Tag Archive for: Mahoning Valley Scrappers

EASTWOOD FIELD NAMED 2023 OSFMA FIELD OF THE YEAR

NILES, OH- The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are proud to announce that Eastwood Field and Head Groundskeeper Noah Bard have been awarded the 2023 Field of the Year by the Ohio Sports Field Management Association (OSFMA). The Field of the Year is awarded to athletic fields in Ohio that exhibit excellent playability and safety and whose managers utilize innovative solutions, effectively use their budgets, and have implemented a comprehensive agronomic program. The Scrappers and Bard will receive the award on December 6th at the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation (OTF) Conference and Show in Columbus.

Head Groundskeeper Noah Bard said, “I am honored to receive this award. I would like to thank the OSFMA Board for selecting Eastwood Field. This would not be possible without the efforts of my game day grounds crew, I can’t thank them enough for their help. I would also like to thank the Scrappers front office, and most importantly thank you to my wife Kendra for her constant support of me and my work.”

Field 2

“We are excited for Noah Bard to receive this much deserved recognition as the 2023 OSFMA Field of the Year”, said Heather Sahli, Mahoning Valley Scrappers General Manager. “Noah and his team work tirelessly to keep Eastwood Field in amazing condition for over 150 events at the facility throughout the year including Scrappers games, Youngstown State University Baseball, high school games, charity walks, concerts and more. We are proud to receive this great honor.”

The Ohio Sports Field Managers Council was incepted in Northwest Ohio in the late 1990’s. Known in the early years as the Great Lakes Sports Turf Managers Association, this group was a collaboration of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio Sports Turf professionals. The GLSTMA later formed as the Ohio Sports Turf Managers Association and has never looked back. For over 25 years, they have provided Ohio’s turf managers with education, outreach, access to the latest in R&D, and created a network of industry professionals dedicated to providing Ohio’s athletes with first class surfaces.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are one of six founding members of the MLB Draft League, joining the Frederick Keys, State College Spikes, Trenton Thunder, West Virginia Black Bears and the Williamsport Crosscutters. Scrappers ticket packages and sponsorship opportunities are on sale now. To view the complete 2024 Scrappers schedule, early bird ticket packages and stay up to date with the Scrappers in the offseason, visit mvscrappers.com or contact the front office at 330-505-0000.

*Contributed by mlbdraftleague.com

BERMUDEZ BLAST PUTS COOKIE TABLES ON TOP

NILES OH- Following a 2-3 road trip for Mahoning Valley, they found themselves back home in the
friendly atmosphere of Eastwood Field against the best team in the second half, The West Virginia Black Bears. As The Scrappers turned into The Cookie Tables for one night only, they were looking to give The Mahoning Valley faithful a treat for attending.

The Black Bears were anything but sweet, scoring off the jump in the top of the first inning, courtesy of Patrick Lee taking the first pitch of the game off his back, stealing second and coming home on a pair of sacrifice fly-outs. Cookie Table starting pitcher Elijah Pleasants managed to get out of the inning with no further damage done.

On the other side, starting pitcher Nate Madej was rolling for West Virginia, as he sent Mahoning Valley’s lineup down in order in the bottom of the first. The game remained a 1-0 game through the first three innings before TJ Reeves sent a screamer over the left field wall in the bottom of the fourth, knotting the game up at one run a piece.

The first half of the game had a pitchers duel as the script until the sixth inning. With the game tied 1-1, with a runner at third and two out, Cam Ridley shot a single to center field and regained the lead for The Black Bears 2-1. Pleasants would get the final out in the inning, notching the quality start under his belt for The Cookie Tables, but subsequently being on the hook for the loss.

Mahoning Valley had other plans for the bottom of the sixth inning with two on and two out, that man, TJ Reeves came through again by lining a single to center to tie the game up at two. The tie would be short lived with the next batter David Bermudez sending a boom shot out to left on the first pitch of his at bat. Promptly turning the game on its head, flipping the script and giving Mahoning Valley the 5-2 lead. Omar Veloz would tack on an additional run with an opposite field single, widening the lead 6-2.

Wasting little time getting some offense back, The Black Bears scored a run in the top of the seventh inning off a Ben McClain RBI single, cutting the deficit to just three runs. But it was The Cookie Table bullpen that locked it down the rest of the way with Danny Kirwin shutting down the eighth and Peter Allegro recording the save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, giving Mahoning Valley the 6-3 win! Thus now bringing the season series win-loss record against West Virginia to 6-8.

