By Ty Bartell
NILES, Ohio — The Mahoning Valley Scrappers, rebranded as the Mahoning Valley Power Goblins in celebration of South Korea’s Independence Day, defeated the Williamsport Crosscutters 7-4 on Thursday night.
Mahoning Valley jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning with a three-run outburst. Kota Suzuki drove in the first run with an RBI single, followed by a two-RBI single from Jake Tsukada to give the Power Goblins a 3-0 advantage.
The Power Goblins continued their offensive onslaught in the second inning, capitalizing on a throwing error that allowed Jake Allgeyer to score, extending the lead to 4-0.
Starting pitcher Tanner Gillis kept the Crosscutters in check, throwing three scoreless innings while his team added two more runs in the third. Jake Allgeyer came through with a two-RBI automatic double to stretch the lead to 6-0.
Mahoning Valley added another run in the fourth inning, courtesy of an RBI single from Tsukada, making it 7-0.
Williamsport broke through in the fifth inning with an RBI double from Mitch McCabe, scoring Ali LaPread. The Crosscutters then turned to reliever Jacob Hasty, who posted the first scoreless inning of the night for their pitching staff.
Gillis wrapped up his strong outing after six innings, allowing just one run on six hits, walking two, and striking out nine. His performance marked another quality start in The Draft League.
In the seventh inning, Williamsport chipped away at the lead with a solo home run by LaPread off reliever A.J. Riddle, making it 7-2. The Crosscutters added two more runs in the eighth inning on a wild pitch and a double play that allowed another run to score, cutting the deficit to 7-4.
Jonathan Martinez came in for the six-out save and sealed the victory for Mahoning Valley. After allowing a leadoff single in the ninth, Martinez induced a double play and then struck out the final batter to secure the win.
With the victory, Mahoning Valley (31-28, 15-10) now sits just a game behind Trenton for the top spot in The Draft League. The Power Goblins will continue their four-game series against Williamsport (28-26, 6-18) on Friday, August 16, with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch.
