Posts Tagged ‘Jake Lowery’

Jake Lowery went 3-for-5 with a home run and three runs batted in and the Mahoning Valley Scrappers defeated the Williamsport Crosscutters, 8-3, in the last home game of the 2011 campaign.

The win ended the Scrappers three-game losing streak.

Lowery singled in a run in the first inning to put the Scrappers ahead 1-0. In the third, he hit a two-run home run off reliever Casey Barnes to make it 3-0. Barnes relieved Williamsport starter Mike Nesseth, who pitched 2.1 innings. The Scrappers added a run later in the inning on Jerrud Sabourin’s single.

Mahoning Valley scored two in the sixth and two in the seventh. Lowery’s single in the seventh was his third hit of the night.

The Crosscutters scored a run in the eighth but were held scoreless in the ninth.

Danny Jimenez pitched six innings and allowed two runs. He picked up the win to improve to 4-3. Nesseth took the loss to fall to 3-6.

The Scrappers begin a three-game series on the road against the Jamestown Jammers on Friday night at 7:05 pm.

On what has become an annual gathering at Eastwood Field, Baseball Brawl, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers rose to the challenge and body slammed the Jamestown Jammers.  The opportunistic Scrappers racked up nine hits and outscored the Jammers 9-2 in front of a great Sunday crowd of 3,550.

Jamestown got on the scoreboard in their first at-bat.  Elvis Araujo (below) made his first start for Mahoning Valley.  Araujo was 9-1 at Arizona before being promoted by the Scrappers.  Eddie Rodriguez drove home a pair of runners with a two-out single.

Mahoning Valley took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the inning.  Francisco Lindor, the #1 Draft Pick of the Cleveland Indians, made his professional debut Sunday.  The 17-year old prospect got his first hit, an infield bleeder that was good for a single.  Jake Lowery then doubled and Jordan Smith walked to load the bases.  Todd Hankins doubled home Linder and Lowery to tie the game.  Alex Lavisky grounded out to third but got an RBI when Smith trotted home for a 3-2 Scrappers lead.

Mahoning Valley added two runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-2 lead.  Lavisky singled and would score from first on a Jerrud Sabourin triple.  John Barr knocked in Sabourin from third with a clean single to give the Scrappers the three-run lead.

Will Krasne picked up the win in relief of Araujo, who threw four complete innings before exiting.  Krasne was relieved by Drew Rucinski and Ramon Cespedes. Thomas Peale took the loss for the Jammers, giving up  5 runs in five innings.

The Scrappers added two more runs in the seventh to take a 7-2 lead.  Bryson Myles walked and Tony Wolters singled.  Lowery plated Myles with a single and Hankins hit a sac fly to bring in the hustling Wolters from third.

Lindor (above) went 1-3 in his pro debut.  The highly-touted youngster played confidently and may have been trying to do too much, but was focused during his five innings.

The Scrappers added insurance in the bottom of the eighth. Cody Elliott was hit by a pitch and Sabourin walked.  John Barr doubled home Elliott on a bloop double that found a home just inside the right field line.  Then the wild pitching exhibit took place when Jamestown reliever, Blake Brewer, walked a couple and hit another to give the Scrappers a 9-2 lead

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers welcomed a tough Brooklyn Cyclones team to Eastwood Field.  Unfortunately for the Scrappers, they came out on the wrong side of a 10-6 verdict.  The Scrappers were hurt by some very good Brooklyn hitting in the early innings and never gained enough footing in the loss, surrendering four of the runs on wild pitches that went to the backstop.

In the first inning, the Scrappers raced out to a 1-0 lead.  Bryson Myles and Tony Wolters hit identical singles up the middle.  Coach David Wallace, always a risk taker on the bags, pulled off a double steal.  Jake Lowery then hit a fielders choice that got Wolters home for the early lead, which marked the only time the Scrappers would be ahead.

Brooklyn rebounded and rattled off six unanswered runs and took a 6-1 lead by the time they were done batting in the sixth.  The Cyclones got two of the runs when runners on third base advanced home on wild pitches.  Richard Lucas had the big shot in the fifth with a two-run double.  Brooklyn would also score their eighth run on a wild pitch.

