Archive for the ‘Scrappers’ Category

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.

With a serious threat of rain on the radar, the Eastwood Field grounds crew and the Scrappers employees peeled the tarp off and got the game started right on time.  The Mahoning Valley Scrappers had a rough time with different elements, notably fundamentals.  Batavia trailed 1-0 in the first inning but roared back to beat the Scrappers, 10-7, thanks to 6 errors committed by the home team.

The Scrappers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard.  Cody Elliott recorded a double on a check swing and advanced to third when Tony Wolters singled.  Elliott scored when Jake Lowery (above) grounded out to second and avoided being a double play victim by hustling to first.  The RBI was the fourth in two games for Lowery.

Batavia evened the score in the top of the second aided by two walks off of Scrappers starter Rob Nixon.  Virgil Hill made Nixon pay with a clean RBI single to tie the game.  In the top of the third, Batavia tacked on another run when Romulo Ruiz tripled to the base of the left-centerfield wall.  Ruiz got home on a wild pitch to give the Muckdogs the lead.  In the fourth, Kevin Moscatel hit a home run to left field to increase the Muckdogs lead to 3-1.  Back-to-back doubles by Mike O’Neill and Jeremy Patton created another run later in the fourth inning for Batavia.

Aaron Siliga and Casey Serna hit back-to-back singles to start the fourth inning for the Scrappers.  Siliga scored from second when Batavia could not complete a double play at first base and the ball trickled past first baseman David Medina, to make it 6-2.

Bryson Myles cut the Batavia lead to 6-3 with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the fifth to bring the Scrappers back to striking distance.  It was the first home run hit by a Scrapper player this season. In the top half of the sixth, unfortunately, Cesar Valera answered with his own long bomb to keep the Scrappers at a four-run deficit with the score at 7-3.  Medina hit the third home run of the game for Batavia to atone for his error and give the visitors a 9-3 lead.

The Scrappers got two more runs back in the seventh when Alex Lavisky hit a two-run double driving in Wolters and Lowery to make the score 9-5.  Batavia added to their lead in the eighth though and the Scrappers would not get closer than a 10-7 deficit.  It should be noted that Kyle Petter struck out three Muckdogs in the top of the ninth.

Nixon took the loss for the Scrappers (2-2) and Jose Almarante got the win for Batavia (2-2).  These two teams will hook up for two more games on Tuesday (Buck Night) and Wednesday.

After the game, Mahoning Valley Skipper, David Wallace, was optimistic with good reason.  “In the two losses, the thing that I see is that these guys do not give up.  I can take losing if the effort is there, and it was tonight.  We had a chance to come back and win in the late innings and stayed in the game overcoming the six errors.  We made some mistakes, but it is still very early in the season and we are going to be ok.”

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers opened the 2011 season with mixed results.  The good news is that the Scrappers improved over last seasons 14-0 Opening Day drubbing.  The bad news was that they are 0-1, like last year, falling 9-3 to the Jamestown Jammers.   The good news was that it was fireworks night and a great turnout for the home opener which included good weather.  The bad news was that the video board and wifi did not work.  In the end, the Jordan Taylor / David Wallace Era of Scrapperhood was a solid success despite the game result.

In front of a crowd of 5,428, the Scrappers fell into a 6-0 hole after Jamestown batted three times.  Scrapper starter, Joseph Colon, threw 65 pitches and struggled with his control in less than three innings.  Colon will have better days.

In the bottom of the third, Mahoning Valley found the scoreboard.  Aaron Siliga hit a routine grounder to short, but Yefri Perez’s throw to Jammers 1B Viosergy Rosa was lost in the sun and sailed to the wall.  Siliga ended up at second on the play.  A Cody Elliott groundout to second advanced Siliga to third with one out.  Kevin Fontanez then hit a fly ball to right, just deep enough to score Siliga to get the goose egg off of the scoreboard.

Starting catcher, Alex Livisky, collected a pair of hits in his first two at-bats.  Livisky, from Lakewood, Ohio, had four really good at-bats in which he demonstrated the ability to put the ball anywhere, an invaluable quality for an up-and-coming minor leaguer.   In the bottom of the fourth, Livisky scored when Jerrud Sabourin hit a rocket into the right-centerfield gap.

After the game, Livisky (above) talked about his success at the dish.  “Here, I have to be more of a dynamic hitter.  In high school, it is easy to pull everything to left field.  I have really been working on going with the pitch that is thrown to me, taking what I am given and pushing the ball where it needs to go.  I dug myself a hole, and my power numbers were okay at Lake County, but my average suffered.  I hit eight home runs and drove in 25 during Spring training, but my average was inconsistent, and that is what I need to focus on here. I would have three good games and then fall under the bus again.”

