43
Muckdogs’ rebound continues with win over Scrappers
Scrappers fall as Batavia continues a surge from the depths
By Steve ruman
NILES
These are the worst of times and the best of times for the Batavia Muckdogs.
Batavia owns the worst record in the New York-Penn League. The Muckdogs have maintained the dubious distinction since the beginning of the season when they started out 1-10 (the lone win being a perfect game against Mahoning Valley).
Yet despite their lowly 19-26 record, the Muckdogs are the league’s hottest team. They’ve won four in a row, eight of 10 and 10 of their last 14.
Batavia’s latest win came Friday in the form of a 4-2 win over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (21-24) in front of 3,005 fans at Eastwood Field.
Batavia broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run eighth inning. An RBI sacrifice fly by Roy Morales gave the Muckdogs a 3-2 lead. A single by Taylor Munden scored an insurance run.
Both teams scored a pair of runs in the fifth. Munden and Champ Miller each knocked in a run with a double and single, respectively, in the top of the frame.
In the bottom half of the inning, triples by Juan De La Cruz and Nate Winfrey gave the Scrappers their two runs.
Casey Shane started for the Scrappers and pitched seven strong innings. He gave up just the two runs – both unearned – on four hits while recording three strikeouts. Shane was averaging a walk per inning, but didn’t issue any free passes to the Muckdogs.
Much of Batavia’s recent success can be credited to Muckdogs outfielder Stone Garrett. The 19-year-old Texas native was selected by the Florida Marlins in the fifth round of the 2014 draft out of high school. After playing in the Florida Rookie League last summer, Garrett has spent the past few months tearing up NYPL pitching.
Garrett is batting .307. He leads the league in home runs (8), triples (6), hits (51), total bases (98) and slugging percentage (.590). His RBI total of 32 is second in the NYPL.
“It’s been a rewarding summer, but one that I had kind of planned for,” Garrett said. “I prepared myself for this the entire off-season.
“I really worked hard all throughout the winter, knowing that the time I put in then would pay off now.”
Because of a deep playoff run made by his high school team, Garrett was actually drafted before his prep career came to an end. Less than two weeks after graduation, he was signed as a pro and playing in Florida. In the Rookie League, he hit .236 with 11 RBI and without a home run.
“It was a tough transition,” Garrett said. “I had nearly no time off. We played a very long season in high school, then very quickly I has playing noon games every day in the Florida sun. I loved it, I really did, but I think the quick jump from high school to pro and the number of games played took its toll.”
One year later, Garrett has been rock-solid in both the batters box and in the outfield.
“I got off to a fast start, which really helped set a tone,” Garrett said. “Baseball is a big mental game. Getting confidence early really helped my mindset. I’ve been in a good frame of mind all summer.”