NYPL State College Spikes

State College Spikes Game Notes - August 8 at West Virginia

August 8, 2015 - New York-Penn League (NYPL)
State College Spikes News Release


Monongalia County Ballpark - Granville, WV

STATE COLLEGE SPIKES - St. Louis Cardinals (22-24) at

WEST VIRGINIA BLACK BEARS - Pittsburgh Pirates (24-23)

Game #47 / Road Game #24

Starting Pitchers:

State College - LHP Jacob Evans (1-1, 1/2 SV, 1.29)

West Virginia - RHP Luis Paula (3-2, 5.06)

TOMORROW NIGHT (6:05 p.m. vs. Mahoning Valley): Jerome Bettis Gold Jacket Bobblehead Giveaway (First 1,000 Fans, All Ages) pres. by The Nittany Lion Inn & The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel and ESPN Radio 1450...Jerome Bettis Gold Jacket Jersey-off-the-Back Auction pres. by PSECU to benefit Children's Miracle Network....FIREWORKS presented by PSECU...Kids Day pres. by First National Bank...Kids Eat & Play Free pres. by Dairy Queen Grill & Chill...Philipsburg-Osceola Community Night featuring FREE Kids Zone! pres. by Friends of Jake Corman...Pre-Game Catch on the Field (5:00-5:30 p.m.)...Post-Game Kids Run the Bases pres. by Clinical Outcomes Group, Inc....Veteran Appreciation Day pres. by SGT Bob & VFW Post 5825...WHVL-TV Live Game Broadcast...Chevy Youth Baseball Clinic (11 a.m.)

MONDAY, AUGUST 10 (7:05 p.m. vs. Mahoning Valley): Buck Night presented by 95.3 FM 3WZ

-SPIKES COMPLETE ROAD TRIP AGAINST BLACK BEARS: The State College Spikes continue their 10th Season tonight as they finish a three-game series against the West Virginia Black Bears with a matchup at Monongalia County Ballpark. The series ends a six-game road swing for the Spikes, who went 1-2 at Batavia to start the trip. State College is 5-3 this season against West Virginia, and took two out of three games from the Black Bears at Monongalia County Ballpark from July 15-17. The Spikes are 1 1/2 games back of the New York-Penn League Wild Card lead, with the Black Bears now less than a percentage point back as part of a crowded race.

-LAST GAME: Jesse Jenner collected a pair of hits and scored a run, but the State College Spikes were held to four hits as a team in a 4-1 loss to the West Virginia Black Bears on Friday night at Monongalia County Ballpark. Jenner crossed the plate in the third inning after becoming the first State College player to crack the hit column. The Spikes catcher then produced a leadoff single in the eighth inning to lead a brief flurry that led to State College loading the bases with two outs. However, the Spikes were unable to score in that frame. Craig Aikin delivered the single that brought in Jenner in the third, while Ronnierd Garcia's eighth-inning single was the only other State College hit. West Virginia starter Dario Agrazal earned his second win of the season against the Spikes with seven strong innings on the mound. Agrazal gave up two hits and two hit batsman while striking out two batters on the night.

-EVANS ON THE MOUND FOR SPIKES TONIGHT: Left-hander Jacob Evans gets the ball for State College tonight in his first professional start. Evans, now the lone southpaw on the Spikes' staff, has made ten relief appearances already this season, all between two and three innings. The Oklahoma product has struck out 15 batters and walked just two in his professional career. Evans has recorded seven straight scoreless innings over his last three appearances. Evans, a native of Broken Arrow, OK, was the sixth-round draft choice of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015.

-BLACK BEARS SEND PAULA TO HILL: West Virginia will put right-hander Luis Paula on the mound to start tonight's game. Paula took the loss against the Spikes in his debut appearance for the Black Bears on July 15, allowing three runs on four hits and striking out two batters in one inning of work. Paula has made four starts since then with a 3.98 ERA over 20 1/3 innings. The righty from McLeansville, NC was drafted by the Pirates in the 31st round last year out of North Carolina, and did not allow a run in four appearances at Rookie-level Bristol to begin 2015.

-FIVE SPIKES HEADED TO NYPL ALL-STAR GAME: Casey Grayson, Leobaldo Pina, Mike Pritchard, Landon Beck and Juan Perez were all selected to the South roster for the 2015 New York-Penn League All-Star Game, as announced by the league on Saturday. The quintet ties a Spikes record for most players headed to the annual showcase of future stars, last set in 2013. The All-Star Game is set to take place on Tuesday, August 18 at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium, home of the Aberdeen IronBirds.

-DICKERSON MAKES MLB DEBUT: 2011 Spike Alex Dickerson became the 29th player to go from State College to the major leagues on Thursday when he pinch-hit in the eighth inning for the San Diego Padres against the Milwaukee Brewers. Dickerson had been called up by the Padres earlier in the day.

-SPIKE MARKS: Grayson is now third in the league with a .331 batting average, and is tied for the league lead in hits with 51...Thursday's win was the first for the Spikes in extra innings this season...Pritchard is second in the league in runs scored with 31...Pina is tied for fifth in the NYPL in hits with 48...State College is 6-2 on turf this year, with a sweep of Hudson Valley and a 3-2 record at West Virginia...Beck, who has 17 strikeouts in his last 11 1/3 innings, is now second in the league in whiffs with 44...Josh Swirchak's four triples are tied for third-most in the NYPL

Check out the State College Spikes Statistics



New York-Penn League Stories from August 8, 2015


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