There is no better way to celebrate the first official day of Summer than at the ballpark.  Good baseball is good pitching – period.  Tuesday, the Scrappers got plenty of it in defeating Batavia 2-0 in front of 2,706 fans at Eastwood Field.  Danny Jimenez, Cody Allen, and Bryce Stoewell combined to shutout the Muckdogs, striking out a total of 11 batters en route to the victory to improve to 3-2.

Batavia posed the first threat to score in the fourth inning.  Scrappers starter Danny Jimenez got into some problems and exited the game after 60 pitches with runners on second and third with one out.  Cody Allen entered the game for the Scrappers and struck out Kevin Moscatel and Virgil Hill to keep the game scoreless.   One night earlier, Moscatel homered and Hill had a key RBI, but both came up empty against Allen.

Thunder and lightning made their Summer debut from a distance in the fifth, but play went on and the game stayed scoreless until the bottom of the inning.  Kevin Fontanez, on his 21st birthday, put the Scrappers ahead 1-0 with an RBI scorcher down the third base line for a double. Todd Hankins hustled from first base to cross the plate with the run.

Through seven innings and the Scrappers holding the slim 1-0 lead, the threat of rain still loomed and Allen was supplying reasons for the fans to stay.  Allen pitched 3 1/3 innings of shutout relief and struck out six of the eleven batters he faced.  In a well-pitched, tight game like this one, the bullpen was crucial for both teams and Allen really showed he belonged.

Scrappers leadoff hitter, Cody Elliott (above), has been consistent collecting a couple of hits over the last couple of games, including two more Tuesday.  Tony Wolters has also been very productive and doubled with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.  Bryson Myles (below), who homered on Monday, doubled home Wolters to double the Scrappers lead to 2-0.

Great pitching wins games, and this one was no exception as the Scrappers got a phenomenal effort from a trio of newcomers.  After the game Coach David Wallace talked about the pen.  “I am really happy with the effort we got tonight from all of the pitchers.  Danny [Jimenez] did a great job giving us a spot start and battled.  Cody [Allen] seemed like he was striking everyone out and picked up a win, and Bryce [Stoewell] was able to come in and close the door.”

Wallace also commented that it is easier to win games when you aren’t committing six errors, like the Scrappers did Monday in a 10-7 loss.  He also praised the timely hitting of many offensive players saying to this point he is very content with the effort his young Scrappers are putting forth.