By Ty Bartell
NILES, OH—The Mahoning Valley Scrappers defeated the Trenton Thunder 9-2 on Saturday night, powered by a strong pitching performance from Grant Umberger.
Umberger started on the mound for the Scrappers, while Cregg Scherrer got the nod for the Thunder. Both pitchers threw scoreless first innings, with Scherrer escaping a bases-loaded jam. However, the Scrappers broke through in the bottom of the second. T.J. McKenzie stole second base while Drew Holderbach swiped home, scoring the first run of the game. A catcher interference call on Chris Reeder allowed McKenzie to score, followed by a Dreylin Holmes RBI double and a wild pitch by Scherrer that brought in two more runs, capping a four-run inning for Mahoning Valley.
Holmes added to the lead in the third with an RBI single. Blake McCrae drew a bases-loaded walk, and Chang-Yong Lee's sacrifice fly scored Jake Allgeyer, extending the Scrappers’ advantage to 7-0 and ending Scherrer's outing after just 22⁄3 innings.
The Scrappers continued to pile on, adding runs in the fifth on an RBI single by Allgeyer and in the sixth on a wild pitch, making it 9-0. Umberger remained dominant through seven innings, striking out nine and allowing just two hits and three walks without surrendering a run.
A.J. Riddle took over in the eighth and allowed a two-run homer to Ryan Vogel, cutting the Thunder's deficit to 9-2. However, Riddle avoided further damage. Sungkyung Kim pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out a batter to secure the 9-2 win for Mahoning Valley.
The Scrappers (33-33, 17-15) and Thunder (33-30, 19-12) will face off in the rubber match of their three-game series on Sunday at 2:05 p.m.