The Scrappers clawed back into the game in the bottom of the sixth inning.  Alex Lavisky had a two-run double that broke the offensive struggles for the home team.  Todd Hankins also knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly.  Brooklyn avoided further damage and held a 6-4 lead going into the last third of the game.

The fun stuff started happening in the sixth inning.  Celebrating my birthday at Eastwood Field doesn’t bother me one bit, in fact, I welcome the atmosphere. Scott Hansen, someone who I can call a friend, runs the line portion of the scoreboard and knew it was my birthday.  Hansen told the people doing the birthday stuff and they put Paneech from Paneech dot com on the scoreboard, wishing me a Happy Birthday.  Hansen and I always buy $5 worth of 50/50 tickets every home game.  Going into Friday, we were 0-114.  We happened to hit.  1-115.  Rob Schmidt was sick of saying my name.

Scrappers starter Mason Radeke only went two innings throwing just under 50 pitches.  Harold Guerrero took the loss in relief.  Nate Striz uncorked four wild pitches and didn’t finish the eighth inning.  Will Krasne relieved Striz to finish things up for Mahoning Valley.

Brooklyn got a decent start out of Carlos Vazquez, who picked up the win for the Cyclones.  Frank Viola, a World Series MVP for the Twins in 1987, is the Cyclones pitching coach.

Hankins (above) finished the game 1-3 with two RBI’s and a stolen base.  Tony Wolters chipped in with a pair of hits, as did Bryson Myles and Lavisky.  Jerrud Sabourin also collected a pair of knocks for the Scrappers.

The Scrappers (32-23) and Cyclones (31-24) go at it again for two more games on Saturday and Sunday.  On Monday, the league takes two days off for the annual All-Star Break.  The All-Star Game will be played in Lowell, home of the Spinners.  Wolters and Myles join Jordan Smith and Danny Jimenez as NY Penn League All-Stars.

“I was really happy with Bryson Myles tonight”, said Wallace.  “He continues to find ways to get on base and has had some really good at-bats.  I am also happy with Jerrud Sabourin, he had a couple of big hits but worked deep into the count a couple of times and put the bat on the ball.”

Congratulations are in order for some of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.  Four of the Cleveland Indians prospects have been named to the New York-Penn League All-Star Team.  Shortstop Tony Wolters and 3B Jordan Smith (above) join speedy Bryson Myles on the offensive side of things. Danny Jimenez was picked as a pitcher to give the Scrappers nice representation in a star-studded field of talent.

Tony Wolters is batting a shade above .300 and posted a big five-hit game against Staten Island on August 3.  He also has scored 36 runs, driven in 15, and has successfully stolen 15 bases.  The 5’10” Californian is enjoying the ride and will continue to push himself to improve.

Jordan Smith had an 18-game home hitting streak broken recently but has amassed quality statistics thus far in 2011.  As a Scrapper, Smith is hitting .327 and has knocked in 34.  Smith seems to be clutch and has a nose for winning and it is a contagious feeling in the Scrappers clubhouse right now.  He has played some outfield but gets the lion’s share of the plays at third base.

Bryson Myles has recently been battling his hamstring problems.  Myles holds a .294 batting average, but really knows how to be disruptive when he reaches base.  Myles has eleven stolen bases in just 109 at-bats.  He has good power, is always working on his bunting skills, and is getting better in the field as the year goes on.

Danny Jimenez has a 1-3 record, but his ERA is only 3.00 in seven starts for Mahoning Valley.  Given a chance on a spot start, Jimenez has posted a gaudy k/bb ratio of 33/15 and has recently transitioned from a bullpen guy to a staple in Coach Greg Hibbard‘s rotation.

Congratulations to all four Scrappers who were awarded the positions.

Hey NYPL, can you say Jake Lowery?

Just one night after a defensive collapse, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers regrouped and took care of business with a 5-3 win over the Auburn Doubledays.  The win pulls the Scrappers into a first place tie with the Doubledays in the Pinckney Division with identical records of 29-20.  Rob Nixon threw six good innings and the bullpen worked hard to keep Auburn at bay.

