NYPL State College Spikes

State College Spikes Game Notes - September 1 at Williamsport

Published on September 1, 2014 under New York-Penn League (NYPL)
State College Spikes News Release


Monday, September 1 - 1:05 p.m.

Susquehanna Bank Park at Historic Bowman Field - Williamsport, PA

STATE COLLEGE SPIKES - St. Louis Cardinals (47-28) at

WILLIAMSPORT CROSSCUTTERS - Philadelphia Phillies (33-42)

Game #76 / Road Game #38

Starting Pitchers:

State College - LHP Austin Gomber (1-2, 2.70)

Williamsport - RHP Feliberto Sanchez (3-8, 5.27)

FOUR-GAME PLAYOFF PACKS ARE NOW ON SALE! PLAYOFFS BEGIN WEDNESDAY NIGHT!

THE SPIKES' "HUNT FOR IT ALL" IS PRESENTED BY THE CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU, LION COUNTRY KIA & HRI, INC. !

-PINCKNEY DIVISION CHAMPION SPIKES FINISH REGULAR SEASON: The State College Spikes play their regular season finale today at Susquehanna Bank Park at Historic Bowman FIeld as they seek home-field advantage in the New York-Penn League playoffs, which begin on Wednesday. Depending on today's results, it is possible for the Spikes to be seeded anywhere from first to third in the four-team playoff format. The Spikes will host Game 1 of the first-round Semifinal Series on Wednesday if they are the third seed, and will host Game 2 on Thursday plus a possible Game 3 on Friday with the first or second seed. The Spikes are 9-2 against the Crosscutters this year, with a 3-2 record at Williamsport. State College leads the all-time series, 55-52, with a 24-29 record at Susquehanna Bank Park at Historic Bowman Field.

-LAST GAME: Luis Cruz drilled a three-run home run in the eighth inning after his sixth-inning single tied the game, helping the State College Spikes to stay in a tie for the top playoff seed in the New York-Penn League with a 5-1 victory over the Williamsport Crosscutters on Sunday evening at Susquehanna Bank Park at Historic Bowman Field.

With the win, the Spikes matched Tri-City's win over Vermont to keep the top seed deadlocked with one game remaining, with Hudson Valley now a full game back after a rain-shortened 4 1/2-inning loss.

Cruz, who scored the game-winning run for the Spikes in the bottom of the 15th inning early Sunday morning against Batavia to end the longest game in franchise history, smashed his second homer of the year down the left-field line off Williamsport reliever Ricky Bielski to end the scoring against the Crosscutters.

State College had taken the lead in the seventh inning when 2014 team MVP Danny Diekroeger doubled to score Darren Seferina and make it a 2-1 game. Diekroeger, Cruz and Alex De Leon all collected three hits for the Spikes, who compiled 14 hits as a team. Brett Wiley also produced two doubles for State College.

-GOMBER TO START FOR SPIKES: Left-hander Austin Gomber makes his 11th start as a professional for the Spikes today. Gomber earned his first professional win last time out on Wednesday against Williamsport as he tossed seven scoreless innings and yielded just four hits while striking out seven to set a new career-best mark. The Cardinals' 2014 fourth-round draft choice out of Florida Atlantic last pitched in Williamsport on June 28, taking the loss after allowing five runs, one earned, over two innings. Gomber is 0-1 with a 4.00 ERA over three road starts this year, the last on August 8 at Lowell.

-SANCHEZ MAKES START FOR CROSSCUTTERS: Right-hander Feliberto Sanchez makes his 11th start of the year and 14th overall appearance for Williamsport in today's regular season finale. Sanchez has faced the Spikes twice this year, losing both starts and giving up six runs on 12 hits and four walks over 8 2/3 innings for a 6.23 ERA. The native Dominican has gone at least five innings in each of his last six starts, and lasted a season-long 5 2/3 innings at Batavia last time out, earning the win.

-SPIKES SET RECORDS ON SATURDAY: The State College Spikes welcomed a franchise record 6,066 fans to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for the regular season home finale, then treated them to a walk-off win in the 15th inning as they defeated the Batavia Muckdogs, 12-11, in the longest game in club history on Saturday night. The single-game attendance mark bettered the previous record of 5,836, set during the 2011 Home Opener against Williamsport, and marked the sixth time this season that over the Spikes welcomed over 5,000 fans to a game. The large crowd saw a slugfest between the Spikes and Muckdogs that lasted exactly five hours, topping the previous record of four hours, 26 minutes set on July 25, 2006 when the Spikes lost to Hudson Valley at home, 7-6. The 14 innings the Spikes played that night were also the most the team played in a single game until Saturday.

-SPIKES NAME AWARD WINNERS: The State College Spikes announced their 2014 year-end award winners in a ceremony prior to Saturday's regular season home finale against the Batavia Muckdogs at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Infielder Danny Diekroeger won the Spikes Most Valuable Player Award, while right-hander Will Anderson earned the Spikes Pitcher of the Year Award. Outfielder Nick Thompson was named the Spikes Leadership and Community Service Award winner.

-SPIKE MARKS: The Spikes lead the NYPL in runs scored at 392, run differential at +121, and home runs at 54, with Tri-City placing second in all three categories...Kyle Grana's 13.72 strikeouts per nine innings are the second-most among NYPL relievers, and his 62 total whiffs are fourth-most in the league...Danny Diekroeger's Spikes-record 21-game hitting streak came to an end Thursday as he went 0-for-4 in the game...Grana and Nick Lomascolo are tied for the most pitching appearances in the NYPL with 27 apiece...Nick Thompson leads the NYPL in on-base percentage with a .398 mark

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New York-Penn League Stories from September 1, 2014


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