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It took eleven innings to decide a winner in the Mahoning Valley Scrappers game against the Batavia Muckdogs.  In the end, it was the Scrappers who were victorious.  An eleventh inning bases-loaded walk to new Scrapper Jordan Smith proved to be the winning margin as the Scrappers prevailed, 4-3.

The Scrappers got the party started in the fourth inning when Aaron Siliga (below) hit a bomb over the right field bullpen to put Mahoning Valley ahead 1-0.  It marked the second night in a row that the Scrappers homered.

Meanwhile, Scrappers Opening Day starter Joseph Colon had  much stronger performance on the mound.  Colon went a strong five innings only surrendering one hit  while recording four strikeouts and walking two.

Drew Rucinski relieved Colon to start the sixth and got into early trouble loading the bases with nobody out.  Nick Martini hit a grounder to short that got a Muckdogs run across to tie the game.  David Medina stepped in with two out and delivered a clean single up the middle to give Batavia a 2-1 lead.

The two runs Batavia scored in the sixth ended a 15 inning scoreless drought.

Mahoning Valley would claw back with a run in the seventh to tie the game.  Todd Hankins singled, stole second, and moved to third on a wild pitch.  The next batter, Casey Serna, walked to put runners on first and third with nobody out.  With Serna moving toward second, Cody Elliott took the pitch right where the second baseman would have been covering if not moving toward second to cover the bag. Hankins trotted home and the game was tied at two runs apiece.  Later in the inning, Serna tried to score on a ball that got by the catcher but was thrown out at the plate.

Manager David Wallace (above) tried a magic trick to hypnotize the Batavia third baseman, Jeremy Patton, but was unsuccessful.  Patton knocked home a run in the eighth inning to give the Muckdogs a 3-2 lead.

Mahoning Valley would not go away though.  In the bottom of the eighth, newcomer Jordan Smith recorded his first RBI as a Scrapper with his second hit of the game scoring Jake Lowery.  Interesting that the new guy has the current Scrapper GM’s [Jordan Taylor] first name and the former Scrapper GM’s [Dave Smith] last name.  Regardless, he tied the game with the single and played a solid third base for Mahoning Valley.

In the 11th inning, Serna hit a leadoff single between third and short.  Kevin Fontanez hit a ball that the shortstop booted putting runners on first and second with nobody out.  Bryson Myles bunted the runners to second and third with one out.  Lowery was then intentionally walked to load the bases setting the stage for Jordan Smith with two outs.  Taking the at-bat to a full count, Smith took ball four to complete his welcome to Niles show as the Scrappers improved to 4-2.

After the game, Wallace commented on his team not quitting.  “The maturity of these guys is coming out.  They kept their heads in the game and played hard.  We are always preaching good, quality at-bats.  We tell them to be selective and wait for their pitch.  In the last inning, that was the second time we had seen that particular pitcher,  and he struggled with his command a little bit the first time, so we wanted to really be selective on the pitches we took swings at.”

Ghost Productions has announced the entire final card for the Friday Night Fights to take place at the Covelli Centre on July 1.  Jack Loew, Kelly Pavlik, and Mike Pavlik, Sr., make up the new promotional team.  They have the local map pretty well-covered with young professional talent for the debut card.

The tickets are very affordable, the matches were made to be competitive, and the card is set as follows:

Main Event

Dannie Williams (17-1, 14 ko’s) Yo, OH vs Oscar Cuelo (13-6, 1 ko) Brooklyn, NY

Undercard

Darnell Boone (18-17, 7 ko’s) Yo, OH vs Romaro Johnson (11-3, 6 ko’s) Cleveland

Billy Lyell (23-9, 5 ko’s) Niles, OH vs Michael Walker (19-8, 12 ko’s) Chicago, IL

