Four-run inning lifts Scrappers

July 17, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

Speedy Sayles has given Mahoning Valley offensive spark

NILES

Finally, the weather completely cooperated with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. Finally, a large crowd showed up at Eastwood Field, and finally the Scrappers gave the fans something to cheer about.

Playing in front of the largest Eastwood Field crowd of the season (5,227) on a perfect night for baseball, the Scrappers (9-16) used a four-run sixth inning to propel them to a 4-3 win over Auburn.

The victory was just the Scrappers’ second home win in 10 tries.

Trailing 3-0 with one out in the sixth, the Scrappers loaded the bases with a trio of singles. Austin Fisher hit a grounder to Doubledays shortstop Edwin Lora, who appeared to have a chance to start an inning-ending double play. Instead, a fielding error scored a run and kept runners at every base.

Nate Winfrey followed with an RBI single, then Connor Marabell knocked in a pair of runs with a base hit. Winfrey’s single proved to the the difference in the game thanks to a strong pitching performance by Scrappers hurlers Casey Shane, Cortland Cox and Yoiber Marquina. The three combined to limit Auburn to just five hits while recording 12 strikeouts.

“We’ve struggled at times, but we just keep coming out every day with the same mindset, with the same attitude and with the same approach,” said Scrappers center fielder Silento Sayles. “Baseball is sometimes a game of streaks. You just have to stay strong in the tough stretches.”

Since being called up from the Arizona League in late June, Sayles has provided a lift for an otherwise inconsistent Scrappers offense. Sayles has appeared in 15 games, and is batting .271 with 11 RBIs and four stolen bases. On Tuesday, the 20-year-old belted his first home run of his professional career.

Sayles’ ability to serve as an offensive spark plug has been a part of his game throughout his baseball career. In his senior year of high school in 2013, the 5-foot-9, 185-pound right-handed hitter earned all-state honors with a .541 average. And with his legs, Sayles garnered national attention.

During his senior season, Sayles set a national high school single-season record with 103 stolen bases. He averaged more than three steals per game, and was caught stealing just once.

Heading into his final game, Sayles had 94 swipes, which at the time was the national mark. He stole seven bases in the game.

“What’s funny is that I had no idea about any records or even how many stolen bases I had,” Sayles said. “I had scouts asking me the numbers, and I didn’t know what to tell them. It wasn’t until my final game when everyone made such a deal of it that I realized what I had accomplished.”

Less than a month after graduating from Port Gibson High School, the Vicksburg, Miss., native was hosting a backyard cookout when his dad informed him that he was a 14th-round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians.

“Unreal, it was just a dream come true, and I remember just standing there thinking, ‘This is really happening,’” Sayles said.

Sayles spent two summers in Arizona before moving up to Mahoning Valley this summer. He has four steals to his credit since joining the Scrappers. He says he’s not the fastest player on the team, but that doesn’t deter him from attempting to cause havoc on the base paths.

“I’d say that steals are fifty percent speed and fifty percent knowing the game,” Sayles said. “You have to study the pitcher, you have to know everything that’s going on around you. Baseball is as much a mental game as a physical game.”

In that regard, Scrappers manager Travis Fryman believes Sayles’ potential to move up the ladder is bright.

“Silento works at his game as hard as anyone, and his thirst for knowledge is off the charts,” Fryman said. “He is a true student of the game. He’s always asking questions, he’s always seeking ways to improve his game.”

As for that one caught stealing in high school which cost him a perfect season on the base paths?

“I wasn’t mentally in the game, which proves the importance of being alert at all times,” Sayles said. “I wish I had that moment back.”

The Scrappers and Doubledays conclude their series tonight at 7:05.