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State College Spikes

Valera Delivers Walk-Off Winner as Spikes Top Doubledays, 2-1

July 27, 2013 - New York-Penn League (NYPL)
State College Spikes News Release


STATE COLLEGE, PA - Cesar Valera's bases-loaded walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth, his fourth hit of the game, gave the State College Spikes a 2-1 victory over the Auburn Doubledays on Saturday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

Valera's four-hit game was his second of the season after a 4-for-6 night on June 18 at Williamsport. The State College (20-18) shortstop upped his average to .302 on the year, becoming the fifth Spikes regular to crack the .300 barrier.

State College trailed 1-0 going into the ninth, but got its rally started with Luke Voit's one-out infield single. Michael Schulze then ran for Voit and moved to second on Matthew Young's walk. Steven Ramos followed with another infield single to load the bases and set up Luis Perez's game-tying hit by pitch. On the very first pitch he saw, Valera stroked a base hit to right field to score Young and win the game.

It was the second straight Saturday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park to feature a Spikes walk-off win, coming one week after David Washington delivered a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to beat Connecticut.

The Spikes also raised over $5,000 for the Children's Miracle Network during the game with the Jersey-off-the-Back Auction of their special 1980's Cardinals-style throwback uniforms worn for the night. Special guest Josiah Viera, a Children's Miracle Network Miracle Kid, helped lead the Spikes to victory as he spent the whole game in the State College dugout.

The Spikes' bats had largely been stifled until the ninth, with just six hits over the first eight innings. State College did leave seven runners on base over the sixth through eighth frames, but the Spikes were unable to score until the late rally.

Jacob Booden (1-0) earned his first Spikes victory in relief with two scoreless innings in which he struck out five while allowing one hit and one walk. State College starter Arturo Reyes was also effective, yielding just one run on four hits and two walks while striking out two over five innings of work.

Auburn (12-27) reliever L.J. Hollins (0-2) took the loss after allowing both Spikes runs on a total of four hits, one hit batsman and two walks, one of them intentional, over one inning on the mound. Austin Voth started for the Doubledays and tossed five shutout innings with six strikeouts. Voth gave up two hits during his tenure on the mound.

Wilman Rodriguez went 3-for-4 and scored Auburn's only run on an RBI double by Jimmy Yezzo in the second inning.

With the win, the Spikes swept the two-game mini-series from the Doubledays and moved to 11-3 in their last 14 home games.

State College will look to bring some of that momentum with them on the road as they head to Dwyer Stadium to meet the Batavia Muckdogs (Miami Marlins) in the first game of a two-game series on Sunday. The 5:05 p.m. matchup will feature right-hander Willy Paulino (2-1) on the mound for the Spikes against Batavia right-hander Max Garner (0-1).

Following the pair of games in Batavia, the Spikes come back home for a six-game homestand starting on Tuesday night and running through Sunday, August 4. State College will welcome the Tri-City ValleyCats (Houston Astros) and Vermont Lake Monsters (Oakland Athletics) to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, with a variety of family fun in store for fans.

The slate of activities includes the Matt Adams Bobble Head Giveaway to the first 1,000 fans, presented by Beer Belly's and East Coast Health & Fitness, at Wednesday's 7:05 p.m. game against Tri-City. Plus, the Spikes will hold one of the most special nights of the year on Saturday, August 3 with Paint the Park Pink Night presented by Mount Nittany Health, 95.3 FM 3WZ and the Centre Daily Times.

Tickets for all six games of the homestand, as well as every Spikes home game on the 2013 slate, are currently on sale through the Spikes Box Office by calling (814) 272-1711 or by visiting in person. Fans can also buy and print single-game tickets by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.

Catch all of the action on Sunday via the Spikes Radio Network, presented by Penn State Sports Medicine, at 4:50 p.m. with Spikes Live, presented by Mount Nittany Health, on the air from Dwyer Stadium. The Spikes' radio broadcast can also be heard worldwide through the "Listen Live" link on StateCollegeSpikes.com, provided by 95.3 FM 3WZ.

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