Jake Giuriceo (11-0-1, 3 ko’s) Yo, OH vs Winston Mathis (7-3) Stockebridge, GA

Anthony Pietrantonio (6-7, 5 ko’s) Yo, OH vs William Prieto (5-5-1, 2 ko’s) Lorain

Juan Salinas (above) (0-0) Youngstown, OH vs David Burns (0-2) Cleveland, OH

Marco Hall (0-0) vs Emil Brooks (0-3) Buffalo, NY

Vincent O’Neil (1-1-1, 1 ko) Las Vegas vs Kenneth Addison (0-0)

Kevin Dotson (0-0) vs Daniel Crabtree (0-2)

With a great card in place and the area buzzing, this should be a great night of boxing that the Youngstown Area fans need to come out and enjoy!

There is no better way to celebrate the first official day of Summer than at the ballpark.  Good baseball is good pitching – period.  Tuesday, the Scrappers got plenty of it in defeating Batavia 2-0 in front of 2,706 fans at Eastwood Field.  Danny Jimenez, Cody Allen, and Bryce Stoewell combined to shutout the Muckdogs, striking out a total of 11 batters en route to the victory to improve to 3-2.

Batavia posed the first threat to score in the fourth inning.  Scrappers starter Danny Jimenez got into some problems and exited the game after 60 pitches with runners on second and third with one out.  Cody Allen entered the game for the Scrappers and struck out Kevin Moscatel and Virgil Hill to keep the game scoreless.   One night earlier, Moscatel homered and Hill had a key RBI, but both came up empty against Allen.

Thunder and lightning made their Summer debut from a distance in the fifth, but play went on and the game stayed scoreless until the bottom of the inning.  Kevin Fontanez, on his 21st birthday, put the Scrappers ahead 1-0 with an RBI scorcher down the third base line for a double. Todd Hankins hustled from first base to cross the plate with the run.

Through seven innings and the Scrappers holding the slim 1-0 lead, the threat of rain still loomed and Allen was supplying reasons for the fans to stay.  Allen pitched 3 1/3 innings of shutout relief and struck out six of the eleven batters he faced.  In a well-pitched, tight game like this one, the bullpen was crucial for both teams and Allen really showed he belonged.

Scrappers leadoff hitter, Cody Elliott (above), has been consistent collecting a couple of hits over the last couple of games, including two more Tuesday.  Tony Wolters has also been very productive and doubled with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.  Bryson Myles (below), who homered on Monday, doubled home Wolters to double the Scrappers lead to 2-0.

Great pitching wins games, and this one was no exception as the Scrappers got a phenomenal effort from a trio of newcomers.  After the game Coach David Wallace talked about the pen.  “I am really happy with the effort we got tonight from all of the pitchers.  Danny [Jimenez] did a great job giving us a spot start and battled.  Cody [Allen] seemed like he was striking everyone out and picked up a win, and Bryce [Stoewell] was able to come in and close the door.”

Wallace also commented that it is easier to win games when you aren’t committing six errors, like the Scrappers did Monday in a 10-7 loss.  He also praised the timely hitting of many offensive players saying to this point he is very content with the effort his young Scrappers are putting forth.

With a serious threat of rain on the radar, the Eastwood Field grounds crew and the Scrappers employees peeled the tarp off and got the game started right on time.  The Mahoning Valley Scrappers had a rough time with different elements, notably fundamentals.  Batavia trailed 1-0 in the first inning but roared back to beat the Scrappers, 10-7, thanks to 6 errors committed by the home team.

The Scrappers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard.  Cody Elliott recorded a double on a check swing and advanced to third when Tony Wolters singled.  Elliott scored when Jake Lowery (above) grounded out to second and avoided being a double play victim by hustling to first.  The RBI was the fourth in two games for Lowery.