The game was delayed an hour by rain, and a good crowd of 2,000 plus stuck around to watch the Scrappers battle back to claim victory.  This was the second game of the two-game series.  Auburn won last nights game with the assistance of seven Scrappers errors.

Coach David Wallace said after that game that his players were probably embarrassed by their performance and that he probably would not address the problem.  Saturday’s result being much different, Wallace claimed afterwards that he stuck to his original plan.  “It took care of itself.  I was paying attention to how the guys would react today and how they were coming into the clubhouse, and just as I expected, they moved on, and that was evident in the way they played tonight.”

Nixon (above) threw six strong innings for the Scrappers for his fifth win, putting him in a tie for the most wins in the league.  He is a great location pitcher, sort of a Greg Maddux-type who will not overpower hitters, but locates his pitches and lets his defense do the work.  Drew Rucinski started the seventh and pitched two scoreless innings of relief.  Enosil Tejeda came in to start the ninth and slammed the door for his team-leading seventh save as he struck out all three Doubledays batters he faced with some dominant pitching, a big change in contrast from Nixon.

“He didn’t have his best stuff tonight, but he battled through it”, said Wallace of Nixon’s performance.  “He used the defense tonight.  A lot of guys nibble and nibble and get walks.  He was not afraid to challenge guys and trusted his defense, and that is how he got through six innings and picked up the win.”

Auburn tallied the first run on a Matt Skole RBI single that drove home leadoff hitter Caleb Ramsey.  Mahoning Valley went ahead 2-1 in the bottom half of the first inning.  With two outs, Jake Lowery and Jordan Smith were issued back-to-back walks.  Red-hot Todd Hankins (top photo) then tripled in both Scrappers base runners with a gapper to right-center.  Hankins would trot home a couple of pitches later on a wild pitch from Doubledays starter, Nathan Karns, who took the loss.  Auburn cut the lead to 3-2 in the second when Justin Miller tripled and would later score on a Billy Burns sac fly.

In the third, the Scrappers reclaimed the two-run lead to go ahead 4-2.  Tony Wolters, who had the rare “feat” of being hit in each foot during two separate at-bats scored on a Jordan Smith (above) single.  Auburn again cut the lead to 1 with a run in the fifth.  Mahoning Valley again responded in the bottom of the fifth when they closed out the scoring, forging ahead, 5-3.  It was a duplication of their last run as Wolters was hit in the other foot and Smith drove one through for his second RBI.

These two teams will both be on their respective buses headed to Auburn for about five hours.  ETA is set for about 5 a.m. and they will face off for two more in Auburn on Sunday and Monday to decide which team will walk away in first place.

Cleveland Indians fans, meet Tony Wolters.  He is a shortstop who is doing it with, both, the glove and the bat for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.  Wolters missed time last season due to injury after being selected by the Indians in the third round of the 2010 Draft.  So far in 2011, he has not disappointed.  Hustle and dedication are two intangibles that cannot be taught.  Wolters runs out every ball, no matter how routine of a play it looks like.  He is a quiet guy with a big smile who signs plenty of autographs for the fans after home games.  Learn the name, he is Cleveland’s shortstop of the future.

Paneech: Growing up in California, were you a Padres, Dodgers, Giants, or Angels fan?

Wolters: I was a Padre fan.  We use to constantly go to the games when they used to play at Qualcom Park.  My dad would always get tickets in the outfield right on the edge, those were his favorites.  The first player I was always watching was Tony Gwynn.  I try to pattern myself after him from a hitting standpoint.  My dad always tells me a 180-foot hit will get you there, keep doing those.  So Gwynn was my idol.  I was amazed with Khalil Greene at shortstop because he made some special plays and I tried to mock him and even went as far as wearing my pants the way he did, and I grew my hair out because he had long hair.  I liked Mark Loretta a lot too while he was there.  Once they moved to Petco, we started going there too.  I actually got to play at Petco for the Afflac game, it was an awesome and great experience for me.

Paneech: When you are here in Niles, Ohio, there is about a six foot radius around the mall with some nice restaurants but no beach, no Disney, no mountains.  There isn’t really as much to do, does that free your mind to think baseball?

