Posts Tagged ‘Mahoning Valley Scrappers’

Meet Jake Lowery.  He has started his professional baseball career with a bang. Drafted in the fourth round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft by the Cleveland Indians, the James Madison alumnus has been a standout for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.  Lowery recently won the Johnny Bench Award, which is given to the best catcher at the collegiate level.  His work behind the plate as a catcher combined with his array of power he shows with the bat are making him a commodity that could be promoted to bigger things by the end of the season.  I recently interviewed the 21-year old to discuss his career path and his home life.  Like so many of this years Scrappers, he has a great attitude and was fun to chat with.

Paneech: Recently, you won the Johnny Bench Award, what is it and how did you win?

Lowery: It is an award given to the top collegiate catcher in the nation.  There was a starting list of 39 that got knocked down to 13.  I was fortunate enough to be in the final three with a catcher from Florida and a catcher from Wichita State, and I ended up coming out on top.  It was a great experience and I got to spend a whole day with Johnny Bench.

Paneech: You get drafted and thrown into this team [Scrappers] without really knowing any of your coaches or teammates, how is it working and who have you gotten close to on the team?

Lowery: I am pretty close with Tony Wolters and Jerrud Sabourin. I get rides from those guys and we hang out a lot.  I am also close with John Barr and Will Roberts because they went to Virginia and that’s where I am from.  I like everyone on the team and we all get along really well and I’m happy that it has been so easy to mesh with all of these guys.

Paneech: Do you have a lot of contact with your family and friends back home?

Lowery: Yes, I do.  In fact, my parents are here this week to see me for the first time as a pro.  It’s been like 30 games already, but this is my first game as a pro that they can come and see me play, I am very excited about it.

Paneech: How is the host family experience working out for you?

Lowery: It is really going good here.  I had a really bad experience with a host family my Freshman year and this experience has been 100% better.  I have food, a place to stay, cable television, and air conditioning.  The bad experience was the opposite of this as I had cat poop all over my bed, crickets on my bed, no cable TV for a whole Summer.  It was just a miserable and rough experience.

Paneech: You do well as a catcher, but you DH some nights and have popped up in the lineup at first base lately.  Where are you going to want to be?

Lowery: I have been told by people who know to learn first base as it could possibly open some doors later in my career.  They try to keep me fresh, so I DH some nights too.  It all comes down to me being able to hit and to play this great game – I am having fun.

Paneech: Are you used to this heavy traveling schedule yet?

Lowery: It has been like a whirlwind.  The first week we had six home games and just when I was getting used to that, a road trip starts.  I then had to do some extra traveling and went to Texas for the Johnny Bench Award.  I think I have gotten into a good routine and know what I have to do get ready for a game.  Traveling is pretty fun and you get to hang out with all of the guys.

Paneech: How has it been to play for Coach Wallace so far?

Lowery: Both Coach Wallace and Coach Manso [Tony Mansolino] are young guys. They are fresh out of the game and both bring a wealth of experience from the game. We stay pretty loose as a group, but we know when we have to be serious.  They do a good job keeping everyone loose and their experience is really starting to show as we get further along in the season.

Paneech: Are you getting used to people badgering you after games for autographs and requests for a bat?

Lowery: I am getting used to it, everyone asks for a bat and I can’t give everyone a bat, but I’m like, “Hey, I will sign your ball” and sometimes that is good enough. Yesterday, some girl asked me what number I was and I told her number 30.  It must not have been who she was looking for because she walked away, she must have been looking for someone else (laughs).  Anytime you can sign an autograph for somebody and it makes their day, it is a beautiful thing.  It is not something we are required to do, but I feel like it is a rewarding thing for both sides.

One Word Answers

Favorite Major League Player: Chipper Jones.

Biggest Phobia: Snakes.

Toppings On A Pizza: Pepperoni And Onions.

Favorite Sport Other Than Baseball: Football.  I was a wide receiver and a long-snapper.

Favorite Song: Chicken Fried by The Zac Brown Band.

Worst Habit: I try not to have any bad habits.

Favorite Pitch To Hit: A middle-in fastball.

Typical Fast Food Order: Three Soft Tacos, Nachos Supreme, and a large Mountain Dew.

Dream Car: An Escalade.

Favorite Drink: Mountain Dew.  It’s a refreshing thing and always tastes better after a win or a two-hit game.

Toughest Question:  You are playing in a developmental league yet you are an athlete conditioned to win.  How tough is it to have a 3-4 night at the plate when you lose compared to going 0-4 when you win?