Batavia evened the score in the top of the second aided by two walks off of Scrappers starter Rob Nixon.  Virgil Hill made Nixon pay with a clean RBI single to tie the game.  In the top of the third, Batavia tacked on another run when Romulo Ruiz tripled to the base of the left-centerfield wall.  Ruiz got home on a wild pitch to give the Muckdogs the lead.  In the fourth, Kevin Moscatel hit a home run to left field to increase the Muckdogs lead to 3-1.  Back-to-back doubles by Mike O’Neill and Jeremy Patton created another run later in the fourth inning for Batavia.

Aaron Siliga and Casey Serna hit back-to-back singles to start the fourth inning for the Scrappers.  Siliga scored from second when Batavia could not complete a double play at first base and the ball trickled past first baseman David Medina, to make it 6-2.

Bryson Myles cut the Batavia lead to 6-3 with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the fifth to bring the Scrappers back to striking distance.  It was the first home run hit by a Scrapper player this season. In the top half of the sixth, unfortunately, Cesar Valera answered with his own long bomb to keep the Scrappers at a four-run deficit with the score at 7-3.  Medina hit the third home run of the game for Batavia to atone for his error and give the visitors a 9-3 lead.

The Scrappers got two more runs back in the seventh when Alex Lavisky hit a two-run double driving in Wolters and Lowery to make the score 9-5.  Batavia added to their lead in the eighth though and the Scrappers would not get closer than a 10-7 deficit.  It should be noted that Kyle Petter struck out three Muckdogs in the top of the ninth.

Nixon took the loss for the Scrappers (2-2) and Jose Almarante got the win for Batavia (2-2).  These two teams will hook up for two more games on Tuesday (Buck Night) and Wednesday.

After the game, Mahoning Valley Skipper, David Wallace, was optimistic with good reason.  “In the two losses, the thing that I see is that these guys do not give up.  I can take losing if the effort is there, and it was tonight.  We had a chance to come back and win in the late innings and stayed in the game overcoming the six errors.  We made some mistakes, but it is still very early in the season and we are going to be ok.”

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers opened the 2011 season with mixed results.  The good news is that the Scrappers improved over last seasons 14-0 Opening Day drubbing.  The bad news was that they are 0-1, like last year, falling 9-3 to the Jamestown Jammers.   The good news was that it was fireworks night and a great turnout for the home opener which included good weather.  The bad news was that the video board and wifi did not work.  In the end, the Jordan Taylor / David Wallace Era of Scrapperhood was a solid success despite the game result.

In front of a crowd of 5,428, the Scrappers fell into a 6-0 hole after Jamestown batted three times.  Scrapper starter, Joseph Colon, threw 65 pitches and struggled with his control in less than three innings.  Colon will have better days.

In the bottom of the third, Mahoning Valley found the scoreboard.  Aaron Siliga hit a routine grounder to short, but Yefri Perez’s throw to Jammers 1B Viosergy Rosa was lost in the sun and sailed to the wall.  Siliga ended up at second on the play.  A Cody Elliott groundout to second advanced Siliga to third with one out.  Kevin Fontanez then hit a fly ball to right, just deep enough to score Siliga to get the goose egg off of the scoreboard.

Starting catcher, Alex Livisky, collected a pair of hits in his first two at-bats.  Livisky, from Lakewood, Ohio, had four really good at-bats in which he demonstrated the ability to put the ball anywhere, an invaluable quality for an up-and-coming minor leaguer.   In the bottom of the fourth, Livisky scored when Jerrud Sabourin hit a rocket into the right-centerfield gap.

After the game, Livisky (above) talked about his success at the dish.  “Here, I have to be more of a dynamic hitter.  In high school, it is easy to pull everything to left field.  I have really been working on going with the pitch that is thrown to me, taking what I am given and pushing the ball where it needs to go.  I dug myself a hole, and my power numbers were okay at Lake County, but my average suffered.  I hit eight home runs and drove in 25 during Spring training, but my average was inconsistent, and that is what I need to focus on here. I would have three good games and then fall under the bus again.”