Wolters: I love the game of baseball and feel truly lucky to play every day.  If I strike out, I get mad, but then I think myself down that I am so, so lucky to be doing what I am doing on a day-to-day basis.  Baseball was my first sport, I also played hockey, and very little, but some soccer.  Hockey was my first sport and then I fell in love with baseball.  It came easy, but as I progress it gets harder.  I have to get in the right mindset everyday and find my swing.  I love the challenge and feel like over the next few years, I want to develop into the best possible player that I can become.

Paneech: Coach Wallace and others before him say that this is a developmental league and the wins are nice but winning and losing are outweighed by progress of individual players.  What are your feelings on winning versus going 0-5 in a win?

Wolters: All of the players on this team want to win.  A lot of it is development, as far as learning how to be a winner at this level.  When we lose, nobody should have a smile on their face and be goofing around.  We want to win.  We want to get to the playoffs and win the whole thing.  We see it as getting better everyday, and secondly, winning as a team.

Paneech: You are in the 2011 Bowman Baseball Card Set.  How do you get into that process and are there other contracts for you?

Wolters: It all goes through my agent, and I really don’t know all of the aspects of it.  Every year you have a card that comes out at some level.  At extended Spring training, I took about five hours to autograph the cards of myself as part of the agreement.  (** Bowman Baseball inserted autographs into packs randomly in 2011.  There are 500 Wolters Autos, plus 150 Blue, and 50 Gold randomly inserted in the whole print run**).  The other contracts, I can’t really talk about right now.

Paneech: Last year you were injured and missed a lot of time.  What was going through your mind when you were drafted by the Indians?

Wolters: I was at breakfast and missed school that day.  I wasn’t expecting a call or anything and was kind of sad.  My dad looks at his phone and says ‘hey, you just got drafted by the Cleveland Indians’.  I was like ‘really?’  Right after that, I got a call from the scout.  I was really not expecting the Indians to pick me.  Ironically, I played for a team called the Indians when I was in Little League, and my father just happened to be wearing his old Indians shirt.  The Cleveland Indians were like the only team in the majors that I didn’t talk to much before the draft.  It was kind of a boring Summer.  I did go play for Team USA in 2010.  When I first got to Arizona, I was so excited, and I am loving it right now.

Paneech: What is it like playing for Coach Wallace and Coach Mansolino?

Wolters: It is awesome.  They both know so much about baseball.  I have learned so much physically, as well as, mentally.  I am working hard on my mental side and they are guiding me through it.  CoachWallace always comes to me and drops pointers of things that I need to work on.  Coach Manso has done good things for my hitting.  We butt heads sometimes, but that is how you learn.  They haven’t coached much, but I feel like they have.

Paneech: Sometimes when you bat, you lay the bat across the box (above), is it alignment or superstition?

Wolters: I am measuring how far I am from the plate.  If I don’t see where I step in, I do it.  I am very superstitious.  If I have a bad game, I can’t wear the same sliders, and I have to wear different socks, different things on my wrists, or rearrange the order of what is on my wrists.  I have to go out earlier to change the rhythm.  I do everything different until the right combination of things work, and if they work, I stick with them.  If they don’t then I change things some more.

Paneech: So if you go five-for-five tonight, what time do I have to come back and interview you tomorrow?

Wolters: (laughs) You are totally obligated to do that.

** Wolters went 5-6, and was 5-5 until his last at-bat the day of this game.

One Word Answers

Favorite Meal of The Day: Dinner.

Favorite Thing To Drink: Always Water.

Favorite TV Show: ESPN Sportscenter.

Favorite College Football Team: USC.

Favorite Baseball Team Still The Padres? I can’t say that (laughs).

Musical Preference: Starting to like Country.

Song on Your ipod That People Would Be Surprised By: Baby by Justin Bieber.

Best Friend On The Team: Jake Lowery.

Favorite Candy: Sour Patch Kids.

Fast Food Order: Chipotle, Chicken Burrito with rice, no beans, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, and medium salsa.

Favorite Cartoon Character: Tasmanian Devil.

** Top Photo Courtesy of Jesse Piecuch.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers were firing on all cylinders against the team with the best record at their level.  The Scrappers dominated Staten Island in every possible way en route to a 13-5 win.  The Scrappers pounded out 13 hits as Tony Wolters (above) went 5-6 and Todd Hankins and Jerrud Sabourin each collected a pair of doubles in the barrage.  Sabourin knocked in four.

