43
Scrappers blast their way past Aberdeen
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
NILES
Of all the great players that have started their careers at Mahoning Valley, one of the best might be the Scrappers youngest player, Giovanny Urshela.
The 18-year-old non-drafted free agent third baseman from Columbia has been one of the Scrappers hottest hitters in August and his three-run homer in the first inning was the catalyst for an impressive 9-6 victory over the Aberdeen IronBirds at Eastwood Field on Saturday.
Urshela also had two more hits and a walk and drove in four runs in the rout.
“He seems to get better and better. He’s really fun to watch,” said manager Travis Fryman on his budding star. “He keeps maturing and he looks like he has a chance to be a pretty good player.
“The quality of his work has been better. He certainly has some good instincts that are impressive and he has some physical tools.”
In his last ten games, Urshela has raised his average to .292 by hitting at a .350 clip with three home runs and eight RBIs. He has improved his batting average each month this season.
Defensively, he has been outstanding all season.
“I think having him play at this level is good for his development,” Fryman said. “He’s playing with older guys, more experienced guys and that is forcing him to step his game up a little bit.”
Urshela has been reluctant to talk this season because he is still learning English but he said he was thrilled with his big night.
“I feel good,” said Urshela about his big hit that got the Scrappers going in the first inning. “I work hard and I get better every day.”
The Scrappers got to IronBirds starter Tyler Sexton for seven runs in the first five innings on the heels of three mammoth home run blasts off the bats of Urshela, Carlos Moncrief, and Jesus Aquilar.
Moncrief’s towering drive cleared the wall behind the back of the Scrappers bullpen in right field, while Aquilar’s hit the top of the back wall of the IronBirds bullpen in left.
Fryman said that inserting Moncrief in the leadoff spot this homestand and the addition of Aquilar has helped the team’s offense.
“We didn’t want to rush Aquilar up here because he’s coming off a traumatic injury (he was hit in the face with a fast ball six weeks ago),” Fryman said. “But he is an outstanding hitter.”
The Scrappers other run, not attributed to the power surge, came on the heels of two walks and a fielder’s choice off the bat of Chase Burnette that scored Urshela.
Meanwhile four Scrappers pitchers, starter Mike Rayl and relievers Takafumi Nakamura, Clayton Ehlert and Nick Kirk were effective enough to keep Aberdeen’s offense in check.
Ehlert gave up four runs before Kirk came in the eighth to quell a rally and earn his sixth save.
Nakamura got the win by pitching two scoreless innings of two-hit baseball. Rayl didn’t qualify for the win despite leaving with a 5-2 lead because he only hurled four innings.
“Everything about this game tonight was mediocre,” said Fryman. “Except for the hitting.”
The Scrappers had a sluggish start to the month of August, losing the first three games. But the Scrappers had turned things around with this latest series at home. The Scrappers have won three of the last four.
Game two of the three-game series against Aberdeen is tonight at 5:05 p.m.
AberdeenScrappers
abrhbiabrhbi
Mumy cf6021Moncrief cf4321
Starr 2b5010Fontnez ss4110
Schutz lf5012Urshela 3b4334
Gylord 3b5110Aguilar dh3112
Andrsn 1b3212Brnette 1b3000
Dunlap rf5010Rucker rf1100
Polnco dh5120Heere lf4010
Olivrira c3110Montero c4000
Roony ss3111Fields 2b4001
Rauch ph1010Rayl p0000
Sexton p0000Nakamra p0000
Tolliver p0000Ehlert p0000
Mazur p0000Kirk p0000
Totals416126Totals31988
Aberdeen020000220—6
Scrappers31102110x—9
E—Sexton (1), Heere (5), Fontanez (10). LOB—Aberdeen 13, Scrappers 7. 2B—Urshela (6). HR—Anderson (8), Urshela (3), Moncrief (5), Aguilar (1). SB—Mummey (5). PB—Oliveira (7)
IPHRERBBSO
Aberdeen
Sexton, L 1-54 2-357631
Tolliver2 1-332241
Mazur100002
Scrappers
Rayl432235
Nakamra, W 2-3220002
Ehlert11-34403
Kirk, S 612-33003
WP—Sexton, Rayl 2. HBP—by Sexton (Moncrief), by Tolliver (Rucker), by Ehlert (Oliveira). Umpires—Home, John Burzynski; Bases, Aaron Reynolds. T—3:04. A—3,960.