In the sixth, Bryson Myles singled and stole second.  He would later score when Perez mishandled a nasty one-hopper off of the bat of Sabourin.  Myles had a rough night in right field.  He slipped when he misjudged a fly ball and could not recover, allowing a Jammers run to cross the plate.  He also dove forward for a ball later in the game that got by him and rolled to the wall.  This kid is going to be one of the best players on this team by seasons end and it is a shame that he got off to such a rocky start in Niles.

Jamestown, however, would jump their lead to 9-3 when Brent Keys hit a towering shot over the right field wall to wrap up the scoring.  The same two teams face off tomorrow evening at Eastwood Field.

After the game, Wallace was very positive.  “There is plenty of good stuff that happened out there tonight, we are by no means in a state of panic in this clubhouse. We saw a lot of positives and I felt like we were always in the game and did not give up.  Obviously, these guys are still learning each others name and strengths and weaknesses, but I am pleased with the talent we have here and we are going to be okay.”

There is one predictable group of people you can never expect to see return to Eastwood Field from year-to-year, the players.  Some Mahoning Valley Scrappers get promoted during the season, some are reassigned for better or for worse, and some are no longer in the Major League Baseball system anymore.  Because the Scrappers are a short-season, Low-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, they usually get the majority of the Tribes draft picks from less than two weeks ago.  You can have a favorite player, but usually only for a year, then you have to wait to find out who your new favorite Scrapper will be next season.

There are three returning Scrappers from last season on the 2011 roster.  Kevin Fontanez (waiving in yellow shirt, top photo) was only 19 last season and got some valuable experience at second base.  Moises Montero battled injuries and played through probably more pain than he should have last season.  Kirk Wetmore, a 2009, 11th round draft pick, was in the starting rotation for awhile last season but struggled down the stretch.  All three of these players are promotable but have been kept as Scrappers to continue to develop.

“I worked out hard in the offseason and feel like I can really have a good year”, commented Montero.  “Last season, I was pretty banged up and toughed it out, but I was not one-hundred percent for most of the season.”

Then the unexpected new faces started popping up everywhere.  Travis Fryman accepted a promotion to be a roving instructor for the Indians.  This opened the door for new head coach, David Wallace (above), a former Scrapper himself.  I admired the way Fryman played in his day, but I really took a liking to his personality and managing style over the past two seasons.  Wallace has very big shoes to fill.

Wallace brings Greg Hibbard on as a pitching coach and Tony Mansolino to be his new hitting coach.  Hibbard pitched in the majors for six seasons, mostly with the Chicago White Sox.  Gone is pitching coach Ken Rowe, a legend in the press box for his 45 second walks to the mound, the 8 seconds of dialogue he would give the pitcher, and the fifty-five second return flight back to the dugout.

Jordan Taylor also has big shoes to fill as the new general manager.  Taylor, who learned plenty under the guidance of former GM Dave Smith, is capable of doing great work with his staff.  He has already been very accessible, as Smith was, to any requests or questions anyone has posed.

If you catch the games on the radio, you will not hear last years voice of the Scrappers, Dave Lubich, anymore.  His internship is over making way for newcomer Grant Tunkel.  Tunkel had some good experience with the Jamestown Jammers last season and should be an entertaining play-by-play announcer for the Scrappers.

One constant thing that has not changed in 13 years is the Scrappers Backers Club.  With colorful personalities like Larry Snyder and Gail Drushel (below, with microphone) leading the way, the Scrappers Backers do so many good things behind the scenes.  It might be the hardest working fund-raising bunch in sports.

Wednesday evening the Scrappers Backers gave scholarships to Hayley Goist of Columbiana, Richard Selep of Southington Chalker, Taylor Ward and Aaron Oblisk from Sebring.  They also held a picnic for all season ticket holders, Scrappers Backers members, and the 2011 roster of coaches and players.  There was a silent auction, an autograph session, and an introduction of all team members and coaches.  The neat part was watching the players interact, most of them only seeing each other for a few minutes to that point.

The Scrappers kick off the 2011 season at home Friday night against Jamestown, which happens to be fireworks night as well.  Should be a packed house for the opener!  Call the box office for ticket availability at 330-505-0000.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers and the New York-Penn League today announced that the league’s philanthropic arm, the New York-Penn League Charitable Foundation, will once again sponsor a scholarship program allowing area high school seniors the opportunity to compete for one of three $2,500 grand-prize awards.

The 2011 NYPL Scholarship Program is open to any graduating senior from a public or private high school, who has been accepted at any two or four-year college or university, vocational or technical education institution or program. Applicants will be judged based on academic performance, volunteer and extracurricular activities, and the impact the Scrappers and Minor League Baseball have had on their lives.

