Scrappers, Muckdogs rained out

July 28, 2013 at 12:04a.m.

NILES

Mother Nature continues to wreak havoc on Eastwood Field and the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

The Scrappers’ scheduled game on Saturday against the Batavia Muckdogs was postponed due to inclement weather.

A small but very strong rain cell developed over Niles about 90 minutes prior to the scheduled first pitch. The rain lasted approximately 40 minutes. Though the skies later cleared, and the grounds crew prepared the field for play, the umpires and managers determined that patches of standing water made for unplayable conditions.

Saturday’s game will be made up Aug. 23 as part of a doubleheader.

The latest postponement marks the Scrappers’ fifth rainout of the season (three at home), and the second in the past five days.

At least nine other games this season have been affected by rain.

“We were moving forward with getting things ready to go, but the coaches and umpires felt as though the field wouldn’t be up to standards,” said Scrappers head groundskeeper Matt Rollins. “They have the final say, so we’ll just move forward and have the field ready for (Sunday).”

While it may seem as though a black cloud has hovered over Niles this summer, Rollins said the rainfall amount this July is similar to what it was a year ago.

“The difference is that we’re getting a whole lot of rain all at once,” Rollins said. “We’re also not getting the hot, sunny days that will help dry the field.”

More than two inches of rain fell on Eastwood Field on July 10. A similar amount soaked the stadium last Tuesday in the span of about 30 minutes. Both storms resulted in the postponement of games.

HOT PROSPECTS

Major League Baseball on Friday released its new rankings of the top 20 prospects for each of its franchises.

The Cleveland Indians’ list included one current and nine former Scrappers.

Scrappers starting pitcher Dace Kime was ranked the ninth-best prospect in the Indians’ organization. Kime (0-1, 3.12 ERA) joined the Scrappers in July after being selected out of Louisville in the third round of the June draft.

Former Scrappers and their ranking on the list include: Fransisco Lindor (1), Dorssys Paulino (4), Tyler Naquin (5), Danny Salazar (6), Cody Anderson (7), Tony Woltors (12), Jose Ramirez (13), Kyle Crockett (16) and Jesus Aguilar (18).

Crockett was a fourth-round pick this past June out of Virginia. He appeared in eight games for the Scrappers this year (9.1 innings) without surrendering a run before being promoted to Lake County.