Scrappers shut down Jamestown

Photo by: David Dermer/The Vindicator

Photo

Mahoning Valley Scrappers reliever Drew Rucinski pitches to a batter from the Jamestown Scrappers during a game Sunday at Eastwood Field in Niles. The Scrappers defeated the Jammers, 5-2. Mahoning Valley faces the Batavia Muckdogs today in Niles.

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

NILES

On Sunday, Scrappers pitcher Kirk Wetmore played like someone in his third year of professional baseball.

So did Jake Lowery — and it’s only his first week.

Wetmore tossed five shutout innings and Lowery went 3 for 4 with two doubles and four RBIs to help Mahoning Valley defeat the Jamestown Jammers in front of 3,001 fans at Eastwood Field.

“Baseball’s baseball at any level,” said Lowery, a fourth round pick out of James Madison University. “The guys just throw a little harder at this level.”

After going 1 for 6 in two games at designated hitter, Lowery started his first game at catcher and impressed Scrappers manager David Wallace at the plate — and behind it.

“Jake’s been nice to see,” said Wallace, a former catcher. “You can definitely tell he has an idea of what he’s doing at the plate. He has a plan, he’s very comfortable and he’s confident.

“And it was fun to watch him catch. It was his first time out today and I think he did a great job behind the plate.”

Lowery (5-10, 200) batted .359 with 24 home runs and 91 RBIs in 61 games as a junior for James Madison, earning multiple first team All-America honors. The Virginia native is the highest pick from this year’s draft on Mahoning Valley’s roster and Lowery said there was no question he was going to sign early.

“They took me at a good spot and I knew I was going to go this year,” said Lavisky, who said he has a lot of family in Michigan but never before played baseball in Ohio. “I was ready to play.”

He and fellow catcher Alex Lavisky are two of the Scrappers’ better hitters, so it’s a safe bet they’ll switch off between DH and catcher for much of the season.

Batting cleanup on Sunday, Lowery doubled in his first two at bats, then hit a two-run single in the seventh inning that gave Mahoning Valley a 5-0 lead.

“I’m seeing the ball pretty well and I took advantage of some good counts and was aggressive early in the count,” Lowery said. “Good things happened.”

Wetmore (1-0), meanwhile, was cooly efficient, holding Jamestown to two hits over five innings with two walks and a strikeout.

“He had them off balance,” Wallace said. “Every time we went out there, it seemed like we were coming right back to the dugout quickly.”

Wetmore was an 11th-round pick in 2009 but struggled in 15 games with Mahoning Valley last season. He went 2-7 with a 6.26 ERA in 54 2/3 innings, so Sunday’s outing should be a nice confidence boost.

“Kurt was comfortable,” Wallace said. “We’re looking to him to be a leader on this team. A leader in the locker room and on the field.

“He’s a good guy for us to tell the younger guys, ‘Hey, watch Kurt. Watch his tempo. Learn from him because he’s been here before.’”

Drew Rucinski pitched two shutout innings with four strikeouts for the Scrappers (2-1), who gave up 12 runs in the first 10 innings of the season, then held Jamestown scoreless for the next 16.

Aaron Siliga added two hits and scored a run.

Helpi Reyes (0-1) gave up two runs (one earned) to get the loss for Jamestown (1-2).