Scrappers walk off with win

By Pete Mollica

NILES — Cleveland Indians No. 1 draft pick Lonnie Chisenhall smacked a two-run walkoff home run in the bottom of the 11th inning as the Mahoning Valley Scrappers pulled out an 8-6 win over the Batavia Muckdogs Saturday night at Eastwood Field.

The Scrappers got a lead-off walk from Juan Valdes and was sacrificed to second by Walter Diaz.

Valdes reached third on a passed ball before Chisenhall belted a home run into the Scrappers’ bullpen to win the contest.

Mahoning Valley (6-7) blew a 4-0 early lead, mainly because of some wild pitching and trailed 6-4 going to the bottom of the ninth. They rallied for two runs to tie the game and set up Chisenhall’s heroics.

The Scrappers scored first, plating four runs in the bottom of the second inning, including five straight singles, a run-scoring double-play ball and a Muckdog error.

Chisenhall started the rally with a single to right and Zach Booker, Ramon Hernandez, Robbie Alcombrack and Daniel Webb followed in order with singles, Alcombrack and Webb getting RBIs.

Ryan Blair hit into a double play which scored the third run and when Isaias Velasquez reached on an error the fourth run scored.

Then the Scrappers went cold while the Muckdogs came battling back.

Batavia scored single runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings and then scored twice in the eighth to take its first lead 5-4.

The Muckdogs added an insurance run in the ninth, but the Scrappers battled back to tie the game.

With two outs, Blair singled to right and Velasquez was hit by a pitch.

Valdes then singled to right scoring Blair and moving Velasquez to third. He scored when Batavia’s relief pitcher Jason Buursma balked him home to send the game to extra innings.

The Scrappers loaded the bases in the bottom of the 10th inning, but Hernandez struck out to end the inning. The Scrappers left eight base runners stranded in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings. They only left two in the first seven.

Scrappers pitching had trouble finding the plate, except for starter Guido Fonseca, who didn’t walk a batter in the three innings he pitched. The next three Anilin Martinez, Brian Grening and Daniel Morales combined for seven free passes and three of those produced runs for the Muckdogs.

mollica@vindy.com