Both teams are set to resume action on Wednesday, August 16th for the second game of the series. Catch all Scrappers home games on YSN (ysnlive.com/scrappers), the streaming home for The Mahoning Valley Scrappers!

NO CAP; CAPECE IS MARQUEE

NILES OH- Omaha! Omaha! Another great athlete is coming out of Nebraska and his name is Connor
Capece. A graduate of Omaha Gross Catholic High School in Nebraska, Capece really honed his skills as a baseball player both on the mound and behind the plate.

Prior to that, Capece’s father played a major role in his development, both as a ball player and a young man. Putting the pressure on Connor from an early age “he saw the potential in me early on” Capece said. Finding success in the high school ranks, Capece had a decision on his plate of where he wanted to go to college to continue his playing and academic careers. His choice, ultimately, came down to the freedom and flexibility a university would be with him to be both a pitcher and a catcher. The hometown school of The Creighton Bluejays was his collegiate decision.

Before going off to play college ball, Capece made a summer pit stop in Niles, Ohio to be a part of The Mahoning Valley Scrappers and compete in The MLB Draft League. Playing under major leaguer and Scrappers Manager, Dmitri Young, as well as some older players on the team allowed Capece to have a truly unique experience before going to college. His biggest takeaway from the league? Understanding there will be bumps in the road on the path to greatness, “It’s a game of failure.” Capece said.

Getting to know him from humble beginnings as a young Nebraska kid with a dream to taking steps to living out that dream everyday, Capece offers advice to players that wish to have a future at the collegiate level.

Catch all this and more in this edition of Player Profile with the Creighton commit and form Mahoning Valley Scrapper, Connor Capece!

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SCRAPPERS HAVE A TOUGH TIME WITH THUNDER

By Ty Bartell 

NILES OH- For the fourth occasion this season, The Mahoning Valley Scrappers squared-off against The Trenton Thunder in a three game weekend set, starting this past Friday at Eastwood Field. Despite playing in three series previous, The Thunder and Scrappers only played in six of the nine games, with two axed due to weather and one due to the wildfire smoke from Canada. However, in the six prior meetings, Mahoning Valley showed plenty of guts but Trenton had all the glory, to the tune of a perfect 6-0 record against The Scrappers this season.

Despite the lopsided win-loss record, Mahoning Valley has shown their ability to compete with Trenton time and time again. With all the meetings between the two squads being decided by four runs or less this season and that spans across two halves of a season with completely different teams from one half to the other. That goes back to the old adage of “that’s baseball” where the things we marvel at and wonder “how can it be?” when it is just the infinite possibilities the sport brings on any given day.

(FRI)
In the opener on Friday, it appeared as if The Scrappers were putting the one-sided record
to bed, grabbing an early 2-0 advantage over Trenton in the first inning. Thanks to an RBI single by Mason Sykes and an RBI double by Owen Young.
The Thunder wasted little time in forming a response, in the top of the second inning, Craig Corliss delivered a two RBI double, evening the ballgame up 2-2. Trenton’s Dan Covino broke the tie in the top of the fourth when he went big fly for the second time this season, giving the Thunder a 3-2 lead. Anthony Fontana padded the lead with an RBI double in the top of the fifth, making it 4-2 Trenton.

Scrappers got a run closer in the bottom of the eighth when the hot bat of Corey King lined a single up the middle to make it a one run game! But it was not to be, as Enrique Ozoa came in to close things down for The Thunder, giving them the 4-3 win.

(SAT)
In the Saturday matchup, it seemed as if it was going to be an old school pitchers duel,
with both starters in Jonah Hurney (Trenton) and Dylan Sabia (Mahoning Valley) shutting opposing lineups down through the first two innings.

As opposed to the matchup on Friday, The Thunder looked to score first in game two of the series. The top of the third gave them a prime opportunity, with the first three Thunder bats recording base hits to load the bags up with nobody out. Jack Lynch plated one and gave Trenton the initial lead with a fielders choice groundout. But it was the two-out two RBI single from Anthony Fontana that packed a punch, giving Trenton the 3-0 lead.

Scrappers got a run back in the bottom of the fifth after Justin Wiley got a one out bunt single and D’Aries Davis followed him with a walk. Both runners advanced on a passed ball and Wiley scored off an RBI sacrifice fly by Braylin Marine. Both teams would get quiet on offense following the fifth all the way to the eighth, when Trenton scored two runs in the top half of the inning, making it 5-1 Thunder.

Scrappers scored one more in the bottom of the inning as Braylin Marine led off the frame with a double and came home to score off a Mason Sykes RBI single. But The Trenton bullpen, once again, shut things down for four innings following the start from Hurney, as The Thunder used three early runs to give them the 5-2 win.

