Wendle shines in another Scrappers’ defeat

August 8, 2012 at 12:10a.m.

NILES

Professional baseball isn’t exactly getting easier for Joe Wendle.

But at least he’s becoming a little bit more comfortable at work.

Like anybody spending the first few months at a new job, Wendle has seen his share of growing pains. But the Mahoning Valley Scrappers rookie has quickly risen to Employee of the Month status. And his bosses are taking notice.

Wendle, the sixth-round pick by the parent Cleveland Indians this year, was the lone bright spot in an otherwise dull performance Tuesday night. The Scrappers fell to the visiting Williamsport Crosscutters, 6-2, at Eastwood Field. The loss is the fourth consecutive defeat for the club and the fifth in the last seven games.

The Scrappers (23-25) did their best impression of their parent club, going 2-4 on a six-game road trip. The loss puts their season record against the Crosscutters (16-33) at 2-5.

But in a performance that saw only a pair of runs for the home team, Wendle, who drove in both of them, rose above.

The 22-year-old infielder went 3-for-4 with a triple and pair of RBIs. He entered the game with a team-leading .324 average and 22 RBIs, good for second on the club.

Wendle said the game is slowing down a bit for him as it crawls into its second half.

“I think [the biggest adjustment] is mainly just the lifestyle,” Wendle said. “Just being on the road for weeks at a time and spending the majority of your day in the clubhouse or on the field practicing. That all definitely takes a toll on your body. But it’s just a lifestyle and the adjustment of getting used to playing professional baseball.”

Wendle seems to have found his groove as both a player and clubhouse leader. With first-round pick Tyler Naquin out with a lower-back injury, Wendle has assumed more of a leadership role.

“I think Wendle went through a period of feeling the strain; I think they all have,” Scrappers manager Ted Kubiak said. “But overall, they’re fine. I’ve tried to cut back on some of the things we’ve done and given them some time off, and it seems to have worked.”

That, though, is where the sympathy ended.

“But over time everybody gets tired. You’ve got to play through it,” Kubiak said. “They’ve got aches and pains, bumps and bruises, and some of them think they can’t play with that. But they’ve got to learn that that’s how the game goes. They’ve got to play with it every day. They do the best they can with it, and we do the best we can with them.”

The Scrappers will finish off the brief homestand against Williamsport at 7:05 tonight before taking to the road as Eastwood Field is prepared for the All-Star game. The game will be next Tuesday at 7:35 p.m.

CROSSCUTTERS 6, SCRAPPERS 2

WilliamsportTri-City

abrhbiabrhbi

Quinn ss4100Vick lf4010

Hoppy cf5122Jones cf3110

Perkins 1b4000Wendle 2b4032

Serritella dh4220Sever 3b 4000

Taylor lf3010Frazer 1b4000

Walding 3b1101Lucas c2000

Olmo rf3011Campbell rf3000

Moore c4000Romero dh3010

Greene 2b4112Garcia ss 3110

Totals32676Totals30272

Williamsport000131010—6

Scrappers000002000—2

E—Quinn (22). DP —Williamsport 1, Scrappers 1. LOB—Williamsport 5, Scrappers 3. 3B—Wendle (4). HR—Hoppy (1), Greene (2)Morales (1). SB—Quinn (17).

IPHRERBBSO

Williamsport

Brady W 1-15.242017

Aizenstadt S 13.120004

Scrappers

Sisco L 1-3645525

Stokes231102

Wagoner100001

HBP—Taylor (by Sisco), Umpires—Home, Scott Costello; Bases, Sam Vogt. T—2:06. A—3,605.