NYPL State College Spikes

Spikes Game Notes

Published on August 20, 2007 under New York-Penn League (NYPL)
State College Spikes News Release


JAMESTOWN JAMMERS (20-35) vs. STATE COLLEGE SPIKES (28-27)

Monday, August 20 - 6:05 PM

Medlar Field at Lubrano Park - University Park, PA

Games #56 & 57 , Home Games # 28 & 29

RHP Alex Sanabia (1-4, 5.80) vs. RHP Moises Robles (3-7, 3.46)

LHP Jonathan Van Looy (0-0, 6.46) vs. RHP Matt Foust ( 2-4, 3.63)

SPIKES STARTING PITCHER: RHP Moises Robles will make his 11th start of the 2007 season tonight. Robles, checks in with a 3-7 record and an ERA of 3.46. He has struck out 28 while walking just eight over 54.2 innings of work. Through his first nine starts of the year, Robles only received 15 total runs of offensive support. He has received 10 runs of support in his last two starts and comes into tonight's game riding a personal two-game winning streak. In his two wins, (Aug. 3 at Auburn & Aug. 9 vs. Lowell) Robles has gone a combined 10.0 scoreless innings allowing just four hits. He has struck out six and walked four. Opponents this month are hitting just .125 off or the righty from the Dominican Republic.

JAMMERS STARTING PITCHER: RHP Alex Sanabia will make his 12th start when he toes the rubber for Jamestown this evening. The 19-year old comes into tonight with a 1-4 record and a 5.80 ERA. His first win of the year came in his last outing against the Staten Island Yankees on August 12. Over his 6.0 innings of work, he allowed only two hits while walking one and striking out eight. The six innings was his longest outing of the season, and it was also the first outing since June 24th in which he didn't allow a run. The opposition is hitting .293 against the San Diego, CA native over his 45.0 innings of work. Sanabia was the Marlins' 32nd round selection in teh 2006 MLB draft out Castle Park High School in California.

SPIKES GM #2 STARTER: RHP Matt Foust will make his 11th start of the season tonight against Jamestown Jammers. Foust, who was selected by the Pirates in the sixth round of the June amateur draft, checks in with a record of 2-4 and ERA of 3.63. Foust has struggled with his control this season, as the former Nebraska Cornhusker has walked 28 batters in total 39.2 innings, including 11 in his last 13.1 innings. Foust will be making his second start of the year against the Jammers, as the righty made his professional debut against Jamestown and lost after going 2.0 innings, giving up three runs on five hits.

JAMESTOWN GM #2 STARTER: LHP Jon Van Looy will make his third start of the year for the Jamestown Jammers after starting the season with the GCL Marlins (A). With Jamestown, Van Looy is 0-0 with a 6.46 ERA in 8.1 innings of work. The southpaw has struck out five and walked five thus far, while opponents are hitting him at a .361 clip. Van Looy received a no decision after going 4.2 innings and giving up two runs. With the GCL Marlins, Van Looy posted a 2-0 record with a 2.14 ERA in five appearances (four starts) while holding opposing hitters to a .159 average in 21.0 innings. Van Looy, who just turned 19 years old on August 11 was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 29th round last year.

RUMMY .500: With Saturday's win, the Spikes climbed above the .500 mark for the first time since July 25. After winning 5-2 against the Aberdeen Ironbirds in game #1 of a double-header, State College was 17-16. However, they were only above .500 for 2:42, as State College dropped the nightcap to the Ironbirds 5-4. The Spikes have had an even .500 record on 12 different occasions this year while they have been above the .500 mark on 15 separate days throughout the course of the 2007 season.

THE #3 NOT QUITE THE CHARM: The Spikes will look to win their third straight game tonight against as State College has not won three in a row since their nine game winning streak which lasted from June 26 to July 4.

SERIESOUSLY: With Saturday's win, the Spikes took two out of three from the Williamsport Crosscutters and the Spikes have not lost a series since they were swept by the Mahoning Valley Scrappers during a three game set July 30 - August 1. Since then, the Spikes have taken 2-of-3 from Auburn, Lowell, Tri-City and Williamsport, while splitting a two-game stint with the Scrappers on August 5 and 6.

FIVE AND DIMES: The Spikes have won seven of their last ten and over that span the bats have been the reason for the team's success. The Spikes are hitting .303 as a team with 61 runs over the last 10 games with OF Keanon Simon and C Andrew Walker leading the charge. Simon, a 25th round selection from Oklahoma State, is hitting a whopping .439 (18-for-41) with 11 runs scored and 11 RBI. Walker is amazingly even hotter as the 5th round selection from TCU is hitting .459 (17-for-37) with seven runs scored and 10 RBI. Conversely, OF Marcus Davis and OF Austin McClune have been struggling during this stretch. Davis is hitting only .214 (6-for-28) and McClune is hitting a meager .130 (3-for-23).

FANTASTIC FRIDAY: Brian Friday extended his hitting streak to a 2007 league-high 18 games with a single in the seventh inning Saturday. Emeel Salem of Hudson Valley hit in 17 straight games from July 15 - August 11. Friday has also reached base in every game he has played in this year (20). Friday will have a long way to go before he can eclipse the league-wide on-base streak. Salem has reached base in his last 35 contests. Both streaks Friday is in the midst of are State College franchise records. Allen Craig (14-game hit streak in 2006) and Nathan Southard (17 straight games of reaching base in 2006) were the previous record holders.

ROSTER ADDITIONS: The Pittsburgh Pirates have added two players to the Spikes roster. INF Jon Fitzpatrick and RHP Kyle McPherson were called up from Bradenton (A) of the Gulf Coast League. Fitzpatrick, a non-drafted free agent sign this June is a first baseman who has made sporadic starts in the outfield for Manger Tom Prince. He displayed good power numbers for the Baby Buccos as he hit .236 in 42 games, with nine home runs with 36 RBIs in 127 at-bats. As a senior at Manhattan College this spring, Fitzpatrick 22, batted .325 with a school-record 18 home runs and 66 RBIs in 200 at-bats. A 6-foot-4, right-handed batter, he was the school's all-time leader in hits (216), home runs (35) and RBIs (177) and was a second-team NCAA All-American as a senior. His career on-base percentage was .393, as he walked 86 times against 95 strikeouts.

McPhereson was drafted by the Pirates in the 14th round this year from the University of Mobile where he went 1-7 with a 6.07 ERA. McPhereson spent the 2006 season at Faulkner State Community College and posted a 3-0 mark with an ERA of 2.05. So far this summer with Bradenton, McPhereson has posted good numbers -- in 10 starts, Kyle went 3-2 with a 2.91 ERA in 46.1 innings of work, while scattering just 41 hits. The 6'3", 205-pounder struck out 31 and walked 10 while holding opposing hitters to a .244 batting average.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: PITTSBURGH (51-70) beat the Philadelphia Phillies 11-6. Adam LaRoche went 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI ... INDIANAPOLIS (64-60) lost at Charlotte, 7-1. Andrew McCutchen went 2-for-4 with a home run ... ALTOONA (64-60) was rained out against Erie ... LYNCHBURG (53-68) was rained out at Wilmington ... HICKORY (61-61) was rained out at Lakewood ... BRADENTON (20 - 28) beat the Twins, 4-3. Chris Duffy continued his rehab assignment, going 0-for-2.

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