(SUN)
Sunday was Christmas in July at Eastwood Field, but it was The Thunder that got the
early gifts. A fielding error by Anthonio Fernandez allowed Kolby Johnson to score and Joe Impeduglia followed that up by drawing a bases loaded walk from Trae Robertson to make it 2-0 Trenton early. Impeduglia would go on to add another run to The Thunder lead in the top of the third inning when he slammed one to center, a 400+ foot shot, making it 3-0.

Mahoning Valley would get on the board in the bottom half of the third when, with two on and two out, Owen Young tripled off the wall in left, bringing home two and bringing The Scrappers to within one run of The Thunder 3-2. Trenton would get right back to work on offense, as they led off the top of the fourth inning with an Angel Mendoza double and a Kolby Johnson single, setting up a sacrifice RBI opportunity for Jack Lynch to make it a 4-2 lead.

Bats would go cold on both sides following the fourth inning as the arms were dealing on a Sunday afternoon. With both pitching staff shutting things down the rest of the way, it was Enrique Ozoa that would close it out in the ninth, earning his second save of the series and giving The Thunder a sweep of The Scrappers with the 4-2 win.

As more things change, the more they stay the same. The Thunder improved their record to 9-0 versus The Scrappers this season. With all the games being decided by four runs or fewer in those meetings. Trenton (27-12) will now focus on defending home, as they start a series with The Frederick Keys (19-21) on Tuesday, July 25th. Mahoning Valley (14-25) will hit the road across the state line into West Virginia in a  meeting with The Black Bears (25-14) also starting on Tuesday.

SCRAPPERS TAKING THE NEXT STEP

By Ty Bartell

Since the inception of The MLB Draft League, the main goal has been to get players into
the next level. Following the conclusion of the first half in the 2023 season, The Draft League saw an impressive 47 players get drafted into MLB organizations, with dozens more being signed as undrafted free agents!

For The Mahoning Valley Scrappers, seven current or former players saw their dreams come true. Some familiar faces of the first half will no longer be present with Mahoning Valley, taking their next step on the long stairway of their ultimate goal! We here at Your Sports Network wish the best of luck to the following players as they continue their journey to the big leagues!

RHP Hayden Minton (‘22 Scrapper) → 9th round pick by The Detroit Tigers.

1B Jack Moss → 11th round pick by The Cincinnati Reds.

C Cole Conn → 12th round pick by The Oakland Athletics.

LHP Jack Sellinger → 14th round pick by The Miami Marlins.

RHP Cale Lansville → 14th round pick by The San Francisco Giants. RHP Zane Barnhart → 17th round pick by The Baltimore Orioles.

3B Brian Kalmer (‘22 Scrapper) → 18th round pick by The Chicago Cubs.

Of course, the excitement does not stop there, as four additional players found new homes with major league organizations, being signed as undrafted free agents. We also want to wish the best of luck to the following signees!

RHP Ruddy Gomez → Contract purchased by The San Diego Padres

RHP Jake Bockenstedt → Contract purchased by The Chicago White Sox

RHP Ben Thompson (22’ Scrapper) → Contract purchased by The Los Angeles Angels

3B Jarrod Belbin → Contract purchased by The Seattle Mariners

An incredible first half it was and an exciting second half to come! As always, catch all Scrappers home games on YSN, your streaming home of The Mahoning Valley Scrappers!

MADNESS! SCRAPPERS COMPLETE UNTHINKABLE COMEBACK

By Ty Bartell 

NILES OH- When it comes to baseball being played at Eastwood Field the past couple of weeks,
mother nature has not been all too kind to Mahoning Valley. Prior to Thursday’s contest between The Scrappers and The Frederick Keys, Mahoning Valley had three of their last nine home games canceled, due to either weather or Canadian wildfire smoke. However, after the cancellation of Wednesday’s game between the two ball clubs, the skies cleared up and the temperature was perfect for some baseball in Northeast Ohio.

Scrappers sent Nathan Medrano to the mound for his first start in The MLB Draft League this year, while The Keys utilized Dalton Ponce, who was given the rock the second time this season. After getting the first out in the top of the first, Frederick had a runner reach on a one out error before three straight singles were rattled off by The Keys, putting them up early 2-0. Medrano would limit the damage, getting the next two outs in the frame while simultaneously stranding a pair of runners in scoring position to end the inning.
Dalton Ponce would make short work of The Scrappers in the bottom of the first, despite allowing a one out base hit to Brad Burkel, Ponce would still strike out the side in the inning with a dominant display of pitching. The second inning saw no offense be put together by either team as both Medrano and Ponce cleared their half inning without a baserunner, sending both lineups down 1-2-3 in the second.

