Posts Tagged ‘Mahoning Valley Scrappers’

Every once in the while, I am lucky enough to meet an athlete who is talented, charismatic, and a joy to talk with.  Jason Smit is all of the above.  He is a ball of energy who somehow ended up in America playing baseball for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.  We talked for a half-hour about baseball, Travis Fryman, and the differences between the United States and his home country, Australia. 

Paneech:  Talk to me about what it meant to be drafted at the age of 16 and having to leave home.

Smit:  Well, I was sixteen, I was at the Major League Baseball Academy.  A few scouts at the camp were interested in me and talked with me about signing.  It ended up narrowing down to three teams – Cleveland, The Rockies, and Atlanta too.  I liked Cleveland because they have a lot to do with player development, so I chose Cleveland and I am very grateful for that.  I was seventeen when I first came over here, which was pretty hard.  I had been away from my family before, but not for this period of time.  Well, I left, I remember it was the fifteenth of February and I ended up going home somewhere in October.  It was difficult, I didn’t get to see my family.  You know, some of these guys can pick up the phone and call their parents, call their mates and stuff like that, but for me it’s different.  The twelve hour difference, when I’m awake they are sleeping.  At the end of the day I am doing what I love and I’m loving every minute of it.

Paneech:  Tell me what it is like living with a host family and how you like the family you are with.

Smit:  It’s been neat to have a host family.  I’m very grateful, I’ve got two very nice host parents, they’re very good people, they open their house to us.  It’s actually me and [Chun] Chen rooming together.  It’s basically like living at home, it’s a home feeling and like having a mom and a dad – they look after you and they supply stuff for you.  Me and Chen have been together for a few years now, we had two years at instructional ball.  I know Chen pretty well, he is not bad when it comes to English, when there is a little joking on he is quite a character.

Paneech:  Growing up in Australia, there is Rugby, Cricket, Aussie Football, how did you take such a liking to baseball?

Smit:  Well, T-Ball is pretty big for youngsters there.  As soon as you hit twelve, it’s that conversion to pee wee baseball.  I was playing Australian Rules Football at that time too, which I loved playing.  I went from T-Ball to peewees and really enjoyed myself.  That next year, I made the Colt World Series, and that was the stage where I was like, ok, hold on, I’m not bad at this, I wanna try to keep going with this.

Paneech:  I know there are some cultural differences betwen here and home.  Have you taken a liking to things you see on American television?

Smit:  To be honest, it’s pretty much all the same.  We get the same soap operas and stuff like that.  I’ll watch anything on TV, I’m a big Sportscenter fan.  Back home there is Sportscenter, but there is no baseball on it whatsoever.  There’s sports, I’ll watch anything, I’m not too picky.

Paneech:  How about music, what do you listen to?

Smit: I like Kings of Leon, I like a lot of rock bands, I’ll listen to some rap here and there.  I will not listen to country at all.

Paneech:  Have you found a favorite restaurant to go eat at yet?

Smit:  Station Square definitely.  My host family is very good friends with the owner, but so far it’s been the winner, their chicken parmesian was pretty good.

Paneech:   Who is your favorite athlete of all-times?

Smit:  That’s a tough one.  I didn’t grow up watching baseball, so I can’t say it would be a baseball player.  It would be an AFL (Australian Rules FB) player that you guys don’t know.  Nick DelSanto, he’s a footballer I liked watching him and the way he plays.

Paneech:  You get teased by your fellow Scrappers about the accent and being from Australia, does it anger you or have you been able to deal with it?

Smit:  Not at all, at the end of the day I know they are all joking around and having a crack at me.  Right now, I’m the only Australian on the team so I do cop it pretty bad.  I kind of get back at them pretty good too, so it’s not too bad.

Paneech:  Have you taken a liking to any of the current Cleveland Indians?

Smit:  I really like watching Asdrubal Cabrera a lot.  I love the way he plays and how smooth he is, his hands.  he is one of those guys you want to watch.

