Bryce Denton, Daniel Castano lead State College Spikes to victory over Auburn
Bryce Denton and Daniel Castano led the State College Spikes past the Auburn Doubledays 2-1 on Sunday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Denton finished with two of the Spikes’ three hits and drove in one run, and Castano limited the Doubledays to two hits in 7 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his New York-Penn League-leading seventh win of the season.
Tyler Lancaster crushed a solo home run to right field in the eighth inning to give the Spikes a 2-0 lead.
Denton drove in State College’s first run.
Denton recorded a pair of singles against Auburn starting pitcher and State College grad Nick Raquet, including an RBI single in the fifth inning to push the Spikes ahead 1-0.
It proved to be enough support for Castano, who improved his record to 7-1 and threw at least seven innings for the fourth time this season.
Raquet allowed one unearned run and two hits in five innings to take the loss.
Player of the game
Spikes left fielder Bryce Denton: Denton made a difference defensively in addition to powering the Spikes offense. In the third inning, Denton kept Auburn off the board when he gunned down Jonathan Pryor at home plate after a single by Andres Martinez to left field.
On the mound
Pressure situation: Spikes reliever Spencer Trayner took the mound in the top of the eighth inning with two outs and the bases loaded. Trayner got a flyout to end the inning and protect State College’s 1-0 lead. He then allowed one run in the ninth to seal the win and pick up the save.
A different look
Special jerseys raise money: The Spikes wore pink jerseys with a boxing-robe theme for “Paint the Park Pink Night” on Sunday, raising money along with Mount Nittany Health for the fight against breast cancer. State College had a jersey-off-the-back auction, with the funds going to the Mount Nittany Health Foundation.
Roster note
Tewes promoted: Right-handed pitcher Sam Tewes earned a promotion to Single-A Peoria on Sunday. Tewes was 3-3 with a 3.83 ERA in seven starts for the Spikes this season. Tewes was second on the team with 42 1/3 innings pitched.
Next up
Auburn at State College, 7:05 p.m. Monday: Johan Oviedo will makes his debut for the Spikes. Oviedo went 2-1 with a 4.88 ERA in six starts with Rookie-level Johnson City before being promoted to the Spikes on Wednesday. The 6-foot-6 right-hander is rated the St. Louis Cardinals’ No. 23 prospect by MLB Pipeline. Yonathan Ramirez (2-2, 4.97) will get the start for Auburn.
This story was originally published July 30, 2017 at 8:54 PM with the headline "Bryce Denton, Daniel Castano lead State College Spikes to victory over Auburn."