
By Ty Bartell
NILES, Ohio (AP) — The Mahoning Valley Scrappers pitching staff tossed a gem, defeating State College 5-2 in the second game of a four-game series with the Spikes.
Following a record-breaking attendance in the first game of the series, plenty of Scrapper Nation came out to support in game two as well.
Mahoning Valley gave Zach Norris the start on the mound, his first in the MLB Draft League. Meanwhile, State College countered with Phillip Bryant on the bump.
Both starting pitchers faced the minimum number of batters in the first inning, keeping the game scoreless going into the second. In the second, Norris continued his groove, pitching around a walk to post another zero on the board. In the bottom half of the inning, the Scrappers got a jolt of offense off the bat of Chang-Yong Lee, who sent a towering ball to left and into the Spikes bullpen for his first round-tripper of the season, putting Mahoning Valley up 1-0. Drew Holderbach made it to third for the Scrappers and eventually came home to score on a passed ball by State College catcher Knox Preston, doubling the lead to 2-0.
The top of the third saw some runners get into scoring position for the Spikes; however, Norris gained his composure to keep State College off the board. Lee made his presence known once again in the bottom of the third, bringing home his second RBI of the ballgame off a fielder’s choice, making it 3-0 Mahoning Valley.
After Norris got the first two outs in the top of the fourth inning, the Spikes loaded the bases and brought the go-ahead run to the plate. But Norris, with ice in his veins, got a big strikeout of T.J. Pound to end the frame and continue the shutout.
After both teams went scoreless in the fourth, Norris came back out to pitch the top of the fifth and got the first two outs before he was relieved by Cole Chimenti. The Scrappers added a run to their lead, making it 4-0 in the bottom half of the fifth, as Kota Suzuki got an RBI off a fielder’s choice.
Chimenti came on to get the final out of the fifth and pitched scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh innings for the Scrappers, not allowing a runner to reach base in his 2 1⁄3 innings of work.
State College got on the board in the top of the eighth as Austin Roccaforte scored on a passed ball, manufacturing a run with his speed by stealing second and advancing to third following a walk. The Scrappers got that run back in the bottom of the eighth off a Matthew Rivera RBI sacrifice fly, giving Mahoning Valley a four-run lead at 5-1.
The Spikes showed some fight in the top of the ninth, scoring a run with a Preston RBI single; however, Mahoning Valley locked it down with great pitching and defense to defeat State College 5-2.
Zach Norris was the player of the game with his 4 2⁄3 innings of scoreless work on the mound, setting the tone for the Scrappers' win.
Mahoning Valley (19-19) is now back to .500 on the season, improving to 2-0 in the second half of the Draft League season. The Scrappers will welcome back State College (19-18) on Saturday, July 20, in game three of the four-game series, with a first pitch slated for 7:05 p.m.