Daniel Castano, Josh Lopez lead State College Spikes to 4th straight win
State College Spikes batterymates Daniel Castano and Josh Lopez led the State College Spikes to an 8-2 win over the Batavia Muckdogs on Saturday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Castano finished with 10 strikeouts to tie a single-game franchise record. Castano, a left-hander, allowed seven hits and two runs in seven innings to earn the win as the Spikes (8-4) pushed their winning streak to four games. Lopez, the Spikes catcher, led the way at the plate against Batavia (5-7), finishing 3 for 3 with a two-run home run.
Both Castano and Lopez continued their strong starts to this season.
Castano, who improved his record to 3-0, has struck out 25 and walked two in 21 innings in three starts. Lopez extended his hitting streak to eight games and now has three home runs this season.
Player of the game
Spikes catcher Josh Lopez: Lopez reached base four times, scored three runs and drove in two runs. He’s now hitting .548 with nine RBIs in eight games.
At the plate
Fast start: The Spikes scored four runs in the first inning and added three runs in the second to build an insurmountable lead. Evan Mendoza and Lopez each had two hits, scored two runs and drove in two runs in the first two innings to lead the Spikes offensively. Mendoza drove in State College’s first run on a single in the first inning. Brandon Benson and Matt Davis followed with RBI singles in the first to help the Spikes take a 4-0 lead. State College led 7-0 after the second inning, highlighted by Lopez’s two-run home run.
Multi-hit nights: Mendoza finished with three hits, while Benson and Davis each had two hits Saturday night. Mendoza scored two runs and drove in two runs, Benson scored once and drove in one run, and Davis had two RBIs.
Milestone: Spikes center fielder Scott Hurst led off the first inning with a double to right-center field for his first professional hit. After going 0 for 4 with a walk and two strikeouts in his first game Friday night, he finished 1 for 3 with two walks and scored one run Saturday night. Hurst was the St. Louis Cardinals’ third-round pick in this year’s draft.
Next up
Batavia at State College, 6:05 p.m. Sunday: Right-hander Jonathon Mulford (0-2, 12.86 ERA) will be on the mound for the Spikes, while right-hander Sam Perez (0-0, 0.90) will get the start for Batavia.
This story was originally published July 1, 2017 at 10:24 PM with the headline "Daniel Castano, Josh Lopez lead State College Spikes to 4th straight win."