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Scrappers get 16 hits to snap losing streak
Scrappers get 16 hits to snap losing streak
By JON MOFFETT
NILES
Aaron Fields, on ground, and Carlos Moncrief of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers chase a loose ball during Wednesday’s game against the Tri-City ValleyCats at Eastwood Field. e type="photothumb" id="31674" align="left" /> Carlos Moncrief fouls the ball off his leg during Wednesday’s game at Eastwood Field against the Tri-City ValleyCats. The catcher is Buck Afenir of Tri-City and the umpire is Aaron Reynolds. It was one-hit wonders night at Eastwood Field when the Mahoning Scrappers faced the Tri-City Valley Cats on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the same could be said for much of the Scrappers offense as of late. But Wednesday’s game was more like the team’s greatest hits collection. The Scrappers (17-29) pounded out 16 hits in a 7-2 victory. The win was the team’s first in August, and broke a three-game losing streak. Manager Travis Fryman said it was good to finally break out of the offensive funk that has plagued the team most of the season. “We have made progress,” he said. “We rank pretty much at the bottom of almost every offensive category as a ball club. But our guys are working hard and they are getting better.” The front man leading the band Wednesday night was first baseman Chase Burnette. Burnette hit a blast off of relief pitcher Jason Chowning in the bottom of the fourth. After a curtain call, the crowd demanded an encore. Burnette obliged with another bomb in the sixth, this time off the right arm of David Martinez. He went 3-for-4 on the night with a double and two RBIs. “We have a lot of good hitters on the team, and the thing we’ve had the most trouble with so far this year is everybody doing it at one time,” Burnette said. “Tonight it seemed like everybody at once had a good night. You have good nights and bad nights, but it seemed like everybody had a good night tonight.” Joining Burnette in the three-hit club were Carlos Moncrief, Giovanny Urshela and Kevin Fontanez. The group was a combined 12-for-17 with three runs and four RBIs. “Everybody was seeing the ball well and taking good swings and having good at bats,” Burnette said. “Good at-bats are the key. You have to see the good pitches before you hit the good pitches.” The Valley Cats (20-25) had 12 hits, but getting lost in the shuffle were several key defensive plays. Starter Jordan Cooper, the Indians’ ninth-round draft pick this year, pitched himself into a jam in the fourth inning. Three consecutive singles loaded the bases for the Valley Cats. But Cooper got the next two hitters to pop out on the infield. Things got interesting when former Youngstown State standout Jacke Healey launched a shot to deep left field. But Brian Heere was able to pull it down on the warning track. Cooper allowed six hits in five innings. He had one strikeout and no walks. One play in particular will not make the final album, but might make it as a B-side blooper track. Second baseman Aaron Fields tried to field a bloop hit in shallow center field. The ball fell, and Fields turned to throw the ball to the cutoff man, but plunked shortstop Fontanez in the back of the head. Both were fine after the play, and the team enjoyed a laugh in the locker room after the win. “I’ve never seen that before, but if you work or manage at this level, you’ll see about everything if you hang around long enough,” Fryman said. When asked what his favorite one-hit wonder is, Fryman showed his hip side. Kind of. “I haven’t the faintest idea, I’m not a big music listener,” he said. “It’d probably have to be that Ice Ice Baby [by Vanilla Ice] because that’s everybody’s favorite.”
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