NILES — Christmas in July was celebrated Sunday at Eastwood Field. Holiday tunes filled the air while Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and the elves roamed the stadium.

The State College Spikes were in a giving mood, gifting the Mahoning Valley Scrappers four errors, leading to numerous scoring opportunities.

Unfortunately, Scrappers reliever Jack Goonan played the role of Grinch in the tenth inning, leading to a Spikes 8-7 win over the Scrappers in front of 1,782 fans.

With the game tied at 7-7, the Spikes began the tenth inning with DeAndre Shelton at first base. Shelton advanced to second on a wild pitch. An intentional walk was followed by a groundout. Another wild pitch prompted a second intentional walk to load the bases. Then, a third wild pitch scored Shelton to end the game.

The Scrappers tied the back-and-forth game in the bottom of the ninth on a Ron Washington RBI base hit that scored Jeffrey Wehler. Washington had a pair of hits and two RBI on the day while Wehler was 3-for-5.

Howland High product Jacob Harsany earned the start for the Scrappers. He worked five innings, surrendering five earned runs on seven hits.

The Scrappers and Spikes conclude their three-game series tonight at 7:05.

PALMIER’S PREMIERE

Depending on the circumstance, an umpire can be a pitcher’s best friend or his worst enemy.

In the case of Scrappers starting pitcher Masen Palmier, a chance encounter with an umpire in a rec league game helped form a special bond between Palmier and a man he would soon refer to as “coach” and “best friend.”

Palmier, a native of Ballwin, MO was a junior in high school playing in a rec league baseball game when he caught the eye of an umpire working the contest. Up until then, Palmier had never played high school ball.

“So the ump comes over and says, ‘Hey kid, where do you go to school,’ and I tell him I am a student right here in town at Parkway South,” Palmier recalls. “He’s like, ‘No freaking way, I coach the team.'”

“The following Monday morning I’m in his office and I ended up playing for Coach (Adam) Stahl my senior year. He became an incredible influence, a tremendous mentor and my best friend.”

Following a stellar senior season, Palmier played for a pair of junior college programs before landing at Missouri Baptist University in 2019. As a graduate student this past year, Palmier played his final collegiate game on May 4 in an MBU 10-5 win over William Woods in an American Midwest Conference tournament game.

In the contest, Palmier worked nine innings, throwing 128 pitches while recording 14 strikeouts.

This past Friday Palmier returned to the mound, this time leading the Scrappers to a 4-3 win over State College in the opening game of the second half of the season. Palmier worked six scoreless innings, giving up just three base hits while throwing 76 pitches.

“When my college season ended in May, I thought my baseball career might be over,” Palmier said. “Then I got an invite to play in this league and I was stoked. I had a couple of teammates who played here last year and just based on their feedback I couldn’t wait to dive in.”

Palmier’s debut in a Scrappers uniform took place in front of 3,605 fans.

“By far that was the biggest crowd I ever played in front of,” Palmier said. “When I came out of the bullpen the place was packed and the fans were really into it from the start. It was an awesome experience.”

“I’m just looking to make an impression. I want to do good for myself, I want to be a good teammate and I certainly want to do well for the Mahoning Valley fans. They are fantastic.”