In the sixth, Bryson Myles singled and stole second.  He would later score when Perez mishandled a nasty one-hopper off of the bat of Sabourin.  Myles had a rough night in right field.  He slipped when he misjudged a fly ball and could not recover, allowing a Jammers run to cross the plate.  He also dove forward for a ball later in the game that got by him and rolled to the wall.  This kid is going to be one of the best players on this team by seasons end and it is a shame that he got off to such a rocky start in Niles.

Jamestown, however, would jump their lead to 9-3 when Brent Keys hit a towering shot over the right field wall to wrap up the scoring.  The same two teams face off tomorrow evening at Eastwood Field.

After the game, Wallace was very positive.  “There is plenty of good stuff that happened out there tonight, we are by no means in a state of panic in this clubhouse. We saw a lot of positives and I felt like we were always in the game and did not give up.  Obviously, these guys are still learning each others name and strengths and weaknesses, but I am pleased with the talent we have here and we are going to be okay.”

Fans of Youngstown State Athletics now have the opportunity to purchase official YSU Under Armour gear at a discounted price on YSUSports.com for a limited time.

Through an agreement with Under Armour and the Penguins baseball team, fans can purchase apparel at a 15-percent discount from the original retail price. A percentage of every order placed goes toward a fundraiser for YSU baseball.

The direct URL to the online store is http://ysubase.itemorder.com/. There is also a link on the baseball page at YSUsports.com

“We are excited about this opportunity for our fans to purchase new Penguins Baseball Under Armour gear at a discounted price,” Youngstown State head coach Rich Pasquale said. “I know fans have been looking forward to buying YSU Under Armour gear, and now they have the opportunity to do that while supporting our program financially.”

Although the available items are mostly baseball-oriented, all fans can find something to support Penguins athletics. The online store features 21 different items, including jackets, polos, t-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, sweatpants, hats and sackpacks. There are also three items exclusively for women. Most items will have the official “Y” logo embroidered on them, and some will have a baseball-specific logo. Select items have the option for a number to be added at an additional cost.

The first sale period runs through June 26, and orders will ship shortly after with an approximate delivery date of July 8. Another sale period will begin on June 27.

The online store is run by Kohlmyer Sporting Goods in Lorain, Ohio.

There is one predictable group of people you can never expect to see return to Eastwood Field from year-to-year, the players.  Some Mahoning Valley Scrappers get promoted during the season, some are reassigned for better or for worse, and some are no longer in the Major League Baseball system anymore.  Because the Scrappers are a short-season, Low-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, they usually get the majority of the Tribes draft picks from less than two weeks ago.  You can have a favorite player, but usually only for a year, then you have to wait to find out who your new favorite Scrapper will be next season.

There are three returning Scrappers from last season on the 2011 roster.  Kevin Fontanez (waiving in yellow shirt, top photo) was only 19 last season and got some valuable experience at second base.  Moises Montero battled injuries and played through probably more pain than he should have last season.  Kirk Wetmore, a 2009, 11th round draft pick, was in the starting rotation for awhile last season but struggled down the stretch.  All three of these players are promotable but have been kept as Scrappers to continue to develop.

“I worked out hard in the offseason and feel like I can really have a good year”, commented Montero.  “Last season, I was pretty banged up and toughed it out, but I was not one-hundred percent for most of the season.”

Then the unexpected new faces started popping up everywhere.  Travis Fryman accepted a promotion to be a roving instructor for the Indians.  This opened the door for new head coach, David Wallace (above), a former Scrapper himself.  I admired the way Fryman played in his day, but I really took a liking to his personality and managing style over the past two seasons.  Wallace has very big shoes to fill.

Wallace brings Greg Hibbard on as a pitching coach and Tony Mansolino to be his new hitting coach.  Hibbard pitched in the majors for six seasons, mostly with the Chicago White Sox.  Gone is pitching coach Ken Rowe, a legend in the press box for his 45 second walks to the mound, the 8 seconds of dialogue he would give the pitcher, and the fifty-five second return flight back to the dugout.