Lowery: I try to take it in stride.  If I go 2-4 or 3-4 and we lose, I know I did my part but other things like pitching or defense were not right.  We get to play 76 games in 80 days and we know that we are going to win some and lose some.  You never want to go out there and try to lose.  It sucks when you go 0-6, but if the team wins when you go 0-6, you have to look at it as getting a win and getting a step closer to the playoffs.  When you lose, you just have to move on.

Top Photo:  Courtesy of Jesse Piecuch

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers offense had been pretty potent all season.  State College came into Wednesday’s contest in the basement of the NYPL Pinckney Division, nine games behind the Scrappers.  The Scrappers entered the game in a three-way tie for first. The Scrappers fought and clawed their way back from a two-run ninth inning deficit to tie the game, but a Carlos Mesa home run gave State College a hard fought 5-4 victory in ten innings.

The Spikes recorded the first run of the game in the first inning.  Chris Lashmet hit an RBI single knocking in Walter Gourley.  The Spikes made it 3-0 in the fourth when Scrapper starter Danny Jimenez uncorked a wild pitch allowing Carlos Mesa to score.  Jimenez went 5 1/3 innings for the Scrappers.

Alex Lavisky (below) got the Scrappers on the board with a solo home run in the fifth.  For Lavisky it was his third home run and he seems to be swinging the bat much better in the last couple of weeks.

State College looked like a different team than they had their first four games this season at Eastwood Field (0-4).  Their pitching kept Scrapper hitters off-balance for most of the game and they played well as a team.  The Scrappers did not do well with situational hitting and just couldn’t seem to get into the rhythm that they have performed at most of this season until the ninth inning.

Todd Hankins hit a solo home run to lead off the seventh inning.  Hankins crushed the Mike Jefferson offering over the visitor bullpen fence clearing the back wall, which is about fifteen feet high.  The Hankins dinger made it a two-run game and hope was still alive.

The Scrappers threatened in the eighth inning when John Barr had a one-out single.  State College went to the bullpen and brought in Emmanuel De Leon to face the potential tying runs, Lavisky and Hankins who both homered earlier in the game.  Lavisky flew out to left, just getting under one.  Hankins grounded out to second, end of the threat.

In the ninth inning, Tony Wolters (above) knocked in Jerrud Sabourin, who walked on four pitches to start the ninth.  Jake Lowery hit a mammoth sac fly to deep center to bring home Cody Elliott and tie the game.  In the top of the tenth, Carlos Mesa blasted one over the left field wall to put State College back in front, 5-4.

In the bottom of the tenth, Lavisky started the inning with a single and was bunted to second by Hankins.  The Spikes brought in reliever Vince Payne to face Sabourin.  The Scrapper first baseman lined out to short.  Aaron Siliga stepped in with two outs but flew out to center.

Will Krasne took the loss for the Scrappers.  These two teams will travel to State College and play three more times over the next three days.

This weeks Scrappers Personnel Profile focuses on a seasoned veteran in the minor league baseball circuit, Mark Libs.  Mark’s official title is Director of Group Sales, but like Matt Thompson and Drew LaFollette, he wears many hats and his duties overlap into other spectrums.  Mark is a good person, always a smile on his face, always talking to people, and always willing to do the right things to make everyone’s visit to Eastwood Field a more enjoyable experience.

Paneech: Your title is Director of Group Sales for the Scrappers.  What exactly is it that you do.

Libs: As the Director of Group Sales, I take care of organizing corporate outings, churches forming a group to come out and put packages together to allow those groups to take advantage of the facilities.  Just about everything can overlap and I am needed to help in other areas.  I am also the director of table operations and make sure that all of the tables get set up in the concourse.  I am also in charge of the Scrappers Fun Zone, making sure that things get up and going.

Paneech: How fun is it to come to work at a baseball park everyday?

Libs: I love it, this is my 12th season in minor league baseball.  This is the fourth team I have worked for, I don’t think there is a better job out there.  Even when I am having a stressful day, I can just go out and look at the field and breathe easier knowing that this is what I do.

Paneech: What would you be doing if you were not working for the Scrappers?

Libs: Well, I was actually an athletic trainer before I got into the business end of this.  I’ve got a few more years of baseball left up my sleeve.  I am currently finishing my Masters Degree at Kent State and when I finish, I want to work on my PHD.  Ultimately, I want to become a college professor teaching sports management.  I will be here a bit longer though, hopefully four or five more good seasons.

