New York native Jonathon Mulford helps Spikes to win over Brooklyn

State College Spikes pitcher Jonathon Mulford earned his first win of the season Friday night at MCU Park in Brooklyn, about an hour away from his hometown of Massapequa, N.Y.

Mulford allowed two runs in six innings to help the Spikes to a 4-3 win over the Brooklyn Cyclones in New York-Penn League action. The right-hander has now given up two earned runs in his last 15 2/3 innings over three starts, bouncing back from two losses in his first two starts.

He struck out six and walked three while giving up five hits in the win Friday night against Brooklyn (6-18). The right-hander out of Adelphi University — about 25 miles away from MCU Park — threw four scoreless innings before allowing two runs in the bottom of the fifth.

After walking Brooklyn’s Quinn Brodey with the bases loaded to bring in the Cyclones’ second run, Mulford got a groundout out to end the inning with the Spikes ahead 3-2.

Colton Thomson then pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the Spikes (14-10), and Noel Gonzalez allowed one run in one inning to pick up the save.

Player of the game

Spikes catcher Josh Lopez: Lopez again led the Spikes offensively, going 2 for 5 with an RBI. In the third inning against Brooklyn, Lopez gave State College a 1-0 lead with an RBI single. The catcher is now hitting .424 this season — he went into Friday night ranked second in the New York-Penn League with a .426 batting average.

At the plate

Taking an early lead: The Spikes jumped out in front with two runs in the third inning when Lopez had his RBI single and Matt Davis scored on a wild pitch. State College went ahead 3-0 in the fifth on an RBI groundout by Stanley Espinal.

Insurance run: Scott Hurst’s RBI double in the top of the ninth inning pushed State College’s lead to 4-2 — a crucial run as Brooklyn scored in the bottom of the ninth. The Cyclones’ comeback attempt ended when Gonzalez struck out Jose Miguel Medina.

Next up

State College at Brooklyn, 6 p.m. Saturday: Andrew Summerville (0-0, 3.86 ERA) will make his first professional start for the Spikes. The left-hander has struck out 10 in 4 2/3 innings spanning three relief appearances this season. He was the St. Louis Cardinals 12th-round pick in this year’s MLB draft. Brooklyn has yet to announce its starter.

This story was originally published July 14, 2017 at 11:06 PM with the headline "New York native Jonathon Mulford helps Spikes to win over Brooklyn."