester W, 1-1442120

Buursma110000

Lugo S,1111120

Scrappers

Young351014

Arias243304

Turek L, 0-2222212

Roberts211102

HBP—by Buursma (Armstrong), by Arias (Scruggs), by Turek (Rosa); WP—Cardenas, Turek; Umpires—Home, Chris Graham, First, Luke Hamilton; T—3:15; A—3,357.

HOW THEY SCORED

Scrappers 2nd — Jeremy Tice walked. Jaun Valdes grounds into double play (first-to-short-to-first), Doug Pickens walks. Ryan Blair Blair singled to left, Pickens to second; Donnie Webb reaches on error by shortstop, Pickens scores, Blair scores, Webb to second on throw home. Isaias Velasquez singles to center, Webb scores. Velasquez to second on wild pitch. Corteze Armstrong walks. Lonnie Chisenhall grounds into force play, Velasquez out at third. 3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.

Batavia 3rd — Beau Riportella reached on error at third base. Jermane Curtis doubled down right field line, Riportella scored. Colt Sedbrook lines into double play at second, Curtis out at second. Shane Peterson singled off shortstops glove. Blake Murphy singled up middle, Peterson to third. Jon Edwards strikes out swinging. 1 run, 3 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.

Batavia 4th — Xavier Scruggs strikes out looking. Christian Rosa homers to left field. Jose Garcia flies out to right. Riportella strikes out swinging. 1 run 1 hit, 1 error, 0 LOB.

Batavia 5th — Jermane Curtis homered to left field. Sedbrook grounded out to short. Peterson strikes out looking. Murphy strikes out swinging. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Scrappers 5th — Lonnie Chisenhall tripled to deep center field. Brock Simpson lined out to third. Tice singled to left, Chisehall scored. Valdes flied out to left. Pickens grounded out to pitcher. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Batavia 6th — Jon Edwards tripled to center field. Scruggs was hit by a pitch. Rosa hit a ground rule double to right-center, Edwards scored, Scruggs to third. Pitching change: Travis Turk relieves Carlos Aarias. Garcia strikes out swinging. Riportella strikes out looking. Curtis grounds out to third. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Scrappers 6th — Blair singles up the middle. Webb singles to right, Blair scores on error by right fielder Edwards, Webb to second. Velasquez out on sacrifice bunt, pitcher to second baseman, Webb to third. Armstrong lines out to first base. Chisenhall pops out to short. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Batavia 7th — Sedbrook grounds out to pitcher. Peterson singles to center. Murphy walks, Peterson to second. Edwards singles to left, Peterson to third, Murphy to second. Scruggs grounds into a force out a second, Peterson, Murphy score. Rosa hit by a pitch, Scruggs to second. Scruggs and Rosa both advance on a wild pitch. Garcia grounds out to short. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Batavia 9th — Peterson grounds out to second. Murphy grounds out to third. Edwards homers to left-center field. Scruggs strikes out. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Scappers 9th — Tice walked. Valdes singled to right, Tice to second. Pickens fouled out to first. Blair walked, Tice to third, Valdes to second. Webb hits sacrifice fly to right, Tice scores. Velasquez flies out to right. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.