Paneech: What part of the job do you dislike?

Libs: Definitely pulling the tarp.  The tarp is not fun and it seems to get put on and taken off quite a bit here.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers took advantage of some early run production and rode their solid pitching and defense to the finish line in a 6-1 victory over State College.  The Scrappers scored five times in the first four innings and never looked back.  State College scored their lone run of the game in the top of the ninth inning.

Will Roberts was the starting pitcher for Mahoning Valley.  He threw four solid innings of shutout baseball, but unfortunately needed to go five innings to get the win.  The gift win was given to Harold Guerrerro who started the fifth inning with a 5-0 lead.  Guerrerro proved worthy to get the “W” as he threw four solid innings of scoreless baseball as well.

Four different Scrappers drove in runs with Tony Wolters and John Barr collecting a pair of RBI’s each.  Wolters finished the game 2-4, and Barr was 1-3 with a sacrifice fly.  State College did themselves no favors as their pitchers hit three Scrappers.  Jordan Smith was beaned his first two times at-bat (above photo).

Perhaps the most impressive ingredient of baseball that the Scrappers flashed in the win was the solid fundamental defense.  Routine plays were nightmares for State College, but Mahoning Valley was doing some pretty special stuff on defense seemingly every inning.  In the above photo, the Scrappers SS, Tony Wolters, had enough smarts to stop a ball in the hole and fire to third to take down the lead runner in a one-out situation early on.  3B Evan Frazar was waiting and the timing was perfect to eliminate the runner.  Jordan Smith threw a runner out at home from right field on a beautiful throw.  It was a great performance by the Scrappers.

“I was really pleased with our pitching tonight”, commented Manager David Wallace.  “Will Roberts was tough on their hitters and [Harold] Guerrerro came in and performed exceptionally tonight.”

Will Roberts

The Scrappers and Spikes wrap up their short series on Wednesday night at Eastwood Field.  Mahoning Valley is 4-0 against State College at home this season.

One Scrapper who was on the fast track has been slowed recently.  KC Serna took a line drive to the face in Jamestown while the team was on the road.  Wallace said that they are waiting for Serna to be cleared and that there is a small fracture with some bone sediment loose.

A quality Summer Baseball Camp is being offered at Eastwood Field from August 8-10.  The camp is designed to introduce young players the aspects and fundamentals of baseball.  Rich Pasquale, YSU’s head baseball coach, and Craig Antush, a YSU assistant, will host the camp.

The areas of specialization to be covered at the camp are fielding, throwing, hitting, base running and pitching.  The camp is offered to anyone between the ages of 6-14, and kids will be grouped within their own age bracket.  During the hitting and pitching sessions, all campers will be videotaped on Monday and Wednesday.

There are three separate option to choose from:

Option 1: The cost for this package is $125.  This selection includes fielding, throwing, base running, and hitting.  It also includes the videotaping that will take place Monday and Wednesday.  Daily time of this choice is 9 a.m. – Noon.

Option 2: The cost for this package is $60.  This selection will cover pitching only.  It also includes the Monday and Wednesday videotaping sessions.  The time for pitching camp only is 12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m.

Option 3: The cost for this package is $150.  This selection runs from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. all three days and is simply a combination of the first two packages at a discounted rate.  The videotaping on Monday and Wednesday is included and attendees choosing this option will need to bring a lunch each day.

The camp is not affiliated with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers or Youngstown State University.  It is just at the field where the Scrappers play and will be conducted by two very good instructors who happen to coach baseball at YSU.

To pre-register, contact the Scrappers at 330-505-0000, Craig Antush at 330-539-4577 or e-mail cjantush@ysu.edu for more details..

Al Kaline was recently at a Mahoning Valley Scrappers game to watch his grandson, Colin Kaline, in action.  Colin is in the Tigers organization, playing for the Connecticut Tigers, the short-season A affiliate for Detroit.

Al Kaline is in Cooperstown, never played a day of minor league baseball in his life, and has some weird coincidences with Derek Jeter.  Kaline played his entire 22-year career with the Detroit Tigers.  “Mr. Tiger” is still working for the organization as a front office figure.

Derek Jeter picked up his 3,000th hit recently to join a crowd of less than 30 players on a very elite list.  Al Kaline was the 12th player in Major League Baseball history to accomplish that fete.  Here is where it gets weird… Kaline picked up his 3,000th hit in Baltimore on September 24, 1974.  Derek Jeter was born in Baltimore  in 1974. Kaline finished with 3,007 career hits.  As of this writing, Derek Jeter has 3,007 hits.  Sometimes timing is everything.