Frederick looked to have a high offensive output for the third inning when Zaid Walker led off the inning with a walk and a steal of second base. Next batter up, Trenton Jamison, would record a base hit to left, but the amazing arm of Travis Moore Jr. said “no runs on my watch” as a gem of a throw from the left fielder erased a run off the board, getting Zaid Walker out at the plate!

The Keys would pick up their change though, as a wild pitch and a passed ball in the inning allowed Jamison to come around to score and up The Frederick lead to now three runs at 3-0.
Both teams would stay quiet offensively the next couple innings to follow, with both Medrano and Ponce dealing on the mound for their respective teams. Scrappers would get one on the board in the bottom of the fifth when Corey King led off the inning with his second hit of the day before a wild pitch got him to second and a stolen base got him to third with less than two outs. Christian Johnson would do his job with the sacrifice fly to center field, scoring King and cutting into the deficit, now a 3-1 Frederick lead.

Despite a one out double by Cameron Butler in the top of the sixth, Nathan Medrano was able to pitch effectively with a runner standing in scoring position by getting a pop out and a strikeout to end the inning and giving Medrano the quality start in the books! Mahoning Valley helped their pitcher out in the bottom of the sixth, as Ponce looked like he was continuing to operate on cruise control, getting the first two outs of the inning with no issue. Then, nine straight balls thrown and three consecutive walks allowed, loaded the bases up with two down for Corey King. For the third straight time in the ballgame, King delivered with a base hit, this time to left field, scoring two and tying the game up 3-3!

Adam Wibert took over for Nathan Medrano in the seventh and he did his job, posting a zero in the inning whilst sending The Keys batters down in order, 1-2-3. Giving The Scrappers a chance to take the lead and they made sure they did just that! A one out Brad Burkel walk would put the go ahead run on for Mason Sykes two batters later with two down. Sykes, who has been a clutch hitting machine as of late, delivered once again with an RBI double to plate Burkel and give Mahoning Valley their first lead 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh!

Despite riding the excitement from having the lead, the game of baseball is quick to remind us that it is a roller coaster ride every time you step between those lines. The next two innings are a perfect example of just that. As the top of the eighth inning is one Scrappers fans and players want to forget rather quickly. Trenton Jamison would single and steal second to start the inning before Taylor Smith brought him home with a base hit, tying the game back up 4-4. Wibert would record the next two outs; Although, Frederick was able to re-capture the lead with the second out of the inning being a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Smith who was on third and putting The Keys back in front 5-4. From that point in the inning, Frederick would see the next nine batters reach base safely, eight of which were on base hits, scoring six runs against two different arms that pitched in the inning for The Scrappers. Sucking the life and energy out of the ballpark that was there the half inning prior, Frederick saw themselves in front 11-4 heading to the bottom of the eight.

Mahoning Valley would get a run back in the eighth inning when David Bermudez hit a one out single, stole second base and came home to score on a RBI single by, who else, but Corey King on his fourth hit of the night! Limiting damage in the inning, Keys pitcher Matthew Maldanado would get out of the eighth, keeping it an 11-5 Frederick advantage.

Trae Robertson took over for The Scrappers in the top of the ninth and would pitch a clean half inning of work, keeping the deficit at six runs heading to the bottom of the ninth inning. With their backs against the wall, needing six runs to defeat The Keys for the first time at Eastwood Field this season, things were looking bleak for that thought to become a reality. However, as Scrappers Manager Dmitri Young would say “There’s 27 outs in this game for a reason. You can’t panic” as Brad Burkel started the bottom of the ninth by reaching off an error by Kirkland Banks. That baserunner opened up the floodgates for The Scrappers!

Mahoning Valley would get two straight singles by TJ Reeves and Mason Sykes to score a run making it 11-6 Frederick and forcing a pitching change from Keys Manager Renee Rivera. Caiden Wood would come out to replace Maldanado on the mound, but The Scrappers picked up where they left off. A base hit by Owen Young and a monster 2 RBI double by Antonio Fernandez had Mahoning Valley on the doorstep of a comeback, now just a 11-8 Frederick lead with The Scrappers having the tying run at the plate and nobody out going forward! Next batter David Bermudez hit an RBI single, putting the tying run on first and making it a two run game. Corey King would get hit by a pitch, reaching safely for his fifth time in the ballgame, and loaded the bases while representing the winning run on first! D’Aires Davis pinch hit earlier in the game but waited till his next at-bat to deliver, as he hit an RBI single making it a slim 11-10 Frederick lead and putting the winning run at second base. Back to the top of the order and Christian Johnson had a chance to be a hero and did he ever put on that cape proudly. Depositing a base hit to center, scoring two, bringing home RBI number two and three on the day and walking off the game a 12-11 winner in one of the most improbable comebacks you could ever see, ending the game with a Mahoning Valley mob scene at second base!

