NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Spikes Game Notes

August 21, 2007 - New York-Penn League (NYPL) - State College Spikes News Release


STATE COLLEGE SPIKES (29-27) vs. BATAVIA MUCKDOGS (22-34)

Tuesday, August 21st - 7:05 PM

Dwyer Stadium - Batavia, NY

Game #57 / Road Game # 29

RHP Matt Foust ( 2-4, 3.63) vs. RHP Blake King (1-3, 4.11)

SPIKES STARTING PITCHER: RHP MATT FOUST will make the start for the Spikes this evening. The 6th round selection in the 2007 MLB draft will be making his eleventh start of the season when he toes the rubber this evening. He enters tonight's action with a 2-4 record and a 3.63 ERA. In 39.2 innings of work, the former Nebraska Cornhusker has allowed 23 runs, 16 of which were earned, on 30 hits while walking 28 and striking out 36. Foust's 28 free passes are the sixth most in the league. He has posted a 1-3 record in five road starts, posting a 5.79 ERA over 18.2 innings of work. At Medlar Field at Lubrano Park he is 1-1 with a 1.71 ERA in five outings. Earlier this year, Foust made two starts against the Batavia Muckdogs but did not get any decisions. Over his 9.1 innings of work, he allowed two runs on five hits while walking five and striking out 11. While at Nebraska, Foust split time between the bullpen and the starting rotation during his junior year. The Overland Park, Kansas native went 2-4 with seven saves in 27 games.

MUCKDOGS STARTING PITCHER: RHP BLAKE KING will make the start for Batavia tonight. King comes from an interesting bloodline, as his great-uncle is New York Yankee legend Mickey Mantle. He was selected in the 44th round of the 2005 MLB draft but did not sign his first contract until May of 2006 after playing one year at Eastern Oklahoma JC as a draft and follow for the Cardinals. In 2006, Rookie made his professional debut with the Johnson City Cardinals, going 4-3 with a 3.02 ERA. In 62.2 innings of work he allowed only 37 hits while striking out 74. This year, King started with the Swing of the Quad Cities in the Midwest League, posting a 2-3 record in 19 games. The 20 year old moved to Batavia in early July and has gone 1-3 with a 4.11 ERA in 11 outings, six of which were starts. Over his 35.0 innings of work, he has allowed 16 runs on 30 hits while walking 28 and striking out 43. In his first outing with the Muckdogs on July 2nd, King tossed 2.2 innings against State College, allowing only one hit while walking five and striking out two.

WHAT'S ON TAP: The Spikes open up a five game road swing this evening in Batavia against the Spikes former manager Mark DeJohn. The Spikes come into this evening have won their last three games and six of their last eight, while Batavia has won two in a row but are only 4-6 in the last 10 games. Earlier this season, the Spikes took five of six from Batavia in the midst of State College's nine game winning streak. The Spikes are 29-27 and only 4.5 games behind the Auburn Doubledays in the race for the Pinckney Division crown.

LAST NIGHT'S GAME: The State College Spikes (29-27) topped the Jamestown Jammers by the score of 3-0 in a rain-shortened affair on Monday evening. As a thank you to the fans who braved the elements and saw State College win the first game of the scheduled twin bill, the Spikes will honor all tickets for Monday's game as a $3.00 coupon for any remaining 2007 regular season game. The second game of the double header will be made up on Thursday evening at 5:05 p.m. as part of a twin bill in Jamestown. Spikes starter Moises Robles (4-7) scattered two hits over his five innings of work to win his third straight. Robles has now allowed only one earned run over his last 21.1 innings of work.

BEATIN' UP BATAVIA: The Spikes come into tonight's action riding a five game winning streak against the Muckdogs, and are 5-1 during the 2007 season against Batavia. In those six games, the Spikes have outscored Batavia 34 to 18. In the previous six games, there are eight Spikes players hitting over .350 against the new Single-A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. James Barksdale (.444), Justin Byler (.444), Matt Cavagnaro (.357), Marcus Davis (.400), Austin McClune (.417), Smelin Perez (.389), Nick Stillwagon (.357) and Andrew Walker (.400) are all hitting above this level. SS Michael Ambrose who has since been promoted to Hickory was hitting .625 against the Muckdogs.

WALKER'S ON A WARPATH: Spikes catcher Andrew Walker has been swinging the hottest bat in the Spikes lineup over his last ten games. Walker, who has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games, has raised his average from .261 to .323. Over that span, Walker is hitting .444 (19-for-40) with seven multi-hit games. Over his lat five starts, the numbers are even more impressive as he is 10-for-16, good for a .625 average, with three walks and seven RBI. Walker has a .685 on-base percentage over that stretch.

SIMON SAYS: OF Keanon Simon ranks third in the NYPL with a .348 batting average (46-for-132). Since July 15, the 25th round selection from Oklahoma State has raised his batting average from .222 to .348. In the last seven games, Simon is hitting 15-for-31 with 10 runs scored. In his last 22 games, he has 11 multi-hit performances. The reason for Simon's success can be traced back to his success on the road. Simon is hitting .469 (30-for-64) as a visitor, and is currently in the midst of a 16-game road hitting streak. Over that span he has a .507 on-base percentage.

JUSTIN-CREDIBLE: Spikes 1B Justin Byler has been the most consistent offensive threat for the Spikes during the 2007 season. The 36th round selection in 2006 is eighth in the league with a .321 batting average, leads the Spikes with 33 runs scored, 61 hits, 15 doubles, 20 extra base hits and 29 RBI. The Gulf Coast Community College product has hit in 17 of his 21 games. Over his last five starts, Byler is hitting .421 (8-for-19) with five runs scored. The 22-year old is hitting an astounding .372 when leading off an inning and .291 with runners on base.

DUKE ON THE D.L: In order to make room for newly arrived Kyle McPherson, the Spikes have placed Duke Welker on the disabled list. Welker left his last start on July 16th after one inning with soreness in his forearm. An examination showed no damage to ligaments and Welker is considered day-to-day.

SWEET SEVENTEEN: Beginning on August 10th, and running through August 27th, the Spikes will play 17 straight games against teams under .500. So far the Spikes are 5-2 during this stretch with the 10 games still remaining. This evening while the Spikes are playing in Batavia, the Scrappers and Doubledays, the two teams that the Spikes are chasing, will play the first of two games in Mahoning Valley.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: PITTSBURGH (53-70) won at Colorado 4-2 in extra innings. Freddy Sanchez went 2-for-5 with two RBI, including a go-ahead single in the tenth to give the Buccos the win ... INDIANAPOLIS (66-62) won at Toledo 6-3 in 10 innings. Andrew McCutchen went 3-for-5 with a steal and is now hitting .412 at Triple-A ... ALTOONA (64-61) lost at Reading 10-0. The Curve have now lost five games in a row and are now 6.5 games out of the Wild Card race in the Eastern League's Southern Division ... LYNCHBURG (53-68) had a scheduled off day ... HICKORY (61-62) lost at Lakewood, 5-1. Albert Laboy went 3-for-4 in the losing effort ... BRADENTON (22-29) beat the GCL Red Sox 8-1. Quincy Latimore, the Pirates' 4th round selection in 2007, went 2-for-4 with a triple, walk and RBI


• Discuss this story on the New York-Penn League message board...

New York-Penn League Stories from August 21, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central