Paneech: What is Al Kaline doing in his spare time these days?

Al Kaline: I’m still working for the Tigers.  I am an Assistant to the President and go to the games.  I travel a little bit to Erie and Toledo and, of course, Lakeland.  I have a home down there in Florida.  Basically, I do whatever the president wants me to do. The owner is a good friend of mine.  I had been broadcasting the games for about 20 years and when the new owners came in, they asked me to go into the front office and give my opinions.  I told him that they may not like my opinions, but I assured them that I would give them my opinion nonetheless.

Paneech: Your grandson, Colin Kaline (above), is in the organization now.  Is it weird coming to smaller venues to watch him?

Kaline: Actually, this is all new to me because I never played minor-league baseball.  I hadn’t had a chance to see my grandson play much.  He is like most guys in this league, they have a lot to learn and a lot of adjusting to do.  Some will do it, some won’t.  He is under a lot of pressure because of his name, but he handles it well, he is a great kid and was a great student.  Whatever he does, he is going to be successful. It may not be baseball, but he is going to do well.

Paneech: I would think he will receive some support because of his name in the Detroit organization.

Kaline: He wants to play baseball.  I tell all of these kids that they are blessed.  How many billions of kids have wanted to sign professionally and never did.  These kids are signed and have that chance to go somewhere with it.  How far they go?  Nobody knows.  But, they should really see it as a tremendous honor that they were signed professionally.

Colin finished the game 2-4 with a pair of doubles.  Afterwards he commented on his last name.  “I don’t feel the pressure so much.  I know people are going to be more critical, but I am just having fun, learning and playing the game.  It’s been fun so far.  My grandfather rarely pulls me to the side to give me pointers, he lets me do my own thing and knows I am having fun.”

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers withstood a late Jamestown Jammers comeback attempt and won in extra innings, 6-5, to move into a tie for first place in the Pinckney Division.

Mahoning Valley scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 3-0 lead.  Alex Lavisky (above) homered to start the scoring, his second home run for the Scrappers this season.

Jamestown scored two in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the lead to 3-2, and the score remained that way going into the top of the ninth inning.

The Scrappers added two runs in the ninth to take a 5-2 lead, but Enosil Tejeda allowed three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings.

Mahoning Valley scored a run in the top of the 11th on a sacrifice fly by Todd Hankins, and Nate Striz pitched a scoreless inning in the bottom of the 11th to give the Scrappers the win.

Tejeda picked up the victory to improve to 2-2.  Relief pitcher Curtis Petersen picked up the loss for the Jammers to fall to 2-2.  Striz earned his first save of the season.

The Scrappers and Jammers will conclude their three-game series on Monday night at 7:05 pm.

Connecticut escaped Niles with a win and avoided being swept by the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, posting a 7-4 win at Eastwood Field.  The Tigers strung together good things in a row during a couple of different innings.  The Tigers got three hits from Curt Casali, including a monstrous home run, and a couple of doubles from Colin Kaline in the win.  The Scrappers kept battling back, but ultimately dug a hole too deep to climb out of.

“Our goal is to win the series and we went for a sweep tonight”, commented Scrappers Manager David Wallace.  “Both teams played hard and we just made one more mistake than they did.  They capitalized on it like good teams do.”

For the Scrappers, Jordan Smith (below) stayed hot collecting a couple more hits and knocking in the first two Scrapper runs.  Smith extended his hitting streak to eleven games with the hits.

Wallace talked about Smith and the productivity he has been putting out.  “Jordan has put together good at-bats for us all year.  He works hard and prepares himself.  He doesn’t try to do too much, but when the situation calls for it, he opens it up a little bit and lets it fly.  When he gets down in a two-strike count, he is one of the best at battling and getting the barrel on the ball.”

The Scrappers scored a pair of runs in the first when KC Serna and Tony Wolters consecutively walked on four pitches each.  After both runners moved up a bag, Smith laced a single for the 2-0 Scrappers lead.

Scrappers starter Will Roberts, making his first start of the year pitched two innings.  The decision was premeditated by the coaching staff to give Roberts two innings or roughly 40 pitches in his debut.  Danny Jimenez relieved Roberts to start the third and took the tough loss, exiting the game down only one run.