Both teams are back in action on Friday with Frederick (15-16) hitting the road to The Keystone State where they will take on The State College Spikes (14-19). As for The Scrappers (13-19) they hope to build off this victory as they will take on first half champions, The Trenton Thunder (21-10) in New Jersey on Friday night. Mahoning Valley returns to Eastwood Field again on Friday, July 21st where they will host a three game weekend series against Trenton. Come out and enjoy the festivities as the 21st is Pittsburgh Pirates night in the ballpark with post game fireworks to follow! Of course, if you cannot make it out, we got you covered! Find all

Scrappers home games on YSN, your streaming home for Mahoning Valley Scrappers Baseball! (ysnlive.com/scrappers)

PLEASANT PITCHING GETS SCRAPPERS OVER THE SPIKES

By Ty Bartell

STRUTHERS OH- Following the first two games of a three game series drawing even with The Mahoning
Valley Scrappers taking game one 15-7 on Friday, while The State College Spikes got the series back to even on Saturday following a 9-4 victory.

Leaving Sunday to be set up as a rubber match, but with impending weather and for the benefit of both teams, The MLB Draft League elected to make the final game of the series a seven inning contest.

Elijah Pleasants got the start on the hill for Mahoning Valley, while State College threw Gabe Starks on the mound for the series finale. Both pitchers were dealing through the first two innings, managing batters on an efficient pitch count, both arms tossed two shutout frames to start the game. The first run of the game came home in the top half of the third following a couple of walks in the inning, setting up Spikes second baseman Jevin Relaford for the RBI single, putting State College up early 1-0.

Scrappers wasted little time getting the run back, in the bottom of the third Oliver Service and Prince DeBoskie hit back-to-back singles to start the inning before, two batters later, Scrappers lead off hitter, Jordan Williams delivered with an RBI base hit to tie the game 1-1! Elijah Pleasants would pitch into the fifth where he completed another shutout inning, ending his day with five innings under his belt while striking out six, allowing just two hits, three walks and one earned run across his innings of work and was in line for a win if Mahoning Valley could take a lead in the fifth.

Well ask and The Scrappers shall deliver, as the bottom of the fifth inning saw Mahoning Valley take their first lead of the ball game when Jordan Williams led off the inning with a single and stole second base to set up the middle of the order. Spikes would get the next two batters out

in the inning before the clutch bat of Mason Sykes delivered with two out once again, depositing a single to center, giving The Scrappers a 2-1 lead! Adding to their lead, next batter up, Braeden O’Shaughnessy blasted his second home run of the season over the wall in left field to pad the lead and put Mahoning Valley up 4-1!

Scrappers would then turn to Kenji Pallares for the two inning save to follow up Pleasants work on the mound. A one out double (2) and a stolen base (15) by Kyle Huckstorf set up a runner a third with less than two down in the top of the sixth, as The Spikes looked to get some runs back.

However, plans would be thwarted as Pallares recorded a strikeout of Cam Bufford and a lineout by Bryce Matthews to get out of the inning unscathed. Scrappers added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning when Oliver Service had his second hit of the day, and fifth of the series in just two games, before he stole his first base of the season, putting Service at second with one out. Two batters later, that man, Jordan Williams came through with his third hit of the day to bring home his second RBI of the game and pad the Scrappers lead, now 5-1.

That would be all the scoring in the contest, as the top of the seventh saw The Spikes go down, only mustering one walk offensively in the frame against Pallares, ending the seven inning contest as a Mahoning Valley victory 5-1! Elijah Pleasants got the win after his masterful outing, his first of the season. Kenji Pallares recorded his first save of the season after the two shutout inning effort. While the big bats of Braeden O’Shaughnessy and Jordan Williams helped carry The Scrappers to a series win over State College.

The Spikes (11-15) will go back home for a one-and-one home and away holiday series with The Williamsport Crosscutters (10-16), while Mahoning Valley (10-15) will have a similar one-and-one series with The West Virginia Black Bears (14-10) starting on Saturday, July 3rd. Scrappers return home on July 4th, with a firework celebration to follow at Eastwood Field. Of course, if you cannot make it out to the game, catch all Scrappers home games on YSN!

