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Rainout interrupts Scrappers’ playoff chaee
By Steve Ruman
NILES
In a crucial series between first-place Mahoning Valley and second-place State College, the two teams split the first two games of the series.
The rubber match went to Mother Nature.
Saturday’s Scrappers-Spikes game was canceled due to inclement weather. A light but steady rain fell on Eastwood Field throughout the late afternoon and evening hours, causing umpires to deem the field unplayable.
Saturday marked the first home rainout for the Scrappers this season. The game will not be made up.
Mahoning Valley (40-29) currently leads State College (38-32) by 2 Ω games in the Pinckney Division of the New York-Penn League. Both teams have five remaining games left in the regular season.
The Scrappers and Spikes are also battling Hudson Valley and Aberdeen for the league’s lone wildcard spot. The Renegades entered Saturday with a 40-30 record, while the Ironbirds were 39-31.
Spikes manager Joe Kruzel and Scrappers manager Luke Carlin are both first-year skippers at the professional level. While the NYPL is often touted as a developmental league, both managers agreed that advancing to the playoffs would be a major step in the developmental process.
“It’s nice to be in this position in the last week or so of the season, it’s a great learning tool,” Kruzel said. “In every organization, if you put yourself in a position to win a division title in the last week of the season, you want to take advantage of the situation. This doesn’t happen very often, so when it does you want to ride with it.”
The Spikes entered the week 4 Ω games back, but picked up two games while winning seven of their past 10.
“We’ve played well the last ten days or so,” Kruzel said. “We’ve been fortunate in that we’ve maintained continuity. We lost some players (through advancement) early on, but we’ve had pretty much the same core of players for the bulk of the season.”
Kruzel is a native of Hamilton. He was the manager of the University of Toledo Rockets from 1993 to 2003.
Carlin noted that his club has been involved in a number of close games in recent weeks. He believes the competitive contests will benefit his players, both down the stretch this year and beyond.
“We like these close games, they are absolutely outstanding for the team and for their development,” Carlin said. “Yes, this is all about development, but we place a high value on winning. It’s part of our culture.”
“Seeing how these guys handle the pressure situations with a division on the line, that’s all part of the overall process. So from that standpoint, it’s extremely valuable to be in this situation heading into the last week.”
Mahoning Valley begins a three-game series today at Batavia. The Scrappers then return home on Wednesday to play a two-game series against West Virginia to close the regular season.
The NYPL playoffs begin on Saturday. Both the semifinal and final rounds are best-of-three series. Based on the current standings, the Scrappers would play on the road on Saturday, then return home on Monday and Tuesday (if necessary).
The Scrappers last made the playoffs in 2009.