In the sixth inning, the Tigers got back-to-back doubles from Zach Maggard and Kaline to take a 3-2 lead.  In the bottom half of the inning, the Scrappers reclaimed the lead Evan Frazar singled to knock in Jake Lowery and then Cody Elliott drew a base on balls with the sacks full forcing home Alex Lavisky to go ahead 4-3.

The Scrappers lost the lead when PJ Polk laid down a perfect bunt up the first base line that was errantly thrown into right field.  Jason King then doubled to knock in two with a bases-loaded double.  Jason Holm then hit a sacrifice fly to right to put the Tigers in front 6-4.  They would add a run in the ninth.  New Scrapper Henry Dunn was giving chase to a ball that was hit to the right-center field wall.  Dunn had a nasty collision with the fence and stayed down for a minute but eventually popped up and stayed in the game.  Eugenio Suarez ended up with a triple on the great effort by Dunn.  Suarez would trot in on a sac fly by King to give the Tigers a 7-4 lead.

The Scrappers hit the road for a three-game set with Jamestown.  Bryson Myles is almost ready to return from a pulled hamstring injury that has kept him out of action all week.   Aaron Siliga, who rolled an ankle, should also be ready to roll within the next couple of days.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers overcame four runs in the first inning by the Connecticut Tigers and came from behind to win, 9-6.

Mahoning Valley answered with three runs in the bottom of the first to cut the deficit to 4-3. Connecticut scored in the fourth inning to make it 5-3, but again the Scrappers answered to make it 5-4.

The Scrappers scored five runs in the sixth inning to take the lead. Todd Hankins singled in two runs and Cody Elliott (above) doubled in two more to make it 9-5.

Connecticut scored a run in the eighth inning to make it 9-6, but the Scrappers held the Tigers scoreless in the ninth inning.

The Scrappers and Tigers will play game three of their series on Friday night at 7:05 pm.

Scrapper fans got a little treat at Eastwood Field Wednesday.  Indians Prospect, Jeanmar Gomez, made a start in preparation to join the Indians after the break.  Gomez is rumored to be taking the place of Mitch Talbot in the Indians rotation.  Talbot is having arm problems and has been placed on the DL.  Gomez pitched four innings but did not factor into the decision as the Scrappers won, 2-1, to take the series opener against Connecticut.

“I felt good, I tried to work on all of my pitches”, remarked Gomez after the game.  “There is a lot of good energy with these players here, and that’s a good think for the organization.  They play hard and do the best that they can.  I told them that they have to learn something every day while they are here, make the effort to pick something new up every chance you get.“

Manager David Wallace didn’t see Gomez as a distraction, but rather a benefit, to his club.  “It’s a great thing, these guys got to see the way that Jeanmar prepared for his start.  They see the way he went out there and attacked the hitters with his fastball.  He is not Fausto Carmona with fantastic stuff, but to his credit, he knows how to pitch.  I’ll be interested to see what this team took from it.”

Gomez threw hard in his four innings of work.  He gave up five hits and one earned run while striking out three Tigers.  Gomez’s appearance will not live up to an Asdrubal Cabrera rehab appearance last season, but it is always nice when the big club sends the talent to Niles for a day, and the crowd of 2,611 surely appreciated their chance to watch the hard-throwing pitcher. Gomez, below with Scrappers catcher Alex Lavisky, is on the cusp of bigger things, very soon.

The Tigers were not intimidated by Gomez as they plated the first run of the game in the fourth.  Patrick Leyland, son of Jim Leyland, singled home Jeff Holm off of Gomez to put Connecticut ahead 1-0.

The Scrappers tied the game in the bottom of the fifth.  Cody Elliott singled and moved to third when Tony Wolters singled.  Elliott would trot home from third when Jake Lowery singled to pick up his eleventh RBI of the season.

Joseph Colon, who usually starts games for the Scrappers, entered the game to start the fifth and pitched very well.  Colon worked five scoreless innings in picking up the win in relief of Gomez.

New Scrapper, Evan Frazar singled to start the ninth.  Elliott bunted Frazar to second and then the new guy showed his wheels taking third.  KC Serna (above) knocked Frazar in with a clean single over the second baseman’s head to give the Scrappers the nice win.

Serna has embraced the hero role a lot lately and Wallace thinks it can get contagious.  “We preach quality at-bats whether we are up five or down five.  Be a better hitter with two strikes and make contact.  These guys are doing a good job battling right now.”