SCRAPPERS FIGHT HARD BUT FALL TO FREDERICK

By Ty Bartell 

NILES OH- The Mahoning Valley Scrappers suffered a close 6-5 defeat to the Frederick Keys on Thursday night. Peyton Olejnik started on the mound for Mahoning Valley, while Grant Richars took the ball for Frederick. The Keys wasted no time getting on the board as Allan Gil-Fernandez roped a double to score two runs in the top of the first. Owen Carapelotti added an RBI single later in the inning, giving Frederick an early 3-0 advantage.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Scrappers got on the board with a Jordan Taylor RBI double. Mahoning Valley added another run in the inning due to an error by Keys’ first baseman Daylan Pena, cutting Frederick’s lead to 3-2.

Jared Quandt sparked a rally in the bottom of the sixth by reaching base and advancing to third, setting up John Schroeder to deliver an RBI sacrifice fly that tied the game at 3-3.

Frederick quickly regained the lead as Tervell Johnson smoked a solo home run to left field in the top of the seventh, putting the Keys ahead 4-3. An Allan Gil-Fernandez RBI double and an Owen Carapelotti RBI single extended Frederick’s lead to 6-3.
The Scrappers struck back in the bottom of the eighth with a Jared Quandt RBI triple. Quandt later scored on an error, bringing Mahoning Valley within a run at 6-5. However, the Keys secured the win as Trevor Long locked down the save with the tying run at third base.

The victory marked a sweep for Frederick (10-10), bringing them back to .500 on the year. The Keys will look ahead to a three-game road series against the league-leading Williamsport Crosscutters (15-5) starting Friday, June 28th. Meanwhile, Mahoning Valley (8-12) is now a season-low four games below .500 as they aim to halt their nine-game slide when they host the Trenton Thunder (8-11) for a weekend series, beginning Friday with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch.