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NYPL State College Spikes

State College Spikes Game Notes - August 31 at Mahoning Valley

August 31, 2015 - New York-Penn League (NYPL)
State College Spikes News Release


Monday, August 31 - 7:05 p.m.

Eastwood Field - Niles, OH

STATE COLLEGE SPIKES - St. Louis Cardinals (35-33) at

MAHONING VALLEY SCRAPPERS - Cleveland Indians (30-37)

Game #69 / Road Game #36

Starting Pitchers:

State College - RHP Jorge Rodriguez (4-4, 3.63)

Mahoning Valley - RHP Kieran Lovegrove (1-6, 5.98)

WEDNESDAY NIGHT (7:05 p.m. vs. Batavia): Half-Price Wednesday presented by BIG Froggy 101...PSU Homecoming Night...Back to the Future Night...Tech Night...Post-Game Kids Run the Bases presented by Clinical Outcomes Group, Inc....College 3-2-1 Special

THURSDAY NIGHT (7:05 p.m. vs. Batavia): $1 Beer Thursday presented by 93.7 THE BUS...FIREWORKS Night...THON Night...Live Music by StressBusters Entertainment...Post-Game Kids Run the Bases presented by Clinical Outcomes Group, Inc....College 3-2-1 Special

PLAYOFF PACKS NOW AVAILABLE AT (814) 272-1711 AND AT SPIKES BOX OFFICE - The Hunt Reloaded presented by Lion Country Kia, HRI and the Central PA Convention & Visitors Bureau

-SPIKES IN MAHONING VALLEY FOR CRUCIAL SERIES: The State College Spikes, who are now tied for third in the New York-Penn League Wild Card race a game back of West Virginia, continue their 10th Season this evening with the third game of a four-game series against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers at Eastwood Field. State College is now behind McNamara Division co-leaders Hudson Valley and Staten Island in the Wild Card race, with each of those clubs a half-game back The Spikes shut out the Scrappers in back-to-back games on June 26-27 at Eastwood Field, and are 6-1 against Mahoning Valley this year. All-time, the Spikes are 51-46 against the Scrappers, with a 20-29 mark in games played in Ohio.

-LAST GAMES: The Spikes battled back to earn a 4-3 win in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers at Eastwood Field, after the Scrappers took the first game, 12-5. Mike Pritchard's two-run, bases-loaded single in the seventh and final inning allowed the Spikes to erase a one-run deficit in the nightcap and split the twin bill against Mahoning Valley. Pritchard, who also notched multiple hits in the first game of the doubleheader, completed a comeback made necessary when Austin Fisher doubled down the first-base line to plate two runs in the sixth inning. In the first game, Casey Grayson and Orlando Olivera each smashed home runs, but the Scrappers' 10-run first inning was too much for the Spikes to overcome. The Scrappers sent 14 batters to the plate and produced nine hits, five for extra bases, in the opening frame. The 10 runs were the most ever scored by a Spikes opponent in a single inning.

-SPIKES GO WITH RODRIGUEZ THIS EVENING: State College will send right-hander Jorge Rodriguez to the mound for his 13th start of the season. Rodriguez tossed five scoreless frames against Mahoning Valley in his last visit to Eastwood Field on June 20, and has allowed one run to the Scrappers in 11 total innings against them this season. The San Cristobal, Dominican Republic product has a 3-1 record and a 1.64 ERA on the road, and just had a 24-inning scoreless streak away from home dashed on Wednesday by Williamsport, the team that dealt the righty his first road loss of the year.

-LOVEGROVE HEADS TO HILL FOR SCRAPPERS: Mahoning Valley right-hander Kieran Lovegrove will make his 13th start of the season tonight as he starts for the Scrappers. Lovegrove allowed three runs over six innings in a quality start at State College on August 9, but took the loss. That outing was his longest of the season. The Johannesburg, South Africa native yielded nine runs, five of them earned, on seven hits and two walks over 2 2/3 innings last time out at Auburn on Wednesday. Lovegrove has struck out 33 batters, but has walked 28, with lefties reaching base at a .436 clip against him.

-MARTIN EARNS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD: Spikes Athletic Trainer Dan Martin has been named the New York-Penn League Athletic Trainer of the Year by the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS). The award is given annually to one member of each of the 16 leagues in Minor League Baseball, as well as one award for the Dominican Summer League, with an additional award is given to the Minor League Coordinator of the Year. Martin is now eligible for the Minor League Trainer of the Year award as well, which will be given at the 2015 Winter Meetings in Nashville, TN.

-GRAYSON GOING BACK TO THE TOP: Spikes infielder Casey Grayson now has two homers and a triple to go with his team-leading 16 doubles. Grayson is now third in the New York-Penn League in batting average with a .318 mark, and his .426 on-base percentage is second in the league. The University of Houston product is also leading the NYPL with 70 hits, and is tops in the loop with 42 walks.

-SPIKE MARKS: Pedro Echemendia is first in the NYPL with 24 appearances, and is fourth in saves with 10...Echemendia also leads the Spikes with six wins on the mound, and his 10 saves are the most for any Spikes pitcher since Ronald Uviedo posted a franchise record 12 saves in 2007 ...Mike Pritchard is tied for third in the NYPL with 40 runs scored, and has struck out just once every 10.88 plate appearances, the second-best ratio in the league...Luke Harrison has walked just 0.92 batters per nine innings, the best mark among NYPL relief pitchers

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