Paneech:  Tell me about your shoulder injury and conversion to outfielder.

Smit:  Well it was actually in Spring training last year. I was playing second base, came across behind the pitcher’s mound and tried to throw to home plate,  and my shoulder pretty much popped out, and I did some damage to my labrum in the back and I was rehabbing for a long time, about four or five months.  Thanks to the guys here, I came back really strong, mayber even stronger.  Last year at the end of the year, I went to the outfield and proved I could play the outfield and proved that I was strong enough which was a good thing.  In Spring trining, I got outfield work, I think they are pretty happy with the way it’s going.

Paneech:  Has your family talked about coming here to catch a few games?

Smit:  It’s difficult, dad is an engineer, he’s pretty busy at work.  We have spoken about it, but the thing is if you are coming here, you have to come for at least a couple of weeks.  The flight is expensive and stuff like that.  I mean, they definitely will, within the next year, will come and see me wherever I go and catch a few games, it should be good.  I’ve got an older brother, 22 years-old, his name is Rene.  He’s actually a very smart guy.  He’s a software engineer, he’s in his last year at University, he’s like my dad, very smart guy.

Paneech:  You guys finally get a day off on July 12th.  What will you do all day?

Smit:  I’m definitely going to have a little sleep, catch up on some sleep, go watch a movie, go out to lunch, and actually get a good dinner for once.  It’s pretty hard playing at 7:00, I’m looking forward to it.

Paneech:  What is it like playing for Travis Fryman?

Smit:  Ah, I love it.  I’ve had him for a couple of years now, he’s one of, if not the best coach I have ever had the chance to play for.  I love the way he goes about the game.  He knows the right times to be hard, and he knows when to lay back and have some fun.  He’s done a hell of a job so far and he will go a long way with coaching, he’s a good guy.

So there you have it, Jason Smit, a good guy who is having fun doing what he loves.

On a very busy night at Eastwood Field, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers completed a sweep of the Auburn Doubledays, winning 4-3 in 14 innings.  The four hour and twenty-four minute marathon was the longest in Niles since the Scrappers beat Staten Island, 3-2, on August 6 of 2005.

Kelly Pavlik was at the park signing copies of his book alongside authors David Lee Morgan, Jr. and Greg Gulas.  Pavlik also threw out the ceremonial first pitch (above).  The weather was perfect for the big crowd to enjoy “Buck Night”, as well as an appearance from the Cavs dancers.  There was something going on everywhere before the game started.

Once the game started, Auburn jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a Yan Gomes double.  In the top of the sixth, Auburn tacked on another run as Jimmy Gonzales drove in Welington Ramirez with a bases-loaded RBI single with one out.  Scrapper reliever Jose Urena pitched himself out of the bases-loaded one out jam to keep the score at 2-0 in favor of the Doubledays.

In the bottom of the sixth, Mahoning Valley got on the board as Jordan Henry singled and advanced to second on Lurvin Basabe’s walk.  Jason Smit found the hole between short and third scoring the speedy Henry cutting the lead to 2-1.  After Ben Carlson walked to load the bases, Chun Chen was hit by a pitch forcing in the tying run to knot the contest at two apiece.

In the tenth inning, Auburn got a run when Welington Ramirez singled home Brad Glenn.  The Scrappers tied the game in the bottom of the tenth as Ben Carlson led off with a single.  Carlson was then lifted for pinch runner Kyle Bellows, who stole second base.  Chen came through again with an RBI double that scored Bellows tying the game at 3-3.

In the bottom of the 14th inning, Rafael Vera delivered with a two-out, two-strike RBI single that would score Chen lifting the Scrappers to their fourth straight victory.

After the game, Coach Travis Fryman commented  on the long game.  ” I don’t have a lot of answers for that ball game, I really don’t.  I thought it was a very poorly played game, but a very gutsy game.  Both teams played hard for 14 innings.  We had many opportunities to win that game and it should not have went 14 innings.”