SCRAPPERS PITCHING SHUTS IT DOWN

By Ty Bartell

Following a series opening victory on Friday night, The Mahoning Valley Scrappers were set to try for their first series win at home this season. On the other hand, the struggling Williamsport Crosscutters were desperately looking for a win to avoid falling too far behind in the standings. With a great crowd on hand and warm weather filling the air, the two teams were ready to once again do battle on Eastwood Field. 

Getting the start on the mound for The Crosscutters was Trenton Shaw, while The Scrappers gave the rock to Connor Markl for his first start in The MLB Draft League this year. Getting his feet wet in the top of the first Markl gave up a pair of singles in the inning that set up first and third with only one out in the frame. Markl would record a big strikeout of a big bat in Colson Lawrence before picking off Ryan Ignaffo who was ranging too far from the first base bag, effectively getting Markl out of the first with no runs scored. In the bottom of the first, The Mahoning Valley order stayed patient at the plate against Trenton Shaw, who allowed three walks in the first inning alone. However, Shaw got creative and used his defense to help him get out of some early jams. One instance of this happened in the first when Shaw picked off the leadoff hitter Ny’Zaiah Thompson at first to get the first out of the inning. With a runner on second and less than two out, Shaw would strikeout both Mason Sykes and Connor Capece to strand a pair of Scrappers in the first. 

Markl went back out in the top of the second and locked things down, sending The Crosscutter bats down in order 1-2-3 while striking out two in the inning. The bottom half of the second saw the first score in the ballgame. Scrapper newbies Jerrod Belbin and Trenton Harris each got their first hit back-to-back in their first games as members of The Draft League to start the inning, but on the Harris single, Belbin was thrown out a third trying to take an extra bag on the hit. Mahoning Valley would not let the first out derail them though, as Andreaus Lewis II would draw the walk before getting the first run of the game when JR Bedford hit a liner to second that was mishandled by Duante Stuart to plate Harris who was at third. Not done there, Ny’Zaiah Thompson would work his second walk of the game before Brandon Hylton came up with an RBI-single to double The Scrapper lead! Capping off the inning with a big hit in back-to-back games was none other than Mason Sykes who lined a two RBI-single to left to, once again, double The Mahoning Valley lead now 4-0 over Williamsport. 

Connor Markl would battle his command a bit in the top of the third inning, walking two in the inning before eventually getting out of it with a grounder by Duante Stuart and a line-out by Ryan Ignaffo. Jatnk Diaz replaced Trenton Harris in the bottom of the third for The Crosscutters as Trenton Harris would continue his list of firsts for The Scrappers, getting his first double of the season with one down in the inning. Harris would get to third on a wild pitch before Diaz struck out both Andreaus Lewis II and JR Bedford in back-to-back at-bats to post a zero on the scoreboard. 

Following a quiet fourth inning offensively by both teams, Connor Markl ended his day going four innings, allowing no runs, walking two and striking out six in a great performance! However, it was the top of the fifth inning that saw Williamsport get on the board. Zane Barnhart came on to replace Markl and Jacob Harper welcomed him to the game rather unkindly by smoking a single to right field to lead off the inning. Barnhart would strikeout the next two batters in Gage Gundy and Edwin Toribio before walking Joe Sullivan to set up first and second with two outs. Duante Stuart was the batter when he lifted one to right field that saw Scrappers right fielder Jerrod Belbin collide with second basemen JR Bedford and the ball pop loose and go all the way down the right field line. Two runs came home to score for Williamsport as Stuart ended up all the way at third with two down in the frame. With the lead cut in half for The Scrappers 4-2 and the tying run at the dish, Barnhart forced a flyout of Ignaffo to get Mahoning Valley out of the inning with the lead. 

Titan Heyes was the next pitcher to emerge from the bullpen for Williamsport and he did exactly what was asked of him, sending The Scrappers down in order utilizing all fly outs in the bottom of the fifth. Barnhart would respond in the top of the sixth inning sending The Crosscutters down in order while striking out two more for The Scrappers staff. Jacob Peaden then came on in the sixth for Titan Hayes and he then pitched a 1-2-3 inning while striking the  first two out looking. Zane Barnhart was back out for the seventh inning where he once again displayed dominance by sending Williamsport down in order, striking out two more and giving himself six on the day with three innings of work under his belt. 

