BATTLE OF THE VALLEYS
The ValleyCats take on the Valley Scrappers in a three game series to see who will move on to the NY-Penn League Championship
TROY » On Wednesday, September 5, the ValleyCats begin round one of the 2018 New York-Penn League’s 2018 playoffs when they host the Mahoning Valley Scrappers at Joe Bruno Stadium.
“Its always nice to have home field advantage in the first game and get the ball rolling,” said ValleyCats scheduled starter Brett Conine. “We’re going to come out tomorrow and play some baseball.”
The ValleyCats come into the three game series as the Stedler Division Champions and a 42-33 record. The Valley Scrappers come in as the Pinckney Division Champs and also, a 42-33 record. The Valley Scrappers own the tiebreaker, which is in conference record, allowing them to have the advantage of hosting games two and three.
The ValleyCats will host game one at the Joe, and Mahoning will host games two and three in Niles, Ohio at Eastwood Field.
“It’s our job to go out there and do what we have been doing all year,” said Conine. “It’s nothing different, its still the
game of baseball.”
Conine comes in with a 1-1 record, though most of his work has been done out of the bullpen. Of his eleven appearances, just three were games he started in. His 1.99 ERA is through 31.2 innings. He has racked up 37 strikeouts and has suppressed opposing batters to a .198 average.
Conine is the guy and manager Jason Bell has full confidence in his starter’s ability.
“I like his competitiveness, I like the demeanor he gives off on the mound and he’s been consistent all year,” said Bell. “More than anything I like his competitiveness. I know in college he has pitched in a lot of big games, so I am pretty excited for the opportunity for him tomorrow night.”
That experience for Conine was pitching in the College World Series as a sophomore and the Super Regional this past season at Cal State Fullerton.
“Playoffs are playoffs. It’s nice to have that experience but it’s a different team,” said Conine. “Different atmosphere here. It’s still a game of baseball, so I’m excited to come out and play tomorrow.”
The ValleyCats are loose. On media day Tuesday afternoon, the ‘Cats pitching staff were doing cart wheels in the outfield as they stayed warm with strength and conditioning coach Mike Myers.
“That’s how we’ve been all year and the emotions of the playoffs affect you already, but we don’t want to play tight,” said Bell on the team’s ability to stay loose. “We’re in this position because of what we have done, so we don’t want to feel like we have to change ourselves.”
As of late, the offense has been streaky for the ValleyCats. Within the last week, the ValleyCats have gone from having just one run on two hits against Aberdeen, to putting seven runs up with twelve hits on the Lowell Spinners the very next day.
“Really up and down the lineup every single guy has gotten better and every single guy has carried us at some point,” said Bell. “You never know who could potentially be the playoff hero, we have seen a lot of strange things. I’m really confident in one through nine in our lineup and excited to see what they can do.”
Luis Encarnacion leads the ValleyCats with ten home runs and 33 RBI, but also has a team leading 62 strike outs. To better summarize Encarnacion’s abilities, he has the highest OPS of active ValleyCats (.764), but also a .310 on base percentage, which is pretty middle of the road for the ValleyCats.
Along with Encarnacion, Enmanuel Valdez and Carlos Machado could be game changers for the ‘Cats. Valdez is right behind Encarnacion with eight home runs and Machado leads active ValleyCats with 59 hits and a .304 batting average.
In order for those guys to be ready to go and prepared, the ‘Cats spent their off day Tuesday in the batting cages and staying warm. Allowing the guys to relax, while not staying on the couch.
“Today’s our first off day in I believe three weeks or so. For us, it’s about controlling their bodies the right way,” said Bell. “Activating them I guess is the best way to put it. Making sure that they are still fresh and ready to go.”
Pitching wise, the ‘Cats do have some studs on the rubber. R.J Freure has a .98 ERA through 27.2 innings, Felipe Tejada has a team leading with 66 strikeouts, and guys like Nivaldo Rodriguez and Brett Daniels have proven to be able to pitch in key moments for the ValleyCats this season.
“We’ll have a little more freedom for match ups and everything, but their will be some guys that may have pitched in the last few days that we won’t look to use,” said Bell. “We’ll have a little more freedom but pitch counts are pitch counts, so we’ve already come up with a plan in certain scenarios that we can use.”
Bell is excited to see the young players have the chance to play significant night-baseball in front of some of the biggest crowds they have ever had to. That, may be the biggest learning experience for all of the ‘Cats.
“We have hopes that these guys continue on in our system and continue on to the big leagues and we also have hopes that our big league team continues to make the playoffs,” said Bell. “Hopefully these guys are the ones that go up there and do that. If I can help them channel their emotions properly, this could be a good example as they move forward and get used to what playoff baseball is all about.”
In the end, the ‘Cats are sticking with what has worked all season. They have had a successful season and it comes down to, at most, six games.
“For us it’s more staying with us and playing our best brand of baseball. We don’t want to feel like we have to do anything out of the ordinary because of who we are playing against,” said Bell. “But if we can take care of our business as far as hitting, pitching, defense, and base running, it will put us in a good position to win the series.”