Behind a solid starting pitching effort by Scott Gorgen (3-2), the Muckdogs (36-23) remain in 1st place in the Pinckney Division after a 4-2 win over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (26-34). Gorgen threw five innings with five hits, one walk and seven strikeouts. Russell Young (4-3) suffered the loss in his six innings with five hits, three runs (one earned), one walk and 2 strikeouts.
In the 2nd inning, Batavia started things off by scoring two runs on three hits. Chris Swauger singled and Alex Castellonas doubled to get on base and Edwin Gomez came up with a double to drive them both in. They added another run in the 4th when newcomer Osvaldo Morales doubled and Swauger singled. The Muckdogs's 4th and final run of the night came in the 8th inning. Jose Garcia bunt-singled, stole second and then advanced to third on a throwing error. With Frederick Parejo at the plate, the Scrappers had a fielding error which allowed Garcia to come in to score.
Mahoning Valley threatened in the 9th, scoring two runs in the inning on a walk and two doubles, but it was not enough. Jason Buursma came into relieve Miguel Tapia in the 9th to earn himself his third save. In an inning of work, he let up only one hit while striking out two.
Castellonas finished the game 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Swauger also went 2-for-3 with a RBI and a run scored. The teams face each other again tonight in Batavia at 7:05.
