Top picks hit mound for first time as Spikes stumble

By Guy Cipriano

UNIVERSITY PARK — One pitch into the professional debut of Phillip Irwin, plate umpire Tim Rosso called a balk on the State College Spikes reliever for licking his fingers and placing them directly on the ball.

CDT/Christopher Weddle

Spikes pitcher Victor Black throws against a Mahoning Valley batter on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. CDT/Christopher Weddle

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That was the only thing to slow down the right-hander.

Still, something else sticky occurred Tuesday against Mahoning Valley: The Spikes stopped sending hard-throwing right-handers to the mound.

Thud-inducing professional debuts by hulking right-handers Irwin and Victor Black were spoiled when the Scrappers scored six runs during the final three innings to escape Medlar Field at Lubrano Park with a 6-4 victory.

The loss prevented the Spikes (5-7) from winning their second straight series and reaching .500 more than two games into a season for the first time since Aug. 23, 2007.

To result-interested observers, the night qualifies as a failure. To future-predicting observers, the night represents a success.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, after all, officially added two pitchers whose fastball touches the mid-90s into their system.

“I was real happy with the way they threw,” manager Gary Robinson said. “We knew they have good arms, but it looks like they have a feel for the plate, too.”

Irwin, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound 21st-round pick from Mississippi, pitched a perfect fifth. Black, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound supplemental first-round selection from Dallas Baptist, pitched a perfect sixth.

Irwin struck out two. Black struck out two. Both induced a groundout.

They served as the perfect compliment to starter Jason Erickson, a crafty 24th-round pick from Washington, who allowed one hit in four innings during a successful first professional start.

“I knew they were going to do good,” said Erickson, who has not allowed a run in 10 professional innings. “They obviously had to be jacked up for their first pro outings.”

The adrenaline going through both pitchers showed on the right-field radar gun.

Irwin’s first pitch touched 93. He proceeded to strike out John Allman, a 24-year-old minor-league

veteran, with a deft curve-ball. He then struck out Tim Palinscar with a 91 mph fastball at the knees. Irwin’s night ended with Kyle Smith bouncing a fastball to second baseman Brock Holt.

Ten of Irwin’s 14 pitches were strikes. The balk called with nobody on base by Rosso was responsible for one of Irwin’s balls.

“I just planned on going out there, filling up the zone and challenging them with the fastball,” said Irwin, who went 8-3 with a 3.84 ERA against Southeastern Conference competition this season. “I got ahead of guys, and I was fortunate enough to get some good outs.’

Black, who warmed-up beside Irwin, started his professional career by throwing a 93 mph fastball to Juan Aponte that missed the strike zone high. Black fell behind Aponte 2-0, but settled and struck him out with a fastball that touched 95. His outing ended with Lurvin Basabe missing a 94 mph fastball thrown outside the zone.

All 12 pitches thrown by Black were fastballs. Eight went for strikes.

“It was good,” said Black, who struck out 99 batters in 882/ 3 innings as a junior at Dallas Baptist. “I had nerves

in the bullpen and after that I seemed to settle down a little bit. It was just the same thing I have been doing the last few years.”

Irwin and Black’s outings should lengthen as the summer progresses and both pitchers said they will eventually move to piggyback roles.

The Spikes could have used a few more innings from the duo Tuesday.

Left-hander Mike Williams replaced Black and allowed three hits, a walk and four runs in 12/ 3 innings. Only one run was earned because third baseman Pat Irvine committed an error on a ball hit by Smith to begin the eighth. Ted Fallon, a 39th-round pick from South Carolina- Upstate, replaced Williams with two outs in the inning and walked Kyle Bellows before allowing a two-run single to Jason Smit.

Palinscar led off the ninth with a triple to right-center and scored the game-winning run on Jordan Henry’s two-run single off Fallon. Mahoning Valley recorded six of its seven hits and coaxed four walks off Williams and Fallon to take the series.

“I expected to get at least two out of three,” Mahoning Valley manager Travis Fryman said. “That’s what I felt coming in here. They have a good ballclub, but I felt like we were a better club than they were. They gave us a good series and we were fortunate to win that ballgame.”

Once again, the Spikes offense stalled during the second half of a game. After touching 18-year-old right-hander Clayton Cook for three runs and four hits in the fourth, the Spikes recorded one hit — a ninth-inning, two-out double by Irvine — during the final five innings. The Spikes scored just one run after the fourth inning during the three-game series.

“I know exactly what it is,” Robinson said. “It’s just the players’ immaturity. But it’s human nature. You have a tendency when you get a four-spot or five-spot without even thinking to get away from playing the team offense that you have to play to score runs.”

Aaron Baker, an 11th-round draft pick from Oklahoma, started at designated hitter and went 1-for-3 with a triple and walk in his professional debut. Baker’s triple hit the top of the center-field wall. Butch Biela added a double.