Fryman was also very praiseworthy of his catcher, Chun Chen.  “Fourteen innings to catch, three steals, three or four hits, it was a very gutsy effort on his part.”

A new feature here will be the Smit-O-Meter, tracking the nightly efforts of Scrapper Jason Smit, one of the most charismatic athletes I have ever met.

The 7-9-09 Smit-O Meter:  3-7 with an RBI (10), currently batting .325.

Marty Popham (on mound in picture) seems to get better every start and the statistics are backing him up.  Popham threw a career-high 7 innings, struck out a career-high 9 batters and only walked one in leading the Mahoning Valley Scrappers to a 6-1 victory over the Auburn Doubledays.   

Popham threw 89 pitches before giving way to reliever Austin Adams.  Adams kept the no-hit bid alive but after a couple of Scrapper errors, Doubledays LF Chris Hopkins singled with two outs in the ninth inning.  There has never been a no-no thrown at Cafaro Field.  The Scrappers recorded a no-hitter in 2007, but that was in Vermont.

A vocal audience of 3,903 enjoyed one of the best pitching performances in Scrapper history.

Mahoning Valley wasted little time getting on the board in the first inning as Jordan Henry walked and would later score on a Brian Justice wild pitch for a 1-0 lead.

In the third, Kyle Bellows, who walked three times in the game, reached via the free pass with two outs.   Greg Folgia delivered with an RBI double, scoring Bellows,  to double the Scrappers lead to 2-0.

Back-to-back singles by Henry and Kyle Smith set the stage for Jason Smit’s RBI double in the sixth.  Ben Carlson’s sac fly plated Smith to push the lead to 4-0.

In the bottom of the seventh, Lurvin Basabe’s double to left scored Folgia.  Besabe came home to make it 6-0 on Jordan’s third single of the night.

Marty Popham was throwing a perfect game into the seventh inning.  His walk to Eric Eiland squashed perfection possibilities, but he did leave with a no-hitter still intact.  After the game, Popham commented on his effort, “I had everything going for me tonight – all of the pitches, good catching behind the plate, and great defense in the field.  Going seven almost perfect, it was a hell of an outing.  I haven’t started since college, when I first got drafted they put me in the bullpen for the whole year and I just started coming back as a starter.”

Coach Travis Fryman praised the performance that Popham had, ” Two in a row, back-to-back performances that we expect from Marty.  At this level the guys are on pitch limits, obviously your not going to see an individual throw a no-hitter.  To get seven innings, frankly, this early in the year is a testament to how efficient he was from inning-to-inning.”

Mark Shapiro is the Cleveland Indians general manager.  Eric Wedge must be his buddy.  Shapiro declared Sunday before the Oakland A’s – Indians game that Wedge would remain at the controls for the rest of the season.  I am not sure I understand why.

By firing Wedge and getting a new manager in place now, the Indians can realistically look to next year optimistically.  By waiting until the end of the year to do the obvious thing – firing Wedge, you are stalling that true rebuilding process. 

When the Indians traded Mark DeRosa last week, it signified the white flag.  We surrender.  I fear many core players are going to be traded for prospects over the next couple of weeks.  Not if, but when, Victor Martinez gets sent somewhere, I will go completely over the edge with this team.  True, the Indians are loaded at catcher at every level of their farm system.  Carlos Santana in Akron, could be called up by the end of the year.  But lets face it, trading DeRosa for Ryan Franklin, a 12-pack of St. Louis grown Budweiser, and a couple of pictures of a clydesdale aren’t going to do much in the present or the future for Cleveland.

Wedge needed to go last month.  I have been adamant about firing him since the “ultimate motivator” watched quietly as his team raced out to an 0-7 start this season.  The team needed a spark and he failed to provide one.  It is his job to win.  With the talent pool Cleveland had going into 2009, there is no excuse for the shoddy product being displayed every other game by the lake.

