Spikes pitching spectacular when it was needed the most

It was 18 innings over a stretch of two days, and only one of them was anything close to bad.

The other 17 were near-perfect.

That’s how you give your team a chance to win.

The State College Spikes have seen solid work from their pitchers all season, but nothing could compare to the stretch of about 30 hours, when they had to be at their best.

In two games against the Hudson Valley Renegades in the New York-Penn League’s championship series, Spikes pitchers allowed a grand total of one run.

The capper was a 2-1 victory Monday night, clinching the franchise’s second title in three seasons.

“One run — to that club,” manager Johnny Rodriguez said on the field after the celebration. “In 18 innings, on the road and here, after a long trip.”

Jordan DeLorenzo had been coming out of the bullpen all season, but Rodriguez called on the 2014 draft pick out of the University West Florida for the most important start of the season. Aside from the first inning, he delivered. He gave up a total of four hits and two walks while striking out seven over four innings.

Despite his lack of starts, DeLorenzo wasn’t worried.

“It was definitely different to be in the playoffs and start,” DeLorenzo said. “I started all my life. I like relieving, I like starting. Whatever happens, happens.”

Miles Mastrobuoni started the game lacing a triple to center field. A walk and hit batter followed, then an infield single brought in a run.

Then DeLorenzo settled in, striking out the next two batters to escape more damage.

“Just a rough first inning for De-Lo,” catcher Jeremy Martinez said. “I was proud of him for coming out and settling down and doing what he does best. That’s the De-Lo that we know.”

DeLorenzo said after the first inning he was able to establish his changeup and slider to complement his fastball.

“Once I got out of that first inning,” said DeLorenzo, who appeared in 15 games this summer, “I knew I just had to calm down and my pitches would come.”

He gave up a single in the second, but that runner was caught stealing. Two runners were on in the third, but again two strikeouts got the team out of that jam. Then his night was capped by a 1-2-3 fourth.

“He attacked the zone and he gave us a chance to win,” Martinez said of an opponent that liked to go after fastballs early in the count. “That’s all that I can ask of him. He executed. … We had a game plan and I went with his strengths and we attacked their weaknesses.”

Then it was time for Greg Tomchick, who put on a display of pitching fundamentals with his glove. Twice in his four innings he induced a come-backer to the mound to start double plays. It helped him face just one batter over the minimum during his four innings.

“Which we haven’t done well all year,” Rodriguez said. “We did it in the biggest game. (Tomchick), he’s a very confident guy now.”

By the time the ball was handed to Brady Bowen for the ninth inning, there seemed little doubt who would win.

In incredibly efficient fashion, 1-2-3 went the Renegades, all by strikeout.

“As soon as Bowen came in, I knew it was over,” DeLorenzo said. “His slider’s disgusting.”

It gave Bowen a team-high 11th save and induced a raucous celebration on the field.

The stellar pitching was not limited to Monday. The night before in Hudson Valley, Steven Farinaro and Max Almonte combined on a four-hitter. Farinaro gave up two walks and two hits over six innings, and he didn’t allow an earned run over his final 31 innings on the mound.

“They were making pitches,” Rodriguez said. “They mix well. Got to give credit to Jeremy Martinez, the way he carries the staff. He’s an outstanding signal-caller, so there’s a great flow between the staff and Jeremy Martinez.”

And, by the way, DeLorenzo also had three innings of one-hit, shutout work against Staten Island last week in the league semifinals.

It’s what the Spikes have seen on the mound all season, from the starters to the middle men to the closers — not spectacular but doing what needs to be done.

In the final two days of the season, they were at their best.

“It was amazing,” DeLorenzo said. “As soon as Bowen came in and struck out the side, it was a great feeling.”

This story was originally published September 12, 2016 at 11:45 PM with the headline "Spikes pitching spectacular when it was needed the most."