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NYPL State College Spikes

De Leon Leads Spikes' Return to Form in 5-4 Win Over Scrappers

August 13, 2014 - New York-Penn League (NYPL)
State College Spikes News Release


STATE COLLEGE, PA - Alex De Leon finished just a triple shy of the cycle as he smashed his eight home run of the year and knocked in three runs to key the State College Spikes' 5-4 victory over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers on Wednesday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

The win ended a season-long six-game string of losses for the Spikes (34-25), who remain six games in front of Batavia for the lead in the New York-Penn League Pinckney Division. State College's magic number to clinch a division crown is now down to 13 with 17 games remaining on the regular season schedule.

De Leon brought in a run with each of his first three hits, including a first-inning double and right-inning single. The Kansas product then went deep to the Pepsi Picnic Pavilion in left field in the fifth inning with a solo shot to stake the Spikes to a 5-1 lead.

Collin Radack also collected three hits, two of them on groundballs that he beat out for infield singles. Luis Cruz plated a run for State College right after De Leon's single in the third with a base hit of his own. Danny Diekroeger's sacrifice fly in the fourth scored the other Spikes run.

Mahoning Valley (25-33) fought back with a pair of runs in the third thanks to a run-scoring single by Martin Cervenka and a Taylor Murphy sacrifice fly. The Scrappers then edged within a run in the eighth after Leo Castillo knocked in Cervenka thanks to a two-out single.

However, Brandon Lee got the final two outs of the eighth inning, and Kyle Grana (5) allowed one walk while striking out two batters to pick up the save in the ninth. Grana, who was selected to Tuesday's NYPL All-Star Game this past weekend, now has 50 strikeouts on the year, putting him back in the top five in the league among all pitchers in that category.

Dewin Perez (5-1) earned his third straight win on the mound for the Spikes, going 5 1/3 innings and yielding three runs on seven hits, a walk and a hit batsman while striking out one.

Scrappers starter Sean Brady (2-4) took the loss after giving up all five State College runs, three of them earned, on ten hits and a walk. Brady also recorded two strikeouts. The left-hander had allowed just one earned run over ten innings of work in two previous starts against the Spikes.

Shane Rowland produced a pair of doubles for Mahoning Valley, including one that brought in the Scrappers' first run in the fourth inning.

Thursday, the Spikes and Scrappers finish their three-game series at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park with a 7:05 p.m. matchup. State College will send left-hander Austin Gomber (0-2) to the mound to oppose Mahoning Valley right-hander Juan Santana (0-6).

The homestand also finishes with a bang as fans can enjoy Central PA's newest Thursday night tradition, $1 Beer Night, presented by 93.7 THE BUS. Fans can purchase 12-oz. select domestic draft beers for just $1 each from 6-8 p.m. and enjoy delicious wing specials. After the game, the skies will light up with a brilliant FIREWORKS show.

In addition, one lucky fan will win a $1,000 gift certificate towards a gorgeous diamond with the Confer's Jewelers Diamond Dash after Thursday night's game on Ladies Night, as Circulatory Centers and MAJIC 99 present the night's activities.

Plus, college students across Central PA can enjoy even more value on a College Student 3-2-1 Night. The special offers any college student presenting a valid student ID at ticket and concessions windows the following special offers:

- $3 Outfield Bleacher seats or $3 off seat in any other ballpark section

- $2 medium sodas all game

- $1 hot dogs all game

Tickets for Thursday's games, as well as each of the seven remaining home games on the Spikes' 2014 regular season slate, are currently on sale through the Spikes Box Office by calling (814) 272-1711 by visiting in person. Fans can also buy and print single-game tickets by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.

Catch all of the action on Thursday via the Spikes Radio Network, presented by Penn State Sports Medicine, at 6:35 p.m. with Spikes Live, presented by Mount Nittany Health, on the air from Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Spikes' radio broadcast can also be heard worldwide through the "Listen Live" link on StateCollegeSpikes.com, provided by 95.3 FM 3WZ, and on the 3WZ mobile apps, available on Google Play and the App Store.

Check out the State College Spikes Statistics



New York-Penn League Stories from August 13, 2014


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