If Mark Shapiro thinks for one minute that Eric Wedge is going to better prepare this year’s team for a run next season, than the powers that be should really consider Shapiro’s future with the team.  If you are going to paint the house, paint the whole house, not just the front.

I’m not sure anyone involved has a clue.  Maybe we should just promote the entire Single-A Mahoning Valley Scrappers team to Cleveland for a three-game series, what would it hurt at this point? 

Being this close to an official minor-league franchise, I have met some people who are just passionate about what they do.  Marc Means is probably one of the best examples of someone who really gets into his work.  He wears many hats for the Scrappers.  As the official radio broadcast person, he  works by himself, which is not easy when broadcasting sports.  He is also a sales representative, chips in with publicity, preps the press room every game, and even helps pull the tarp on and off of the field when it rains.  Check him out while you are riding in the car on AM-1390.   I had a chance to interview Means before the Scrappers headed out to Jamestown.

Paneech:  How did you get your start with The Scrappers?

Means:  I was in the booth with WBBW back in the 1999 season, I did some fill-in work for them that year.  Three seasons ago, I came by and auditioned for the public announcer job and did that for the ’06 and ’07 seasons.  When the play-by-play position became available, I took that last year.  I enjoy spending the three hours in the booth and describing the game.

Paneech:  Lay out a normal day in the life of Marc Means.

Means:  The day will start at about 8:30.  The whole front office staff gets here at 8:30.  Usually, I will print out all the stats for both coaches from MLB and take that down to the clubhouse.  Then I check with the trainers for players injury-wise, see if there are any roster moves to see if there are players to come or go.  Then I come back up, update the roster, send that to the media, and send it to minor-league baseball so they can make the official changes.  Then I have to type up the starting lineups, press releases, game notes, and anything else for the press room.  Then I have to find time to handle my sales responsibilities.  I’ll spend two to thre hours talking to groups, trying to get more people to come out to the game.

Paneech:  How does being married and going out on the road work for you?

Means:  It’s the hard part of it because I don’t get to spend a lot of time with my wife.  When I am at home I try to spend as much time with her as I can.  It’s the worst part about being on the road, being away from my wife.  As much as I enjoy seeing different ballparks and teams, it’s the roughest part, being away from her.

Paneech:  How strong of a farm system do the Indians have right now?

Means:  According to Baseball America we’re in the Top 5.  I think this organization is stronger at some positions than others.  If you look at the catcher position, they [Indians] are extremely strong right now.  Victor Martinez and Kelly Shoppach are up and doing well, Carlos Santana , a guy down at Double-A is going to play in the futures game,  you’ve got Chris Gimenez.  Catching is definitely a position that they are loaded up on.  Outfield is another strength, there seems to be good outfielders at all levels of the system.  Pitching, has obviously been a team weakness.  If you look at this years draft, you could tell what the Indians were focusing on.  50 picks, overwhelmimgly, they took pitchers, overwhelmingly, they took college kids, so you could tell what they were focusing on when they were stockpiling new players.

Paneech:  How active are you Before June 1, and after September 15?

Means:  After September we all kind of take some time to wind down.   You just got done with four months that were crazy and hectic throughout the entire season.  After a couple of weeks, you get back to it, you start talking to people about season tickets, you start talking to people about groups.  Opportunities are always there, and that’s really something there is no offseason for.

One Word Answers:

Paneech:  Favorite Meal of The Day   Means:  Lunch

Paneech:  Favorite Music   Means:  Collective Soul

Paneech:  Favorite TV Show   Means:  Baseball Tonight

Paneech:  Favorite Restaurant    Means:  I don’t really have one (answered like a true salesman)

Paneech:  Favorit Sport To Watch    Means:  College Football

Paneech:  Favorite Current MLB Player   Means:  Victor Martinez

Paneech:  Longest Bus Ride   Means: 11.5 hours to Vermont

Paneech:  Favorite Athlete In Any Sport     Means:  Mark Price

Paneech:  Scrapper On This Years Team Most Likely To Succeed   Means: Bo Greenwell or Jason Smit

