State College Spikes thrill in victory over Cyclones
The State College Spikes treated the bases like a merry-go-round Saturday evening, drubbing the Brooklyn Cyclones 12-1 in the shadow of Coney Island Amusement Park.
The Spikes (15-10) pounded out a dozen hits, led by Yariel Gonzalez’s 3 for 5 day, and took command with a seven-run sixth inning to extend their win streak to four games.
The game marked the fourth time this season State College had hit double figures in runs, and the second time in the last four games. During the current win streak the team has racked up 33 runs.
Ricardo Bautista added a pair of hits, including a triple and two RBIs, and Evan Mendoza was 2 for 3 and scored three runs in the game at MCU Park.
They helped back a stellar effort by Andrew Summerville (1-0) for his first pro win in his first pro start. The St. Louis Cardinals’ 12th-round draft pick out of Stanford in June struck out two, walked two and gave up four hits in five shutout innings.
Levi MaVorhis and Robert Calvano took care of the final three innings, with Calvano allowing the only run in the ninth. A single by Scott Manea plated the run.
The big sixth inning saw the Spikes send 11 batters to the plate and collect five hits. Gonzalez started the scoring with an RBI double, followed by a two-run single for Bautista, an RBI single for Caleb Lopes, an RBI double for J.D. Crowe and RBI groundouts for Scott Hurst and Mendoza.
State College also picked up a pair of runs scoring on wild pitches in the first and seventh innings and Joe Gomez had an RBI ground out in the eighth.
Mike Gibbons (0-2 with Brooklyn), making a start on a rehab assignment after missing the entire 2016 season, pitched five innings and took the loss.
Player of the Game
Gonzalez had been struggling this season, with just seven hits in 11 games this season — 4 of the hits in one game in June — and entered the night batting just .184. The Spikes’ first baseman added RBI singles in the first and eighth innings as part of his 3 for 5 night to finish with three RBIs.
Up next
State College at Brooklyn, 4 p.m. Sunday: The teams wrap up the three-game series on Coney Island. Right-hander Paul Balestrieri (0-0, 5.40 ERA) makes his third pro start for the Spikes against Brooklyn lefty Gunnar Kines (1-2, 4.19 ERA). State College then returns to Pennsylvania for a three-game series with Williamsport from Monday through Wednesday, with the first two at Bowman Field.
This story was originally published July 15, 2017 at 10:11 PM with the headline "State College Spikes thrill in victory over Cyclones."