Scrappers need extra innings to sweep Crosscutters
By Steve ruman
NILES
Not even Mother Nature can slow down the hottest team in the New York-Penn League.
The Mahoning Valley Scrappers on Sunday earned a doubleheader sweep of Williamsport. After a rain-delayed start, the Scrappers won the first game 5-2, then took the nightcap 3-2 in front of 1,718 fans at Eastwood Field.
Both games were scheduled to go seven innings, but the Scrappers had to rally in the second game to win it in the 10th.
The twinbill was the result of a Saturday rainout. Sunday afternoon, a steady rain seriously threatened play for a second straight day. Instead, the Scrappers lifted their record to 27-27.
After starting off the season 5-17, the Scrappers have won 22 of their last 32 games. They are 4.5 games out in the NYPL wild-card race.
The opener saw the Scrappers score three runs in the sixth to break a 2-2 tie. Jack Goihl walked with the bases loaded to score the first run of the inning. An Alexis Pantola groundout plated the second run, and a Gabriel Mejia base hit gave the Scrappers the three-run lead.
Mahoning Valley scored single runs in the first and third innings on RBI singles by Gavin Collins and Andrew Calica.
Mejia, Calica and Collins each collected two hits in the game, while Williamsport was held to just five hits by starter Juan Hillman and three Scrappers relievers.
In the finale, Todd Isaacs reached on a bunt single to start the bottom of the tenth. He advanced to second on a throwing error, and eventually scored on a fielding error.
“It’s really cool to see how we responded after a tough series on the road,” Calica said. “Nothing seems to affect this team, not the way we’re playing now.
“I think it speaks to how we’ve learned to handle adversity and it shows how we’ve matured over the past month. It’s been something special to be a part of.”
Calica noted that the Scrappers are finding different ways to win each night.
“This has been the definition of a team effort. We have guys who don’t play every day, but who come off the bench to contribute in a big way,” Calica said.
The pair of Scrappers victories made for a happy birthday for their skipper, Edwin Rodriguez, who turned 56 on Sunday. Rodriguez said his team’s recent hot streak is the result of a team which maintained its cool during a rugged start.
“We just take one game at a time, we’ve done that from the start,” Rodriguez said. “When we were losing we just put the losses aside and came back every night and started anew. Now that we’re winning, we take the same approach. Just a new game every day.”
Rodriguez said the Scrappers showed signs of gelling as the roster became more stable and more established.
“We’ve got a young team. They did struggle at the beginning but it was all a matter of getting the chemistry of the team together,” Rodriguez said. “They all understand this is a long process. The talent was always there, it was a matter of learning and understanding the process.”
The Scrappers now will enjoy a two-day NYPL All-Star break before returning to action Wednesday at Batavia, N.Y.