“We went out and got hits in key situations tonight”, remarked Wolters after the game.  “They are a good team but we were a little better tonight.  It feels awesome to be in first place, we are excited about it.”

The Scrappers scored in the first when Bryson Myles reached via error, and later scored on an error. They added a run in the second when Hankins doubled and scored on a Sabourin sac fly in the second.  In the third the Scrappers plated four with Myles, Wolters, Jake Lowery, and Smith all scoring.

The floodgates opened in the bottom of the fourth.  Myles reached on an error, Wolters singled, and Lowery walked.  Jordan Smith then singled to extend his home hitting streak to 18 games.  Cody Elliott then hit a sac fly, Alex Lavisky walked, and then Hankins hit an RBI double, followed by Sabourin hitting a two-run double.

Joseph Colon (above) threw 81 pitches in four innings of work for the Scrappers. Colon was only able to complete four innings but fought his way out of mostly every obstacle.  He showed a lot of heart and got some run support departing with an 11-1 lead.  Colon’s only mistake was a third-inning home run to Staten Island’s Ben Gamel. The beneficiary of Colon’s early exit was Will Krasne, in line to get a gift win.  Krasne struggled, walking five in two-and-a-third innings, but ultimately got the job done to pick up the win.

The game got delayed 15 minutes due to inclement weather.  The high scoring didn’t help the pace much.  It was 9:35 p.m. after the sixth inning and the crowd of 2,345 was filing out with the outcome presumably decided.

Having interviewed Wolters before the game, I learned he was very superstitious. Claiming he changes everything when he has a subpar game –  from his wristbands to his sliding pants to the time he eats, I kidded that if he went 5-5 that I would not be able to interview him every night.  He just laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

“Same everything tomorrow, nothing will change”, said a joyous Wolters after his five hit gem.

David Wallace praised the effort of Wolters and Sabourin.  “Special night for Wolters. The way I look at it, it is the fruit of a lot of hard work.  When he stays within himself, he is a great player.  Jerrud [Sabourin] has really stepped up these last couple of weeks.  He has been swinging a good bat all year without much reward, now he seems to just be hitting over their heads.  If he keeps hitting like this, he will not be near the bottom of the order very long.”

Staten Island entered Tuesday’s contest against Mahoning Valley with the best record in the McNamara Division.  Conversely, the Scrappers had the best record in the Pinckney Division.  Something had to give as the two best teams faced off in game one of a three-game set.  With a nasty storm brewing, the Yankees took control of a tie game in the eighth inning and got by Mahoning Valley, 7-4.

The Yankees wasted little time scoring the first run of the game, as leadoff hitter Mason Williams homered off of Scrappers starter, Mason Radeke (below).  The next batter, Cito Culver, tripled into the right field corner.  Culver trotted home on a passed ball to increase the Yankee lead to 2-0.

The Scrappers cut the margin in half in the bottom of the first inning.  Tony Wolters scored on a Jordan Smith single.  Smith extended his streak of getting a hit at every home game with the knock.  Smith entered the game leading the league with a .352 batting average.  The Scrappers took a 3-2 lead in the third inning when Wolters and Jake Lowery scored as a result of a Cody Elliott clean single.

The Yankees tied the game in the top of the fourth and took a lead of 4-3 in the fifth.  The Scrappers tied the game back up in the bottom of the fifth.  Alex Lavisky doubled and scored when Todd Hankins hit what looked like a routine fly that was dropped by the center fielder.  Lavisky, hustling with two outs, scored easily from second on the gift.

At that point, pitching and defense kicked in for both teams.  Nate Striz threw a couple of scoreless innings before Staten Island got to him in the eighth inning.  A sacrifice fly by Ben Gamel put the Yankees ahead 5-4.  Striz then threw to first to keep the baserunner, Culver, honest, but Lowery mishandled the throw allowing the Yankees shortstop a path all the way to third base.  Grant Sides relieved Striz with two out in the eighth.  Angelo Gumbs greeted Sides with a triple on a 1-0 count to deep center for an RBI and a 6-4 Staten Island lead.

