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NYPL State College Spikes

Spikes Win Fourth Straight, Defeat Scrappers, 4-3

September 1, 2017 - New York-Penn League (NYPL)
State College Spikes News Release


NILES, OH - For the fourth straight night, the State College Spikes rallied late to win as Yariel Gonzalez knocked in his third run of the game with a two-out single in the ninth to give the Spikes a 4-3 victory over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers on Thursday night at Eastwood Field.

The win enabled the Spikes (38-31) to climb to within 1 1/2 games of the Scrappers (39-29) in the New York-Penn League Pinckney Division race with seven games remaining in the regular season. State College also drew within two games of Hudson Valley in the race for the NYPL's lone Wild Card berth.

Gonzalez, the NYPL's leader in runs batted in, knocked in three of the Spikes' runs and collected three hits, including a pair of doubles. The former non-drafted free agent's first two-base hit came with two outs in the fifth inning, and plated two runs to tie the game.

State College trailed 3-0 in the fifth before scoring three runs to match Mahoning Valley, but the surge nearly came to a halt before it began. With one out, Brandon Benson hit a sinking line drive to center field that was originally ruled to have been caught, resulting in a double play.

However, after a conference among the umpires, the ruling was changed to a base hit, setting up Scott Hurst's sacrifice fly to put State College on the board and leading to Gonzalez's game-tying double.

In the ninth, Benson reached base on an infield single, with an error on the play sending him to second. After a one-out wild pitch moved him to third, Benson scored on Gonzalez's two-out single to center field to put the Spikes ahead for good.

Mahoning Valley had taken the opening lead of the game on Simeon Lucas's sacrifice fly in the second inning. Will Benson then drove in the Scrappers' second run with a single in the third, and came in to score himself on Jesse Berardi's single in the same frame.

Spikes starter Johan Oviedo allowed three runs, two of them earned, on seven hits and four walks over five innings. Oviedo also struck out four batters in the effort before giving way to Levi MaVorhis (1-1). MaVorhis notched his first win of the year with three scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out six batters in the process.

Jason Zgardowski (2) struck out the side in order in the ninth inning for the save.

Scrappers reliever Kyle Nelson (3-2) took the loss after entering the game in the ninth inning and allowing the go-ahead run, which was unearned. Nelson gave up two hits and recorded one strikeout.

The win was the Spikes' seventh of the season in their final at-bat, and third in a row.

Friday, State College will seek to gain another game in the Pinckney Division standings with a 7:05 p.m. matchup against Mahoning Valley at Eastwood Field. The middle game of the crucial three-game set will pit Spikes right-hander Jonathon Mulford (2-5) against Scrappers left-hander Sam Hentges (0-1).

Following the series in Ohio, the Spikes will then come home on Sunday, September 3 to start the last homestand of the regular season.

The five-game run at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park from September 3-7 includes LuCKy's KIA Giveaway with one "LuCKy" fan guaranteed to drive away a winner with a KIA from Lion Country Kia, plus a pair of FIREWORKS shows, Fan Appreciation Night also presented by Lion Country Kia, Bark in the Park on "Lab-or Day," THON Night and a Jesse James Bobblehead Giveaway presented by The Nittany Lion Inn and The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel.

Tickets for each of the five games in the Spikes' final regular season homestand of the year are currently on sale through the Spikes Ticket Office by calling (814) 272-1711 or by visiting in person. Fans can also buy and download single-game tickets by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.

Catch all of the action on Friday via the Spikes Radio Network, presented by Penn State Sports Medicine, Official Healthcare Provider of Penn State Athletics, at 6:50 p.m. with Spikes Live, presented by Mount Nittany Health, on the air from Eastwood Field. The Spikes' radio broadcast can also be heard worldwide through the "Listen Live" link on StateCollegeSpikes.com, provided by the club's flagship radio home, Newsradio 1390 WRSC, as well as the TuneIn Radio app.

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New York-Penn League Stories from September 1, 2017


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.

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