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Scrappers snap skid with wild, wonderful finish
By Steve Ruman
NILES
The first four games of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers’ most recent homestand included everything from three runs scored on balks to a ninth-inning grand slam to a managerial ejection.
Therefore, it only seemed fitting that Sunday’s finale would end in wild fashion.
And indeed, wildness played a huge part in the Scrappers’ 5-3 win over West Virginia in front of 1,876 fans at Eastwood Field.
The Scrappers (27-32) entered the game riding a three-game losing streak while the Black Bears (31-30) saw their five-game winning streak come to an end.
With the score tied at 3-3 in the eighth inning, the Scrappers put two men on board thanks to back-to-back singles off the bats of Austin Fisher and Alexis Pantoja.
Fisher then scored the go-ahead run when Gabriel Mejia struck out on what turned out to be a wild pitch. Mejia beat the catcher’s throw to first base while Fisher crossed home plate.
Mejia was playing in just his second game as a Scrapper. The center fielder came to the Mahoning Valley from the Arizona League, where over a two-year span he stole 106 bases in 136 attempts.
Pantoja scored an insurance run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Willi Castro.
“It feels great to win, I mean I know this is a developmental league and that’s what it’s all about, but I hate to lose at anything,” Scrappers catcher Daniel Salters said. “As a team, we’ve kept our heads up and we’ve kept battling through some tough times. We’ll feel good about this one tonight.”
Salters played a huge rule in the Scrappers win. The Black Bears attempted three steals in the game, and Salters gunned down each base runner. He then provided a spark with his bat in the seventh when he doubled in a pair of runs, tying the game at 3-3.
“I really take pride in the work I do behind the plate, so what I was able to accomplish defensively really pumped me up,” Salters said. “Fortunately, I had good pitches to work with on the throws to second, and those plays don’t happen if the guy on the other end doesn’t make a perfect catch and tag.”
“Like anything else, throwing men out is a team effort.”
West Virginia wasted little time scoring the first run of the game. Second baseman Kevin Kramer led off the game with a double, then scored on a groundout by Ty Moore. The Black Bears added a pair of runs in the third. Kramer reached on a leadoff error, followed by a Christian Kelley walk. Both runners scored thanks in large part to three wild pitches in the inning thrown by Scrappers starter Brock Hartson.
The Scrappers tied the game at 1-1 with a run in the first on a Mark Mathias double that plated Ka’ai Tom.
“We kept battling back today, and that’s the sign of a team that just isn’t about to quit on themselves or the season,” Salters said.
Billy Strode (1-1, 1.35 ERA) retired the final four West Virginia batters of the game to earn his first win.
The Scrappers finish their homestand with a 2-3 record. In the five games, the were 5 of 49 with runners in scoring position and stranded 38 baserunners.