The Mahoning Valley Scrappers ended the month of June by losing 12 of 13 games.

Turning the calendar to July has been kind to the Scrappers.

The Scrappers (13-14) on Friday won their fourth consecutive game, this time a 6-4 victory over West Virginia in front of 2,730 fans at Eastwood Field.

The Black Bears (9-17) extended their losing streak to eight games.

The Black Bears scored the game’s first run in the second inning. The 1-0 lead held up through four innings thanks to the work of starter Matt Tippie, who faced the minimum 12 batters he faced. Tippie gave up just a first-inning single, but that base runner was erased on a steal attempt. Tippie recorded six strikeouts.

WV turned to its bullpen in the fifth and the Scrappers immediately took a 2-1 lead. Tripp Clark led things off with a walk, then scored on a Will Shannon triple. Shannon scored the go-ahead run courtesy of a Jared Quandt groundout.

Four consecutive two-out hits gave WV a 4-2 lead in the top of the sixth. However, the Scrappers answered with four runs in their half of the inning. The Scrappers benefitted from five steals in the frame, along with RBIs by Garret Pike and Jared Quandt.

The Scrappers begin a two-game home series tonight against Williamsport.

FOLLOWING IN BROTHER’S FOOTSTEPS

For many athletes, performing in the shadows of an older, successful brother can often prove to be a daunting task.

The comparisons and the expectations will always be there, and they often lead to an added layer of pressure to succeed.

Yet as far as Mahoning Valley Scrappers infielder Beau Ankeney is concerned, following in the footsteps of older brother Eli is “A dream come true.”

Beau is a 2021 graduate of Desert Vista High School (Phoenix, AZ). There, he enjoyed a decorated career where he earned All-Region Offensive Player of the Year honors as a senior. Over a three-year varsity career, he hit .438 with 16 home runs and 79 RBIs.

Still, ask Beau to pinpoint the highlight of his prep career, and he immediately mentions his sophomore year when he was able to play varsity ball with Eli, who at the time was a senior.

“For me it was a dream come true to play with my brother in high school, it was really cool,” Beau said. “I always looked up to him. He was always like a mentor and a best friend growing up, so to be able to play on the same team that one year was pretty special.”

So special, in fact, that when it came time to choose a college, Beau followed Eli to Grand Canyon University. The brothers were reunited on the baseball diamond for the spring of 2022 before Eli’s career path took him in a different direction — a path that Beau again would follow.

In June of 2022, Eli joined up with the MLB Draft League and was placed in the Mahoning Valley. With the Scrappers, the left-handed pitcher appeared in five games, posting a 3.38 ERA. Then in mid-July he was selected by the New York Mets in the 20th round of the 2022 Draft.

In 2023, Eli appeared in 30 games for the High Class-A Brooklyn Cyclones, posting a 2.84 ERA.

“Seeing my brother getting picked up in the draft was easily one of my favorite moments of my life,” Beau said. “Our whole family was sitting around in the living room, and we had no idea if he was going to get drafted. His name popped up on the board and it’s a memory I’ll never forget.”

While the two brothers are now miles apart both literally and figuratively from a baseball sense, Beau says he continues to learn from his older sibling, who he now hopes to one day join in the professional ranks.

“I’ve picked up so much from him, not just from a baseball sense but in terms of how to handle the everyday rigors of this game,” Beau said. “He has taught me basically how to be a professional, how to handle the travel and what it’s like to spend entire days at the ballpark while playing every day.

“He’s taught me about the mental part of the game — about not getting too high or too low. You need to leave the past in the past and always focus on the present.”

After playing sparingly at Grand Canyon during his freshman season in 2022, Beau redshirted in 2023. This past spring, Beau batted .286 with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs. With the Scrappers, he is batting .241 with two homers and 10 RBI.

“This has been a great summer so far, it’s definitely been beneficial to my career to be here in the Mahoning Valley and to be part of the Draft League,” Beau said. “Like everyone here, my ultimate goal is to play this game at the professional level.

“Whatever happens I know I’m in a better position because of my time spent here.”

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