Jordan Taylor also has big shoes to fill as the new general manager.  Taylor, who learned plenty under the guidance of former GM Dave Smith, is capable of doing great work with his staff.  He has already been very accessible, as Smith was, to any requests or questions anyone has posed.

If you catch the games on the radio, you will not hear last years voice of the Scrappers, Dave Lubich, anymore.  His internship is over making way for newcomer Grant Tunkel.  Tunkel had some good experience with the Jamestown Jammers last season and should be an entertaining play-by-play announcer for the Scrappers.

One constant thing that has not changed in 13 years is the Scrappers Backers Club.  With colorful personalities like Larry Snyder and Gail Drushel (below, with microphone) leading the way, the Scrappers Backers do so many good things behind the scenes.  It might be the hardest working fund-raising bunch in sports.

Wednesday evening the Scrappers Backers gave scholarships to Hayley Goist of Columbiana, Richard Selep of Southington Chalker, Taylor Ward and Aaron Oblisk from Sebring.  They also held a picnic for all season ticket holders, Scrappers Backers members, and the 2011 roster of coaches and players.  There was a silent auction, an autograph session, and an introduction of all team members and coaches.  The neat part was watching the players interact, most of them only seeing each other for a few minutes to that point.

The Scrappers kick off the 2011 season at home Friday night against Jamestown, which happens to be fireworks night as well.  Should be a packed house for the opener!  Call the box office for ticket availability at 330-505-0000.

In October of 2010, I interviewed Jack Loew at his Southside Boxing Club.  One of the first things Loew wanted to talk about was a young, scrappy prospect from St. Louis named Dannie Williams.  Loew said that the 135-pound fighter was going to be someone to reckon with.  On April 17, 2011, Williams made Loew look like a genius as he knocked out veteran Manuel Leyva in the first round to capture the WBC Continental American Lightweight Title in St. Louis.  First round knockouts are impressive, but when you do it throwing counterpunches, they become really impressive.

That win made “The Chopper”, as he is known in some circles, a Top-15 contender as he improved to 17-1 with 14 KO’s.  On July 1, Williams will headline the first-ever Ghost Productions card to be held at the Covelli Centre.  His opponent for that fight is Oscar Cairo , fighting out of New York.  I recently sat down with Williams to discuss the future fight and the big picture.

Paneech: Do you realize that you are starting to be  mentioned nationally and the opportunities will grow?

Williams: Yes sir, I do.  Two years ago I won my first belt and suddenly the sky is the limit.  I’m now in the Top-15 in the world and have a big fight coming up with Oscar Cairo.  We are both getting paid to train hard, show up, and beat the opponent up.  He is 13-6-1.  He is from Colombia but fights out of New York and has only been knocked out one time  and out of his 13 wins, ten have come from knockouts.  He can punch and it will be a good test for me.  I’m training to go ten rounds, but one punch can change the whole fight.  I am excited about fighting here in Youngstown for the hometown crowd.

Paneech: Who are the guys in your weight class of 135 that you want to face?

Williams: Right now, I am taking baby steps to get some exposure.  I would like to get a fight on ESPN or Showtime boxing.  As far as the fighters go, Hank Lundy out of Philadelphia is solid.  I would also like to fight Brandon Rios, who I beat at the amateur level.  The key in the whole process is to get some exposure and then face someone like a Robert Guerrerro, a Lundy, or a Rios on a bigger card.  Having 14 knockouts in 17 wins and not many people seeing them does not help my career much.  Once the world sees me, then I can think about bigger fights.  Obviously, fighting Manny Pacquiao would be huge.  Whether you win or lose, you can retire from boxing rich if you fight him.  Once I become champ at 135, I can think about moving up.