The Scholarship Program will consist of two stages – a local round and a divisional round. In the local stage, applicants from throughout the Scrappers’ home market will compete against each other to determine one winner who will represent Mahoning Valley in the final round. At the divisional stage, the Scrappers’ representative will compete against the winners from the Auburn Doubledays, Batavia Muckdogs, Jamestown Jammers, State College Spikes and Williamsport Crosscutters for the Pinckney Division’s $2,500 award. Any finalist who does not win the top scholarship will receive a $250 book award.

In total, the New York-Penn League Scholarship Program will award $10,250 in scholarships this summer to deserving high school graduates from the NYPL’s 14 markets.

“The New York-Penn League Charitable Foundation initiated the scholarship program in 2009 as a way to assist high school seniors from within our league’s footprint who not only meet and exceed traditional scholarship criteria, but have also demonstrated the positive benefits their local NYPL club has had on their life,” said Ben J. Hayes, President of the New York-Penn League. “The Foundation is pleased to have this scholarship program in place and to support our 14 member clubs in their year-round community outreach efforts.”

Scholarship applications are available by contacting the Mahoning Valley Scrappers at (330) 505-0000 or by visiting the official website of the New York-Penn League, www.newyork-pennleague.com for details. The deadline to submit applications is June 30, 2011 and finalists will be selected in late July and honored at an August home game.

The New York-Penn League and its 14 member clubs created the New York-Penn League Charitable Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, in 2003. The mission of the Foundation is to provide focus and support for the collective and individual charitable and community efforts of the New York-Penn League, its Clubs, and their staff.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers have announced a sampling of the promotional events to be featured for the upcoming 2011 season at Eastwood Field.

The Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiase (featured in the above video), will appear for the Scrappers game against the State College Spikes on June 26.  Ted will be on hand to throw out the first pitch and will be signing autographs for fans during the game.  In addition, a $20 meet and greet package is available.  Included in the meet and greet package are  a box seat to the game, a food voucher, an 8 x 10 picture and a pre-game meeting with Mr. DiBiase.

James Scott, known for his role as EJ DiMera on Days of Our Lives, will be on hand August 13 for the Scrappers – Brooklyn Cyclones matchup.  Scott will be in the house to throw out the ceremonial first pitch and to sign autographs during the game.  A VIP meet and greet package is available for $25 and includes an 8 x 10 autographed picture, a box seat game ticket, a food voucher, and the opportunity to meet Scott before the game.

Mark Saturday, May 14 off in your planner as the 2011 season kicks off with Mahoning Valley Scrappers Fan Fest Day.  The event will take place at Eastwood Field between 10-2 and marks the official date fans can purchase individual game tickets.  Fans will be treated to $1 hot dogs, soft drinks, and beer.  There will also be some good deals on team merchandise in the team store.  Fans will have a chance to take batting practice from 10-1 while children can enjoy games and face painting.

At Fan Fest, there will be open auditions from 10 -1 for people interested in singing the National Anthem.

For more information on any of the upcoming events, contact the Scrappers front office at (330) 505-0000 or visit www.mvscrappers.com.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are pleased to announce a bus trip ticket package to the Cleveland Indians Home Opener against the Chicago White Sox on Friday, April 1, 2011 .  The cost of the trip is $40 per person and includes the bus trip and a right field, upper level ticket to the game.

The bus leaves Eastwood Field for Cleveland at 12:00 pm with first pitch at 3:05 pm .  Seating is limited to the first 50 people.

For more information, contact the Scrappers Front Office at (330) 505-0000 or visit www.mvscrappers.com for a registration form.

Being in last place means the end of a season can’t come soon enough regardless of what sport.  For the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, the spoiler role made a final game worthwhile, and they responded by having one of their most productive days of offense in 2010.  The game was entertaining and the outcome was in doubt until the ninth inning, but the Scrappers ended up on the short end of the stick, dropping a hard fought verdict to the Jammers.

Jamestown jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Marcell Ozuna knocked in Pedro Mendoza in the top of the first inning.  The Scrappers responded in the home half with a run of their own.  Tyler Cannon trotted home on a passed ball by Jammers starter Adam Veras.

In the third inning, Ozuna had yet another RBI against the Scrappers when he hit a sac fly knocking home Brent Keys.  Mark Canha then hit a three-run bomb to put Jamestown up 4-1.

Uncharacteristically, Mahoning Valley then put together a seven run bottom of the fourth, an explosion they must have saved for their last game.  Jesus Aguilar (pictured, top) connected for a grand slam home run knocking in Cannon, Nick Bartolone and Giovanny Urshela.  Brian Heere got in on the fun when he singled home Diego Seastrunk.  Anthony Gallas capped off the rally with a two-run homer, his first as a Scrapper, to raise the score to 8-5 in favor of the Scrappers.