The next score came in the bottom of the seventh when Mahoning Valley hit three consecutive one out singles by Mason Sykes, Jack Moss (1st of the season) and highlighted with an RBI-single by Connor Capece to give The Scrappers a 5-2 lead. Alex Shea replaced Barnhart on the mound for Mahoning Valley and Williamsport would not wait too long to get that run back as in the top of the eighth. After Shea struckout Joe Sullivan following a lengthy at bat with nine pitches thrown, Duante Stuart would hit a one out double and get to third off a throwing error by JR Bedford. Ryan Ignaffo would bring Stuart home on a ground out fielder’s choice to cut the deficit back down to two for The Crosscutters at 5-3. Shea would force a ground out to the next batter up in Colson Lawrence to end the inning. 

Scrappers failed to add anything in the bottom of the eighth, bringing up the ninth and the final chance for Williamsport. Nick Consentino came on to pitch for The Scrappers and got the first two out in the inning before allowing a two out walk to Jacob Harper, then next batter up Gage Gundy would line a single to center to put the tying run on base with two down. Taking no chances, Manager Dmitri Young called for Derek Bolander to get the final out and strand the tying run on. Bolander did just that, forcing a fly out to left by Edwin Toribio to end this one a Mahoning Valley victory 5-3! 

The Scrappers pitching staff was excellent in the ballgame, striking out

14 while walking three certainly helped out in a major way! The win for Mahoning Valley (7-7) will see them back at the .500 mark this season, while Williamsport (4-10) will look to avoid the sweep on Sunday as both teams will be back at it for a 2:05 p.m. first pitch start time. Of course, those who cannot make the game, catch it on YSN! (ysnlive.com/team/scrappers
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LATE SCORE SEALS FREDERICK SWEEP

By Ty Bartell


Following the ballgame on Tuesday night, The Frederick Keys sat with a 2-0 series lead in the three game series against The Mahoning Valley Scrappers, setting up an interesting game three. With The Scrappers trying to salvage the final game of the home-series to get back to .500 on the year, while The Keys looked for the all-important road sweep early in the season. 

Noah Matheny tossed the rock on the mound for Mahoning Valley, while Ben Vespi was called up to start the final game of the series for The Keys. Kendry Maduro introduced himself and his offensive capabilities to another arm for The Scrappers when he laced an RBI-single to left, scoring Tervell Johson and giving Frederick an early 1-0 lead. Mahoning Valley would respond in the bottom half of the inning when Prince DeBoskie lined a triple up the first base line and all the way to the wall before coming home to score courtesy of a wild pitch by Vespi to even the game 1-1. 

Two innings later and The Scrappers would taste the lead for the first time when, one of the top bats in all of The MLB Draft League so far this season, Colton Coates came through with a two-out RBI-single to score Ny’Zaiah Thompson and put Mahoning Valley up 2-1. Frederick had a response ready the next half inning, when the top of the fourth rolled around and Jordan Hamberg found a meaty pitch and demolished a two-run shot to right-center making it 3-2 Keys. The back-and-forth game would continue in the bottom of the fourth when Braeden O’Shaughnessy hit a double and advanced to third, then eventually home off wild pitches from new Frederick Pitcher Jayden Martin, who came on in relief in the fourth. 

With the game knotted up 3-3, The Scrappers would deal a big blow to Frederick in the bottom of the fifth. That man, Colton Coates delivered once again! This time, a two RBI-double that went to the gap in right! Mahoning Valley would then load the bases with nobody out to chase Keys pitcher Jayden Martin after the first six batters all reached in the inning. Frederick called upon the hometown kid Jack Maruskin to try and limit any further damage with the bags full. After Maruskin struck out Connor Capece, Jordan Williams hit a broken bat single just over the third baseman Luca Danos’ glove to add a run to The Scrappers lead now 6-3. However, Maruskin would strike out the next two Mahoning Valley bats in order to get out of the frame. 

After going five innings with the lead, the dice were rolled on Noah Matheny giving The Scrappers a sixth inning of work on the mound. The Keys quickly made Mahoning Valley rethink the decision when Jordan Hamberg hit a one out triple and Luca Danos was hit by a pitch before The Sanders came through for Frederick! Both Logan Sanders and Marcus Sanders hit back-to-back RBI-singles to tighten the gap, trimming The Scrappers lead to just a single run at 6-5. Zane Barnhart was then called to replace Matheny and preserve the lead for Mahoning Valley which he accomplished by getting the next two on a popup and a fielder’s choice.

