Monday, July 31, 2017
By Steve Ruman
NILES
Sunday was a day of rest for many, but for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, it was a typical workday.
In fact, the Scrappers were eager to put in a good day’s work following a sloppy 5-4 loss to Williamsport on Saturday.
“We have a mindset where we just want to flush a bad game away, and pick things up and start fresh the next day,” Scrappers center fielder Clark Scolamiero said. “Some players don’t like day games after a night game, but we were anxious to come out here and correct our mistakes. We wanted to get right back at it.”
Indeed, the Scrappers did return to their winning form, this time to the tune of a 4-1 win over Batavia in front of 2,408 fans at Eastwood Field.
The Scrappers’ win, combined with a West Virginia loss, puts the Scrappers (24-15) atop the Pinckney Division of the New York-Penn League. They lead the Black Bears by one-half game.
On Sunday, the Scrappers struck early, scoring a pair of runs in the first inning to take a lead they would never relinquish.
Oscar Gonzalez and Nolan Jones led off the bottom of the first with back-to-back doubles. Jones’ two-base hit scored Gonzalez. Jones then came around to score on an Austen Wade single.
Leading 2-1 in the seventh, the Scrappers tacked on a pair of insurance runs. Scolamiero laced a triple to center field to start the frame. He scored on a Tyler Friis sacrifice fly. Then following back-to-back base hits by Jones and Wade, Ulysses Cantu collected his 17th RBI with a run-scoring double.
“It was nice to pick up those runs, because Batavia had just scored in the top half of the inning,” Scolamiero said. “It felt good to get that triple. It seems like every night a different player on this team steps up and contributes in some way. It was nice to go up there and do my part.”
Scolamiero was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 17th round of the June draft out of North Greenville University (SC).
“You hear a lot of stories about the big adjustments from college to the pros, but honestly I feel like it’s been a pretty smooth transition,” Scolamiero said. “We put in a lot of work at the collegiate level, so in that regard it’s not that big a difference. The bus rides and playing every day, it’s really not that bad. We’re all here because this is what we love to do.”
“The Indians organization does a great job of providing the best for their players, so I feel very fortunate to have been picked by a first-class organization.”
A trio of Scrappers pitchers — James Karinchak, Felix Tati and Jonathan Teaney — combined to record 12 strikeouts while limiting Batavia to five hits.
The Muckdogs did load the bases in the ninth, but Adam Jones was called out on strikes to end the game, providing Teaney with his second save of the season.
Sam Perez (2-1, 1.98 ERA) entered the game with the fourth-best ERA in the NYPL, but suffered the loss.
“Right now, everyone on this team is having fun,” Scolamiero said. “We’re here to do a job. We’re all competing to move up the ladder, but at the same time we’re a close group who pick each other up.”
The Scrappers and Muckdogs continue their three-game series tonight at 7:05.