43
Scary defense helps Monsters top M.V.
By PETE MOLLICA
NILES
The Mahoning Valley Scrappers have been a pretty solid defensive team for most of the season, but Saturday night the defense joined the sluggish offense and the relief pitching in leading to another New York-Penn League loss.
With a crowd of just more than 3,000 at Eastwood Field, the Scrappers committed four errors, three of them in one inning and two on one play that helped the Vermont Lake Monsters cruise to a 10-4 victory.
The Scrappers (10-12) had seven hits, but six of them came in two innings when they scored all four of their runs.
Mahoning Valley starting pitcher Alex Kaminsky (3-2) pitched his way through four scoreless innings before giving up three runs in the fifth inning. After the Scrappers battled back to tie the contest 3-3, the defense collapsed in the sixth, making three errors and allowing the Lake Monsters to pull to a 7-3 advantage they never relinquished.
Vermont had solid pitching throughout, led by starter Taylor Jordan, who threw the first four innings, but got no decision. Mark Herrera (2-0) picked up the win with three innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit.
In all, the Lake Monsters retired the Scrappers in order six of the nine innings and recorded 12 strikeouts.
“When we make four errors we’re not going to win a game ever,” said Scrappers manager Travis Fryman. “Our only chance to win is to pitch well and not make mistakes. There were just a lot a bad plays out there tonight.”
Eighteen-year-old Giovanny Urshela led the Scrappers at the plate, getting two of the team’s seven hits, including a clutch two-run double in the three-run fourth inning.
“I was seeing the ball really well tonight and felt really good up there,” Urshela said. “This is all new to me and I just have to keep working and learning every game, but it is starting to come around now.”
The Scrappers got on the scoreboard first in the fourth inning on four hits, including Urshela’s two-run double down the left field line. He scored on a single by Carlos Moncrief.
The Lake Monsters tied the game in the fifth on three singles and a pair of walks and then added four more in the sixth on three more hits and three Mahoning Valley errors, two of them on one play that allowed two runs to score.
Vermont broke the game open in the seventh with three more runs on just one base hit, but the Scrappers pitching allowed four walks and a hit batsman to help out the Lake Monsters.
Mahoning Valley did score once more in the eighth inning when Kevin Rucker led off with a single and Jordan Casas followed with a double to right field. Rucker scored on an infield ground out by Tyler Cannon.