By Ty Bartell
NILES, OH—The Mahoning Valley Scrappers emerged victorious in a hard-fought contest against the Williamsport Crosscutters, winning 6-4 in a tightly contested game. Left-hander Grant Umberger took the mound for his fifth start with the Scrappers, while the Crosscutters countered with right-hander Brent Francisco.
The scoring began early in the top of the first inning when Ali LaPread lined a one-out RBI double to center field, driving in Mark Shallenberger to give Williamsport an early 1-0 lead. Mahoning Valley responded quickly in the bottom half as Jake Allgeyer led off with a base hit. Francisco managed to retire the next two batters, but Chang-Yong Lee crushed a 403-foot two-run home run to left-center, putting the Scrappers ahead 2-1.
Both teams were scoreless in the second inning before Mitch McCabe tied the game for Williamsport in the top of the third with a two-out single to left, bringing home Jacob Corson and evening the score at 2-2. The fourth inning passed without any scoring, but the Crosscutters reclaimed the lead in the fifth when Will Binder delivered an RBI double, making it 3-2.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Scrappers tied the game again as Kota Suzuki drove in Allgeyer with an RBI single. Chang-Yong Lee followed up with another towering home run, this one a 412-foot two-run shot to center field, giving Mahoning Valley a 5-3 lead.
Both starting pitchers were replaced after five innings, with Chase Gockel taking over for Williamsport and A.J. Riddle stepping in for Mahoning Valley. Both relievers kept the sixth inning scoreless.
In the top of the seventh, Cole Chimenti took the mound for the Scrappers and allowed a line-drive RBI single to Cory Taylor, bringing in Levi Perrell to make it a one-run game at 5-4. However, in the bottom of the inning, after Dreylin Holmes reached third base, Lee added to his impressive day with a sacrifice fly, driving in his fifth run of the game and restoring a two-run lead for Mahoning Valley at 6-4.
Toren Herrick pitched a clean eighth inning, setting the stage for Jonathan Martinez, who closed out the game in the ninth. Martinez struck out two batters en route to his fourth save of the season, securing the win for the Scrappers.
With the victory, the Scrappers (32-29, 16-11) remain just a half-game behind the Trenton Thunder (30-28, 16-10) in the MLB Draft League standings. After a travel day on Monday, Mahoning Valley will hit the road to face the West Virginia Black Bears (25-35, 13-14) on Tuesday before returning to Eastwood Field on Friday, August 23rd, for a pivotal series against the Thunder.