Paneech:  Myron Cope or Tom Hamilton     Means:  Neither – Joe Tait

Means has been helpful in accomodating the press.  He is a very busy man and is at the park from sunrise to midnight for about four months a year.  His passion for the game, and this organization are commendable and sincere.  I am glad he is someone I am getting to know and look forward to seeing him at the park for years to come.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers celebrated The Fourth of July with smiles on their faces in Jamestown.  After fighting for offense for pretty much a week, the Scrappers bats pounded out 15 hits and scored 10 runs to start a short road trip in Jamestown.

The Scrappers put up three in the top half of the first inning on a fielder’s choice, a groundout and an RBI single from Chun Chen.  Jamestown responded with two in the bottom of the first off of Scrapper starting pitcher Vidal Nuno.

In the top of the fourth the Scrappers would tack on five runs.  Jason Smit had an RBI double, John Allman (pictured) had a two-RBI single, and Kyle Smith added another RBI single.  Allman added a single in the seventh inning to end the game with 4 RBI.

Scrapper relief pitcher Jose Urena worked four scoreless innings to pick up his first victory this season.

The Scrappers and Jammers will hook it up again on Sunday night at 6 in Jamestown.

Kelly Pavlik will be at Cafaro Field in Niles signing copies of his book on Thursday, July 9.  Greg Gulas and David Lee Morgan, the authors of the biographical piece will also be on hand.  Pavlik will also throw out the first pitch at the game.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers were finally able to get one over on Williamsport taking the finale of the three game set, 3-0. In front of 3,945 fans on fireworks night.   Marty Popham had his best career start with help from two relievers to keep the Crosscutters off of the scoreboard. 

Popham was the story in this game as he reached career highs in innings pitched throwing six scoreless frames.  He also struck out six batters, another career best.  He walked no one and was never really in trouble.  Popham’s shutout effort was preserved by Guido Fonseca and Cory Burns.  Burns recorded his second save.

Mahoning Valley got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning.  John Allman walked and scored on a Kyle Bellows RBI double.  Bellows later scored on a Tim Palincsar RBI single making it 2-0 in favor of the Scrappers.

The Scrappers added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh when Bellows reached on a throwing error.  With one out, Kyle Smith and Tim Palincsar walked to load the bases.  Catcher Dwight Childs groundout to second base was enough to score Bellows to make it 3-0 in favor of the home team.

Interestingly enough, the Scrappers only had two hits and still managed to score three runs.  Manager Travis Fryman said, ” Timely hits are certainly better than a plethora of hits.  Timely hits are the best kind.”

Jason Smit had a weird game for the Scrappers on offense.  Smit was hit by pitches in his third and fourth at-bats.  His second at-bat resulted in a poor call by the two-man umpire crew as Smit hit a laser to center that everyone but the umpire saw the center fielder trap.  The umpires called Smit out.  After the game, Smit commented, ” Definitely a strange game, not too many things went my way tonight.  I took one in the back and also got hit pretty hard in my achiles.  The thing is that they’re here (the umpires in the Penn League), just like we are, to learn.  They’re trying their hardest, so what can you do.”

Fourth-round draft pick Kyle Bellows commented on how it felt to finally come through fot the Scrappers offense.  ” It feels great to help the team win.  We’ll take ’em how we can get ’em right now.  We aren’t scoring a lot of runs, we’re working hard and it’s been paying off.”

The Scrappers head out to Jamestown for a special 1:05 start time for the 4th of July.

I got to meet Dave Smith, the GM of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.  I learned that a GM in minor league baseball worries more about what happpens outside the lines than a major league GM.  Mr. Smith was gracious enough to grant me some interview time and I met a very special person who many know nothing about.  His role with the Scrappers is paramount to the success of the organization.

Paneech: What do your day-to-day operations and duties consist of?

