NYPL State College Spikes

State College Spikes Game Notes - July 18 vs. Batavia

July 18, 2015 - New York-Penn League (NYPL)
State College Spikes News Release


Saturday, July 18 - 7:05 p.m.

Medlar Field at Lubrano Park - University Park, PA

BATAVIA MUCKDOGS - Miami Marlins (8-18) at

STATE COLLEGE SPIKES - St. Louis Cardinals (13-13)

Game #27 / Home Game #15

Starting Pitchers:

State College - RHP Juan Perez (2-1, 3.66)

Batavia - LHP Brett Lilek (0-1, 6.48)

TONIGHT (7:05 p.m. vs. Batavia): Rowan Wick Home Run King Poster Giveaway (First 1,000 Fans, All Ages) presented by Penn State Hershey Medical Group...Central PA Fod Bank Food Drive Night/Upward Bound Night...Lion Country Kia Plinko...Girl Scout Night...National Penn Bank Books & Baseball Night...Clearfield County Night featuring FREE Kids Zone!...Post-Game Kids Run the Bases presented by Clinical Outcomes Group, Inc.

TOMORROW NIGHT (6:05 p.m. vs. Batavia): Corey Feldman Appearance presented by Comcast Spotlight featuring Post-Game Musical Performance by Corey and his Angels...FIREWORKS and NYPL Championship Flag Giveaway (First 1,000 Fans, All Ages), presented by Northwest...Kids Day presented by First National Bank...Kids Eat & Play Free presented by Dairy Queen Grill & Chill...Pre-Game Catch on the Field (5:00-5:30)...Post-Game Kids Run the Bases presented by Clinical Outcomes Group, Inc.

-SPIKES BACK HOME TO FACE MUCKDOGS: Tonight, the State College Spikes continue their 10th Season as they face the Batavia Muckdogs for the first time this season. The matchup begins a three-game series between the two teams at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, and starts a slate of 12 meetings between the two clubs during the 2015 season. State College is 45-45 against Batavia over the last nine seasons, with a 24-22 mark against the Muckdogs in games played at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Spikes are now 12-8 over their last 20 games and 6-4 over their last 10 games after starting the season 1-5.

-LAST GAME: The Spikes saw their three-game winning streak and four-game string of wins on the road both go by the boards as the West Virginia Black Bears took a 7-3 decision on Friday night at Monongalia County Ballpark. Jose Godoy was the lone Spikes player with multiple hits as the Spikes were held to just six hits on the evening. Godoy's second-inning double led to the first State College run, as he scored on R.J. Dennard's single two batters later. West Virginia took control of the game after that, starting with Kevin Newman's two-run homer in the third. It was the first professional home run for Newman, the first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015. The Spikes would mount a token rally in the seventh inning when Leobaldo Pina doubled and came in to score on a groundout by Elier Rodriguez, and another in the ninth when Rodriguez brought in Cole Lankford with a sacrifice fly.

-PEREZ HITS THE HILL FOR SPIKES: Right-hander Juan Perez gets the ball for State College tonight in his fifth start of the 2015 NYPL season. Perez went four innings in his last outing for a no-decision against Tri-City, allowing four runs, three of them earned, on four hits and five walks. The righty has issued 11 walks this season and struck out nine batters over 19 2/3 innings. Perez, a native of San Felipe, Venezuela, has yielded just a .190 average to runners in scoring position this season.

-MUCKDOGS GO WITH LILEK ON MOUND: Left-hander Brett Lilek gets the start for Batavia in his fifth professional appearance. The Marlins' 2015 second-round draft choice out of Arizona State, Lilek threw six straight scoreless innings to start his pro career before allowing six runs on six hits and two walks to Hudson Valley on Sunday. The southpaw went 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA in 17 appearances for the Sun Devils this spring and was a three-time All-Pac-12 selection, including First Team honors in 2014.

-GRAYSON DELIVERING BIG NUMBERS: Casey Grayson saw both his 23-game on-base streak and 14-game hitting streak come to a close, but is still at or near the top of several leaderboards in the New York-Penn League. The University of Houston product is second in the NYPL in batting average with a .379 mark, and his .455 on-base percentage is tops in the league. Grayson also occupies spots in the top five in hits (1st, 33), RBI (T-3rd, 20) and runs scored (T-5th, 17)

-HELLO AGAIN: Spikes fans will see a pair of familiar faces for the Muckdogs in this series, as former coach Steven Suarez and former pitcher Ryan Hafner are part of the Batavia roster. Suarez served as a coach for the Spikes from 2008-10 under managers Brad Fischer and Gary Robinson. Hafner spent the 2011 season with the Spikes, posting a 3.15 ERA that was second-best on the team behind Nick Kingham, then made seven appearances with State College in 2012.

-SPIKE MARKS: Catcher Brian O'Keefe, who helped the Spikes win the 2014 New York-Penn League championship, was promoted to Single-A Peoria on Saturday...Catcher Riley Drongesen, who signed with the Cardinals as a non-drafted free agent in 2015 out of Menlo College in California, was called up from Johnson City to replace him.

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New York-Penn League Stories from July 18, 2015


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