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Bieber helps Scrappers clinch winning record at home
By Steve Ruman
NILES
Winning baseball has officially returned to Eastwood Field.
The Mahoning Valley Scrappers on Sunday defeated West Virginia 5-1 in front of 1,914 fans. The victory lifted the Scrappers’ record to 34-33, including a 19-15 home mark.
With just three games remaining at Eastwood Field, the Scrappers are guaranteed of finishing with a winning home record for the first time since 2011.
“We’ve been playing well, we’ve been pretty consistent as a group,” said Scrappers pitching coach Mark Allen. “It’s been a solid all-around effort, not just one or two guys picking up the load.”
As has been the case for the bulk of the season, the Scrappers benefited from a solid outing from their starting pitcher. This time it was Shane Bieber, who lowered his earned run average to 0.43. Bieber worked three innings, giving up just an unearned run on one hit.
Bieber has appeared in eight games (21 innings). The recent fourth-round draft pick out of Santa Barbara has allowed one earned run while recording 20 strikeouts.
“Shane is extremely disciplined and he is very mature,” Allen said. “He was a guy in college that was always an elite strike-thrower. His fastball control, his fastball command is special. He can get it to both sides of the plate without an issue.
“Shane’s secondary pitches have been consistent. He can land pitches pretty much at will. It’s just a matter of tightening up some of the snap, some of the break. But overall, he’s a very savvy pitcher. He’s calm, he’s cool and he’s been through some wars already which has given him some great confidence.”
The Black Bears scored the game’s first run in the third when Nick King reached on a two-out, two-base error, then scored on a base hit.
The game remained 1-0 in favor of West Virginia until the sixth inning when the Scrappers sent nine men to the plate and scored five runs. Nate Winfrey singled home Gabriel Mejia for the first run of the inning. Mitch Longo and Logan Ice each picked up an RBI on bases-loaded walks. Then Alexis Pantoja pushed across a pair of runs with a single.
Luis Jimenez was sensational in relief of Bieber. The right-hander worked five scoreless innings, giving up just a pair of singles while recording five strikeouts.
Alsis Herrera worked a scoreless ninth.
“For the majority of this staff, maturity has been the key to success,” Allen said. “Dealing with some of the in-game situations, throwing secondary pitches, working through hitters counts. It’s all a part of the maturation process, and they have handled it well.
“This is a very steady group and it shows up in their daily work, in their routines, and the way they go about their work on a daily basis.”
Sunday’s game got off to an auspicious start. During pregame warmups, home plate umpire Matt Cowan was hit by a pitch thrown by Bieber. The pitch bounced off home plate and caught Cowan in the jaw, forcing him out of the contest. After a 20-minute delay, field umpire Scott Molloy moved behind the plate and worked the game by himself.