Dave Smith: Our responsibilities here are to handle everything outside the lines.  The Indians are responsible for drafting the players and they have a whole player development department that works with the players and coaches.  That leaves our responsibilities to sales, marketing, promotions, the media relations, accounting, and operating the facility.

Paneech: You are involved with Youngstown Goodwill and the Regional Chamber of Commerce as a member on the Board of Directors.  How did you get so involved with the community?

Dave Smith: It was something that was pushed on us when I got here.  The organization was always stressing the importance of getting involved with the community.  When I first became involved with the Warren Rotary Club at the age of 27, I didn’t even know what a rotary club was.  To actually be involved in the community became rewarding.  I was meeting new people, getting involved in lots of projects and really started to enjoy giving something back to the community. 

Paneech:  Are you happy here or are you waiting to perhaps be promoted to another level?

Dave Smith: I think that is another misconception, where from a players standpoint you go from Single A to Double A which is the goal.  From a front office standpoint, promotion isn’t the same for me as it is for a player.  I have 15 years in the industry, and if I were to realistically look for a job in a major league city I would go from having the entire operations of a team to, say, just doing promotions.  Some people may want the glitz and glamour that come with a major league promotion, for me it would be a regression to move up.  I met my wife here and now have roots in this area, I have grown used to it and don’t think I would want to leave here right now.

Paneech: Do you have contact with the Indians despite not being involved with the players and coaches much?

Dave Smith:  Indians Director of Player Development, Ross Atkins, basically oversees the talent portion of their minor league system.  We have real good relationships with that staff and communicate with them through the Winter.  Everything starts to pick up on June 1.  Our situation here is that more than half of our players come directly out of the draft each year.  This year there were ten days between the draft and the start of our season.  That’s a very short window to draft these guys, sign them, get them under contract, get them where they need to be, get them physicals, get them uniforms,  which turns into a constant line of communication with their administration.  We then work with the players who get sent here to set them up with host families where they will reside during the season.

Paneech:  Who was the most talented Scrapper you have seen in your time here?

Dave Smith:  In terms of when they were here, not when they moved on, Ben Francisco was the most talented guy I saw here.  The year he was here he led the Penn League in batting average, hit about .349.  He didn’t have a lot of power at the time, but he just attacked the ball, in terms of a pure hitter, it was Francisco.  Ryan Church was another guy that was here that had a monster year with HR and RBI, but I just didn’t get the feeling watching Church as I did Francisco.

Paneech:  Out of the current group of Scrappers, who can you see wearing an Indians uniform in a few years?

Dave Smith:  If you would have asked me a week or so ago, I would have said Bo Greenwell, son of former Red Sox great Mike Greenwell.  Bo was promoted to Lake County, so he’s not with the team anymore.  John Allman, one of the best average hitters in the league and in RBI’s, was not drafted, so there wasn’t all of the hype with him and he is doing a great job.  The Indians are close to signing their second round draft pick, Jason Kipnis, an outfielder out of Arizona State.  His season was extended due to the fact that he went deep into the College World Series.  Reports are that he will report to Mahoning Valley once he signs.

One Word Answers:

Paneech: Favorite meal of the day?     Smith: Dinner

Paneech: Favorite Music?        Smith: Country

Paneech: Favorite TV Show?         Smith:  All Three CSI Shows

Paneech: Favorite Current MLB player?       Smith: Chase Utley

Paneech: Best GM in baseball?     Smith: Theo Epstein

Paneech: Browns or Steelers?     Smith: Eagles

Paneech:  On a day off, I …            Smith: Relax and do work around the house

Paneech:  All-time favorite athlete?     Smith:  Mike Schmidt

Paneech:  Favorite Restaurant?         Smith: Springfield Grille in Boardman

Paneech:  Will Eric Wedge finish 2009 in an Indians uniform?     Smith: Yes, he will.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers continued to struggle offensively for most of the game and ultimately lost to Williamsport 4-3.  The Scrappers paid tribute to the Negro Leagues and had three former players on hand who were honored before the game.  Mahoning Valley also wore uniforms paying respects to the Negro Leagues.   The Scrappers showed some heart with a ninth-inning rally that fell a bit short.  The loss moves the Scrappers to 8-6 and Williamsport goes to 9-5 with sole possession of first place.