Mason Williams was tough on Scrappers pitchers all night.  The Yankees center fielder ended the game 3-5 with a HR and 2 RBI.

Striz took the loss for Mahoning Valley (26-19), and Fred Lewis picked up the win for Staten Island (33-11).

After the game, Scrappers Manager, David Wallace, talked about playing the team with the best record.  “It does make a difference when they [Staten Island] have some second and third year players.  However, we just focus on getting better as individuals and as a team without worrying about who is on their team.  They definitely made it happen, you can’t give them extra opportunities and we did tonight.  They gave us some opportunities too, and we were unable to take advantage of them.”

On Glee night, modeled after the hit TV show, which incidentally is Wallace’s favorite program, I had to ask if he was paying more attention to the between-innings themed entertainment than he usually would.  “I heard and saw some stuff on the scoreboard, but have to admit I was pretty disappointed in some of the singing that I heard tonight.  It looked like they were having a really good time with it.”

Meet Jake Lowery.  He has started his professional baseball career with a bang. Drafted in the fourth round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft by the Cleveland Indians, the James Madison alumnus has been a standout for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.  Lowery recently won the Johnny Bench Award, which is given to the best catcher at the collegiate level.  His work behind the plate as a catcher combined with his array of power he shows with the bat are making him a commodity that could be promoted to bigger things by the end of the season.  I recently interviewed the 21-year old to discuss his career path and his home life.  Like so many of this years Scrappers, he has a great attitude and was fun to chat with.

Paneech: Recently, you won the Johnny Bench Award, what is it and how did you win?

Lowery: It is an award given to the top collegiate catcher in the nation.  There was a starting list of 39 that got knocked down to 13.  I was fortunate enough to be in the final three with a catcher from Florida and a catcher from Wichita State, and I ended up coming out on top.  It was a great experience and I got to spend a whole day with Johnny Bench.

Paneech: You get drafted and thrown into this team [Scrappers] without really knowing any of your coaches or teammates, how is it working and who have you gotten close to on the team?

Lowery: I am pretty close with Tony Wolters and Jerrud Sabourin. I get rides from those guys and we hang out a lot.  I am also close with John Barr and Will Roberts because they went to Virginia and that’s where I am from.  I like everyone on the team and we all get along really well and I’m happy that it has been so easy to mesh with all of these guys.

Paneech: Do you have a lot of contact with your family and friends back home?

Lowery: Yes, I do.  In fact, my parents are here this week to see me for the first time as a pro.  It’s been like 30 games already, but this is my first game as a pro that they can come and see me play, I am very excited about it.

Paneech: How is the host family experience working out for you?

Lowery: It is really going good here.  I had a really bad experience with a host family my Freshman year and this experience has been 100% better.  I have food, a place to stay, cable television, and air conditioning.  The bad experience was the opposite of this as I had cat poop all over my bed, crickets on my bed, no cable TV for a whole Summer.  It was just a miserable and rough experience.

Paneech: You do well as a catcher, but you DH some nights and have popped up in the lineup at first base lately.  Where are you going to want to be?

Lowery: I have been told by people who know to learn first base as it could possibly open some doors later in my career.  They try to keep me fresh, so I DH some nights too.  It all comes down to me being able to hit and to play this great game – I am having fun.

Paneech: Are you used to this heavy traveling schedule yet?

Lowery: It has been like a whirlwind.  The first week we had six home games and just when I was getting used to that, a road trip starts.  I then had to do some extra traveling and went to Texas for the Johnny Bench Award.  I think I have gotten into a good routine and know what I have to do get ready for a game.  Traveling is pretty fun and you get to hang out with all of the guys.

Paneech: How has it been to play for Coach Wallace so far?

Lowery: Both Coach Wallace and Coach Manso [Tony Mansolino] are young guys. They are fresh out of the game and both bring a wealth of experience from the game. We stay pretty loose as a group, but we know when we have to be serious.  They do a good job keeping everyone loose and their experience is really starting to show as we get further along in the season.

Paneech: Are you getting used to people badgering you after games for autographs and requests for a bat?