Like deja-vu, the top of the seventh started similar to the top of the sixth with Frederick hitting a big time one out triple, this time by Kendry Maduro who eventually scored off a dropped ball by right fielder Jack Moss on a shallow fly ball by Jacob McKeon to tie the game back up at six runs a piece. The two teams would exchange zeros on the scoreboard all the way to the ninth inning with the game tied up 6-6. 

Cameron Liss came on to pitch for Mahoning Valley in the top of the ninth, replacing Barnhart on the mound. After getting a big strike out of big-time hitter, Tervell Johnson to start the game, things were looking good for The Scrappers. However, the next batter up, Jevin Relaford was hit by a pitch and stole second base before that man, Kendry Maduro did it again! Lining the clutch, late-game, RBI-double down the left field line to put Frederick up 7-6 late. Derek Bolander was then called out of the pen, in which he struck out the next two batters for The Keys to get Mahoning Valley out of the inning. Lucas Hartman, who came on to pitch originally in the bottom of the seventh for The Keys, stayed on for the ninth to attempt to close the victory out. Striking out Prince DeBoskie to start the bottom of the ninth, Hartman would then walk Colton Coates to put the tying run on first. But that would be all that The Scrappers could muster up, as the next two batters were sent down on a fly out and a pop out, thus ending the game and sealing the road sweep for The Keys 7-6. 

Both teams are off on Thursday before resuming action on Friday night. Frederick (7-5) will return home to face The State College Spikes (6-5), while The Mahoning Valley Scrappers (5-7) will stay home to start a three game weekend set with The Williamsport Crosscutters (4-8) with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch start time on Friday! Trouble making it to the game? No worries, we got you covered! Check out all Scrappers home games on YSN!

EIGHTH INNING PROVES THE KEY FOR FREDERICK

By Ty Bartell

NILES OH- With rain in the forecast and Mother Nature confused on what month it is, The Mahoning Valley Scrappers and Frederick Keys battled in the second game of a three game home series for The Scrappers on Tuesday night. With a game time start temperature of 59 degrees and the wind blowing, it made for an interesting baseball game in June to say the least. 

Ahmad Harajli toed the rubber for Mahoning Valley while Drew Buhr got the start for Frederick. A couple of two-out walks got Harajli in trouble to start the first before a ground out kept The Keys off the board early. Mahoning Valley would come back in the bottom of the first inning to score the first run of the game off a Colton Coates RBI-single that brought Ny’Zaiah Thompson home, giving Mahoning Valley an early 1-0 advantage. 

Both teams exchanged zeros on the scoreboard, that was until the top of the fourth inning. Following a leadoff single by Irvin Escobar, Harajli would force a flyout before another single was hit by AJ Shaver and the following two batters were walked to tie the game up 1-1 before a wild pitch from Harajli that scored the go-ahead run in Shaver. Harajli would force Luca Danos into a double-play to limit damage and keep The Scrappers within striking distance, trailing 2-1 to The Keys. 

In the top of the fifth inning, Harajli got the first out before loading the bases on a single and two walks, which prompted the pitching change to Alex Shea in the inning. Shea would get a pop fly on the infield prior to a wild pitch that added a run to The Frederick lead with Kendry Maduro coming home on the pitch. Shea would get out of the inning when he caught Ty Hamilton looking to end the inning with two in scoring position. The very next inning, Tervell Johnson got a one out single before stealing both second and third allowing Luca Danos to bring him home on an RBI-single, extending The Keys lead 4-1. 

However, it was the eighth inning that made all the difference. After Shea went two and two-thirds innings of work, keeping Mahoning Valley close, The Scrappers turned to Isaiah Jackson. A bad day at the office for Jackson and the defense spiraling for The Scrappers did not help matters much as Frederick put up eight runs in the eighth inning! After two walks, two wild pitches, an error by Coates and four hits allowed in the inning, two of which extra-base hits with an AJ Shaver two-run homerun and a Ty Hamilton triple, Mahoning Valley pulled the plug and brought in Andrew Lucas, now trailing 12-1 to Frederick. 

No response on the offensive side offered by Mahoning Valley this time around, as The Scrappers sat in stunned silence while The Keys pitching continued to dominate to the tune of 12 strikeouts as a team, while the offense for Frederick walked the line of being both patient and aggressive, walking 13 times as a team while simultaneously recording 13 hits as a ballclub to make up their 12 runs of offense. 

Both teams are back in action on Wednesday evening, as The Scrappers (5-6) will look to salvage the final game in the series while The Keys (6-5) will be looking for the sweep. Trouble making it to the ballpark? We will have you covered! Catch all the live-game action on YSN!