NYPL State College Spikes

Spikes Blast off to End ValleyCats' String with 7-2 Victory

Published on July 4, 2012 under New York-Penn League (NYPL)
State College Spikes News Release


TROY, NY - The State College Spikes produced an array of offensive fireworks on Wednesday night, as Barrett Barnes collected four hits and an inside-the-park home run, D.J. Crumlich and Walker Gourley both homered over the fence, and the Spikes put up a season-high 15 hits to end the Tri-City ValleyCats' winning streak at 11 games with a 7-2 victory at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium.

Barnes's two-run round-tripper in the third inning occurred when Tri-City (13-4) left fielder Dan Gulbransen leapt against the left field wall to try and make a catch, but fell to the ground with the ball bouncing away after knocking the top portions of the wall into both the ValleyCats bullpen and the warning track. The game marked the second time this season that Barnes, the Pirates' 2012 supplemental first-round draft choice, delivered four hits in a game as he went 4-for-4 with a walk, a double and two runs scored.

State College (9-8) suffered an early setback when Tri-City second baseman Aaron Elkins led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run to right field off of Spikes starter Adrian Sampson. However, Sampson settled down and allowed just two walks the rest of the way and retired the last seven batters he faced over his three innings on the mound.

The Spikes then tied the game in the third inning when Crumlich knocked in a run with a single to left field. After Barnes scurried around the bases to give State College its first lead of the game in the third, the Spikes added another run in the sixth inning on an RBI groundout by Samuel Gonzalez.

Crumlich extended the State College advantage in the seventh inning with his first professional home run. The UC-Irvine product sent a 1-0 pitch from ValleyCats reliever John Neely over the left field fence for a solo shot that made it 5-1, Spikes. Crumlich ended the game 3-for-5 at the plate with a run scored as well as two runs batted in.

Tri-City, the highest-scoring team in the New York-Penn League coming into Wednesday's game at nearly six runs per game, made a late surge with three base hits to plate another run in the eighth inning. Gourley answered for State College, though, with a two-run blast to left field to give the Spikes some insurance and finish the scoring.

Chris Diaz added two doubles for the Spikes in the victory.

Pat Ludwig (1-0) earned his first professional win in relief for the Spikes. The Pirates' 2012 10th-round draft pick allowed just one hit and struck out two batters in two innings on the mound following Sampson. The Spikes combined for ten strikeouts as a staff in the game, the most in any single contest this year.

ValleyCats starter Joe Bircher (0-1) took the loss after yielding three runs on ten hits and striking out two batters over 3 2/3 innings. Bircher was ejected by home plate umpire Tim Hromada when he threw a pitch behind Gonzalez that glanced off of his shoulder one batter after allowing the inside-the-park home run to Barnes.

Thursday, the Spikes look to clinch a series victory on the road when they face the ValleyCats in a 7 p.m. game at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium. State College will send left-hander Joely Rodriguez (0-0) to the mound, while Tri-City counters with right-hander Brady Rodgers (1-0), who holds an ERA of 0.93 over his first two starts of the season.

The Spikes will return home to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Wednesday, July 11 to start a six-game homestand with a 7:05 p.m matchup against the Staten Island Yankees (New York Yankees). Fans will be able to get into the park with half-price Outfield Bleacher tickets and quaff half-price fountain drinks and half-price select domestic drafts on Half-Price Wednesday, presented by BIG Froggy 101.

Plus, health care professionals from across the region will be celebrated on Health Care Appreciation Night, and the Spikes will attempt to emulate the weird wackiness of game shows from the Land of the Rising Sun on Japanese Game Show Night.

Tickets for all six games in the July 11-16 homestand against the Yankees and the Brooklyn Cyclones (New York Mets), as well as every Spikes regular season home game in 2012, 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 Thursday via the Spikes Radio Network, presented by Penn State Sports Medicine, at 6:45 p.m. with the Spikes GameDay Show live from Joseph L. Bruno 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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