NILES — The Mahoning Valley Scrappers can breathe a sigh of relief.

The losing streak is a thing of the past.

The Scrappers on Friday broke a 4-4 tie with a two-run eighth inning and went on to defeat Trenton 6-4 in front of 4,263 fans at Eastwood Field.

With the win, the Scrappers (9-12) brought an end to their nine-game losing streak.

The Scrappers scored the game’s first two runs in the second inning. Tripp Clark reached second with a one-out double. Then with two outs, Clark scored on a Garret Pike base hit. Pike scored courtesy of a Beau Ankeney double.

Trenton grabbed a 4-2 advantage thanks to a four-run sixth. The Thunder began the inning with five straight hits, including a Matt Quintanar two-run home run and Ryland Zzborowski double.

The Thunder lead was brief, as the Scrappers tied things up at 4-4 with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Back-to-back walks were followed by a Pike RBI base hit. A second run scored on a throwing error.

The Scrappers capped the scoring in the eighth. Jared Quandt led off with a base hit, which was followed by a Will Shannon RBI double. Shannon scored on a Alton Gyselman base hit.

Andrew Morones pitched a scoreless ninth to secure the win.

The Scrappers and Thunder continue their three-game series tonight at 7:05 p.m.

THE HIGHS AND LOWS

Mahoning Valley Scrappers catcher Tripp Clark says that a key to baseball success is to remain even-keeled regardless of what the sport throws your way.

“Baseball is a crazy game, because you will go on streaks, your team will go on streaks and it’s sometimes difficult to understand,” Clark said. “There’s always going to be failure or bumps in the road, you just have to play through it. And when things are going good you have to keep level-headed and focused.”

Indeed, Clark experienced both the bad and the good beginning with the start of his freshman year at Angelo State. Clark battled through the bad, which in his case was an elbow injury, and put together one of the greatest careers in school history.

Clark is a native of Waco, Texas, and a 2019 graduate of Midway High School. Following a stellar prep career, Clark was set to begin the next phase of his baseball journey when he suffered a stress fracture in his right elbow, his throwing arm.

“For a catcher, that’s terrible news,” Clark said. “I was just throwing during a practice in the fall of my freshman year and I felt the pain in my elbow. All the years of throwing just took its toll. I knew right away something was wrong.”

Clark underwent surgery, then six months of recovery and was set to return to the diamond only to discover that the bone in his elbow hadn’t fully healed. He had to undergo a second surgery and wasn’t able to return to his Angelo State teammates until the spring of 2022.

From that point on, it has been nothing but positive results for Clark. From 2022 to 2024, Clark compiled a .383 career batting average at Angelo State and he helped lead the school to a Division II national title in 2023 with a .374 batting average. This past spring, Clark batted .432 with 14 home runs and 93 RBIs. For his efforts, he was named an All-American.

Clark finished his collegiate career with 222 hits, 53 doubles, 31 home runs and 192 RBIs.

“It’s been a great career and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything in the world,” Clark said. “In this day and age of the transfer portal, I had opportunities to go elsewhere, but I never thought about it. I loved everything about my college experience.

“After the injury, I always knew I would come back and play again. But you never know about the arm strength, about whether or not you’ll be back to where you were before an injury. Well, I was blessed with some great doctors, coaches and the man upstairs. Things all worked out thanks to a great support group.”

Clark joined up with the MLB Draft League with the hopes of getting noticed by MLB scouts. He said his decision to play summer ball with the Scrappers is paying dividends.

“It’s a great league, they give you all the resources to succeed,” Clark said. “In (college) Division II, you see a lot of 88 to 92 mph pitches. Here I’m facing some great pitchers who are throwing 90 to 94. This is my chance to get better against better pitching and build my draft stock.”

Clark has already earned his masters degree in accounting.

“I know I have a good backup plan regardless of what happens this summer, so I feel very fortunate, very blessed,” Clark said.

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