Paneech: I don’t think Jack Loew is going to whisk you into a fight with Manny Pacquiao in December unless he knows your ready.  Do you notice with each fight, a better opponent?

Williams: Definitely.  In February, I fought a guy [Cuello] who had never been knocked out.  My last fight against Leyva was a step up in class and for a belt.  They are getting tougher as they go, but that is what boxing is about, you have to beat the best to be the best.

Paneech:  Who influenced you when you were young to get into this sport?

Williams: Floyd Mayweather and Roy Jones.  I am a slick fighter, like a Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker or a Corey Spinks type boxer, where they are just slick and hard to hit solid.  I am 25 years-old and am driven by all of the guys who I came up with that have made it.

Paneech: What would be the “ultimate exposure” as far as a network covering you?

Williams: It has got to be HBO Pay-Per-View.  They are gonna pay, and I can co-promote with my real promoter by then.  However, right now, any network will do, it has to start somewhere.

Paneech: How is the transition from St. Louis to Youngstown going?

Williams: It’s been going great!  A lot of bad habits I had when I was in St. Louis stayed there when I came here.  In Youngstown, I am much more focused, training extremely hard, and staying out of trouble.  All I do here is eat, sleep, and box.  No time for foolishness once training camp starts.  I am focused on my opponent and trying to build a fan base here.

Paneech: Is Kelly Pavlik supportive?

Williams: Kelly has been great, like a big brother.  He is always giving me pointers, always taking time to make sure I am doing something the right way and pushes me to get better.  Even when I just fought in February, he was there hitting the ring and encouraging me.  He has been awesome.

Paneech: What is your relationship with Jack Loew like?  He has been tooting his horn about you for two years.

Williams: Jack is my trainer, but is also like a dad to me.  I call him “Pops”.  He has always spoken highly of me and doesn’t paint a fake picture.  He will come out and tell you what you are doing wrong.  I love him like a real dad for showing me the ropes and teaching me what I have learned.  He is always behind me 100 % and has my back regardless of who is against me.

Paneech: What is the message to the boxing world?

Williams: My message to the boxing world is to look out.  I am in Youngstown, one of boxing’s best kept secrets, and you will all know about me in a minute.

One Word Answers

Favorite Food When Not Training: Pizza with chicken and peppers on it.

Favorite Movie: Scarface.

Biggest Phobia: Me getting knocked out.

Worst Habit: I smile too much.

Favorite Drink: Hawaiian Punch.

Favorite TV Show: Sportscenter and boxing.

Favorite Store: Dillards.

Favorite Color: Red.

Favorite Musician: Yo Gotti.

The Youngstown State University Football Camps have been drawing good numbers.  The above photo was taken on the new turf and shows some of the student athletes who attended.  Coach Eric Wolford and staff did a great job of thinning the groups and giving plenty of specialized, individual attention to all who attended.

“We had about 100 Saturday in the WATTS”, remarked Trevor Parks, YSU Sports Information Director, referring to the first camp.  These pictures are from Monday’s All-Positions camp, in which there were another 70 plus participants.

Wolford and this staff could probably make a living running camps.  It was impressive to see the organization and how well prepared the staff was.  Each group of position players worked with a YSU position coach at great lengths.  The players seemed to benefit greatly on improving technique and straight fundamentals.

Quarterback Coach / Offensive Coordinator Shane Montgomery was fun to watch work with the QB’s as he ran them through a plethora of passing drills, worked on drops and steps and passing accuracy drills.  Montgomery was working with about ten different quarterbacks and in the five minutes I watched his station, he said something to each one.

Former Youngstown State pitcher Phil Klein was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 30th round as the 924th overall selection in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday evening.

Klein, a native of Gahanna, Ohio, was a second-team All-Horizon League selection in 2011. For the campaign he was 5-5 with a 3.61 ERA. In 92.1 innings pitched, he led the conference with 105 strikeouts while setting a school record for starts with 15 during his senior campaign.