Kyle Smith entered the game in the top of the sixth inning.  After loading the bases, Mendoza lifted a bloop that RF Kevin Rucker dove after.  The ball landed just fair and bounced out of play for a ground rule double and two runs were plated to cut the lead to 8-7 in favor of the Scrappers.

The Jammers scored a tying run in the eighth inning when Mendoza singled off of JD Goryl.  Dale Dickerson came in to relieve Goryl and inherited runners on first and third.  Ozuna doubled off of the left field wall to give the Jammers a 9-8 lead.  Ryan Fisher then hit a long sac fly to increase the lead to 10-8.

In the bottom of the eighth, Gallas opened the inning with a double.  Aaron Fields bunted Gallas to third.  Bartolone got hit in the batting helmet to put guys on first and third.  Cannon doubled home a run to make it 10-9.  Urshela was intentionally walked.  This set the bases up for Aguilar with the bases loaded.  Aguilar was 3-3 in the game, but in this particular at bat, he smoked a two-hopper right at the shortstop for the 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.

After the game, Travis Fryman reflected on the season.  “Collectively, it was ugly.  We were the worst-hitting team in the league, finished in last place, and finished third to last in pitching.  There is no way to sugar coat that stuff.  On the upside, Giovanny Urshela has a bright future.  Carlos Moncrief has turned into a great story and a prospect, Jesus Aguilar got hot at the end, there were positives and good things despite the record.”

I will be posting the Scrappers organizational report card later this week.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers were playing for pride and individual development.  The Jamestown Jammers were playing for a playoff spot in the New York-Penn League Playoffs.  The weather was colder than what it had been all Summer and the Scrappers were definitely in the Christmas spirit, committing 5 errors and ultimately losing, 6-4.

Manager Travis Fryman said this game was hard on the eyes.  “We saw how sloppy things can get.  This was game 74 and it was the worst game I had to watch all year.  It was a horrible ball game out there tonight and I could count at least nine defensive mistakes.”

Trailing 1-0, the Scrappers put up three runs in the bottom of the third inning.  Two of the three runs were unearned as Aaron Fields, and Brian Heere scored on errors.  Giovanny Urshela and Jesus Aguilar had RBI hits in the inning which put the Scrappers up 3-1.

Not much for receiving gifts, the Scrappers returned all of the favors in the top of the fourth.  Jamestown collected three runs on two Scrapper errors and a wild pitch.  Aaron Dudley delivered the big blow on an RBI-double.  Each team added a run over the last four innings, and when the dust settled, Jamestown made less errors than the Scrappers and won 6-4.

Season finale is Sunday, first pitch is at 5 p.m.  There will also be a legends of pro wrestling show after the game featuring Doink The Clown, Scott Steiner, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and Greg “The Hammer” Valentine.

It was a familiar scenario for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. The formula this season has been for a starting pitcher to throw well and then hope the bullpen can hold on.  The Scrappers starters all have respectable ERA’s.  The formula held true as Michael Goodnight (above) pitched five solid innings of scoreless baseball and struck out six Auburn Doubledays before exiting the game with a 1-0 lead.  True to the script, the offense struggled and the bullpen could not hold the lead in a 3-1 loss.

The Scrappers got the first run of the game in the second inning when DH Kevin Rucker reached base and scored on a Moises Montero ball that should have been caught.  Doubledays LF Yeico Aponte ran too far in on a routine fly ball and Rucker trotted home uncontested to give the Scrappers a 1-0 lead.

JD Goryl started the sixth inning for the Scrappers.  Jon Fernandez started the inning with a double.  Giovanny Urshela (below) had an uncharacteristic error to put men on first and second with nobody out.  Goryl was hit hard but in his defense, could have gotten out of the inning unscathed.  As the law of averages would have it, Auburn pushed a run across to tie the game.

The other JD, JD Reichenbach, came out to start the eighth for the Scrappers.  The big lefty was pumped up and threw hard, in the eighth.  The ninth inning however, was a different story as Lance Durham connected for a monstrous two-run homer to right field to put Auburn up 3-1.

The Scrappers put together a ninth inning rally showing some heart.  Rucker and Montero had back-to-back singles for Mahoning Valley.  Aaron Fields bunted to move the runners to second and third.  Trent Baker struck out to set the stage for Nick Bartolone who walked.  Enter Carlos Moncrief with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.  Moncrief was 0-4 in the game with three strikeouts coming into this key at bat.  Moncrief fouled a ball inches off of the left field line that would have, at the very least, tied the game.  On the next pitch, Moncrief whiffed and the Scrappers lost, 3-1.

Travis Fryman said the game indeed followed a pattern of predictability.  “Our lack of run production all year has forced our pitching staff to be perfect. By putting a young pitcher in those types of pressure situations, they are more likely to make mistakes.  We are just concentrating on development of the guys and we saw that with the effort from Goodnight tonight.”