Williamsport wasted little time scoring in the first inning.  Jiwan James singled and moved up to second base on a wild pitch.  James scored on Sebastian Valle’s RBI triple to put the Crosscutters up 1-0.

In the top of the second, Alan Shoenberger hit a solo home run to right field to double Williamsport’s lead to 2-0.

Jeremy Barnes walked and would score on another Valle hit, this time an RBI double in the top of the third making the score 3-0 in favor of the visiting team.

The Scrappers finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning.  Greg Folgia walked and would later score on a Jason Smit RBI triple, cutting the Williamsport lead to 3-1.

Sebastian Valle again hurt Mahoning Valley in the top of the seventh with his third hit, an RBI single, which scored Jeremy Barnes from second who doubled earlier in the inning.  Valle finished the game with three hits and three RBI.

In the bottom of the ninth trailing 4-1, DH John Allman walked and stole second base.  Smit singled to right putting runners on first and second with nobody out.  The next Scrapper batter, Chun Chen, reached base on a throwing error by Barnes, allowing Allman to score and cut the lead to 4-2.  Tim Palincsar hit a sac fly to right scoring Smit to make it 4-3.  Jordan Henry struck out to end the game with Scrappers ultimately falling 4-3.

Jason Smit, a native Australian, had a good game for the Scrappers, but was freezing in the 60 degree range after playing in the Gulf Coast League for a couple of years, “I can’t stand the cold weather, it’s a hundred and something every day in Arizona.”  Smit  has been moved around and used different ways since injuring his shoulder.  ” I was in rehab about four or five months.  I made a move to the outfield and I’m playing some first base, I’m doing whatever to get at-bats right now.”  Smit smiled throughout being questioned and said he doesn’t mind taking verbal abuse about Outback Steakhouses and Crocodile Dundee jokes from his teammates.

Coach Travis Fryman knows his team has to be more consistent at the plate to win more games.  ” We have struggled over the past week to score runs.  Some of it is losing (Bo) Greenwell and a good left-handed bat in the lineup.  If you don’t hit the ball out of the ballpark you’ve got to string together three or four hits in an inning, and if you are striking out, it’s a bad combination.  We didn’t handle their lefthanders well tonight.”

A decent crowd of 2,967 saw a pretty good game on “Buck Night” at Cafaro Field.  The loss drops the Scrappers to 1-4 against Williamsport with one game remaining in the series on Friday.  It’s fireworks night and no rain is in the forecast, so get there early!

In the first of three games against Williamsport, situational hitting was not kind to the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.  The Scrappers dropped a 2-1 decision to the Crosscutters.  Both teams got excellent pitching as each staff struck out 12 opposing batters.

Williamsport scored quickly as Leandro Castro walked and stole second.  Castro would come in to score on a  Jeremy Barnes RBI double off of Scrappers starter Brett Brach.  Brach was stingy only giving up two more hits and no more runs through five innings.

Mahoning Valley got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth on a solo home run by John Allman (pictured above), his first in 2009, to tie the contest at 1-1.  “I just got a pitch out over the plate and was able to drive it that way,” said Allman after the game.

Adam Buschini untied the score in the top of the sixth with a blast to deep left field, giving the Crosscutters the lead for good at 2-1.

The Scrappers fell to 8-5 on the season with the loss.  Thursday, the first “Buck Night” of the year, is sure to draw a bigger crowd than the rain-influenced number of 1300 on Wednesday. 

Coach Travis Fryman was happy with the pitching the Scrappers have been getting, ” Really all three guys threw extremely well.  When you throw the ball hard like (Austin) Adams, you will give up a home run from time to time.  We missed scoring opportunities, which usually ends up being the difference in a one-run game.”