Lowery: I am getting used to it, everyone asks for a bat and I can’t give everyone a bat, but I’m like, “Hey, I will sign your ball” and sometimes that is good enough. Yesterday, some girl asked me what number I was and I told her number 30.  It must not have been who she was looking for because she walked away, she must have been looking for someone else (laughs).  Anytime you can sign an autograph for somebody and it makes their day, it is a beautiful thing.  It is not something we are required to do, but I feel like it is a rewarding thing for both sides.

One Word Answers

Favorite Major League Player: Chipper Jones.

Biggest Phobia: Snakes.

Toppings On A Pizza: Pepperoni And Onions.

Favorite Sport Other Than Baseball: Football.  I was a wide receiver and a long-snapper.

Favorite Song: Chicken Fried by The Zac Brown Band.

Worst Habit: I try not to have any bad habits.

Favorite Pitch To Hit: A middle-in fastball.

Typical Fast Food Order: Three Soft Tacos, Nachos Supreme, and a large Mountain Dew.

Dream Car: An Escalade.

Favorite Drink: Mountain Dew.  It’s a refreshing thing and always tastes better after a win or a two-hit game.

Toughest Question:  You are playing in a developmental league yet you are an athlete conditioned to win.  How tough is it to have a 3-4 night at the plate when you lose compared to going 0-4 when you win?

Lowery: I try to take it in stride.  If I go 2-4 or 3-4 and we lose, I know I did my part but other things like pitching or defense were not right.  We get to play 76 games in 80 days and we know that we are going to win some and lose some.  You never want to go out there and try to lose.  It sucks when you go 0-6, but if the team wins when you go 0-6, you have to look at it as getting a win and getting a step closer to the playoffs.  When you lose, you just have to move on.

Top Photo:  Courtesy of Jesse Piecuch

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers offense had been pretty potent all season.  State College came into Wednesday’s contest in the basement of the NYPL Pinckney Division, nine games behind the Scrappers.  The Scrappers entered the game in a three-way tie for first. The Scrappers fought and clawed their way back from a two-run ninth inning deficit to tie the game, but a Carlos Mesa home run gave State College a hard fought 5-4 victory in ten innings.

The Spikes recorded the first run of the game in the first inning.  Chris Lashmet hit an RBI single knocking in Walter Gourley.  The Spikes made it 3-0 in the fourth when Scrapper starter Danny Jimenez uncorked a wild pitch allowing Carlos Mesa to score.  Jimenez went 5 1/3 innings for the Scrappers.

Alex Lavisky (below) got the Scrappers on the board with a solo home run in the fifth.  For Lavisky it was his third home run and he seems to be swinging the bat much better in the last couple of weeks.

State College looked like a different team than they had their first four games this season at Eastwood Field (0-4).  Their pitching kept Scrapper hitters off-balance for most of the game and they played well as a team.  The Scrappers did not do well with situational hitting and just couldn’t seem to get into the rhythm that they have performed at most of this season until the ninth inning.

Todd Hankins hit a solo home run to lead off the seventh inning.  Hankins crushed the Mike Jefferson offering over the visitor bullpen fence clearing the back wall, which is about fifteen feet high.  The Hankins dinger made it a two-run game and hope was still alive.

The Scrappers threatened in the eighth inning when John Barr had a one-out single.  State College went to the bullpen and brought in Emmanuel De Leon to face the potential tying runs, Lavisky and Hankins who both homered earlier in the game.  Lavisky flew out to left, just getting under one.  Hankins grounded out to second, end of the threat.

In the ninth inning, Tony Wolters (above) knocked in Jerrud Sabourin, who walked on four pitches to start the ninth.  Jake Lowery hit a mammoth sac fly to deep center to bring home Cody Elliott and tie the game.  In the top of the tenth, Carlos Mesa blasted one over the left field wall to put State College back in front, 5-4.

In the bottom of the tenth, Lavisky started the inning with a single and was bunted to second by Hankins.  The Spikes brought in reliever Vince Payne to face Sabourin.  The Scrapper first baseman lined out to short.  Aaron Siliga stepped in with two outs but flew out to center.

Will Krasne took the loss for the Scrappers.  These two teams will travel to State College and play three more times over the next three days.