State College Spikes baseball returned to Medlar Field after more than 630 days
631 days.
That’s how long it’s been since the State College Spikes played a game. The Spikes broke that streak Monday night, when they opened the 2021 season with a 6-5 loss to the Williamsport Crosscutters at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Williamsport struck out State College 18 times over nine innings with Ryan Valazquez leading the Crosscutters with five strikeouts in two frames for the win. Jacob Smith started for the Crosscutters, pitching three scoreless innings and striking out four batters. Spikes starter Andrew Moore was credited with the loss.
The key for Spikes manager Delwyn Young was to get his players involved in the game. His players are there to showcase and develop their talents, and playing them on Opening Day became the first priority for Young as a new manager.
“We’ve only known each other for 48 hours and I’m trying to get as much feedback as I possibly can,” Young said. “I’m going into this season with them and they’re getting tired of me saying this, but as long as I don’t make too many mistakes, they’ll be OK. If I’m putting the lineup together, I understand that a majority of the time the organizations will tell you what to put together. That’s the good part of this opportunity — I have the freedom to do what’s necessary.”
Center fielder Cameron Lee went 1-for-1 with an RBI single, two walks and a stolen base. Lee is the son of former Major League Baseball first baseman Derrek Lee. His goal is to parlay his play into a minor league clubhouse in the near future or take some of his new knowledge of the game into another college season.
“It’s really exciting to play on a (team) like this,” Lee said. “I’ve been playing baseball my whole life, my dad played professional baseball and my brother is in his first year of professional baseball. So, I’m just going out there, playing and seeing what happens.”
Trey Steffler began the evening with a two-run double deep into left-center field to score Haven Mangrum and Christian Olivo to put Williamsport up 2-0 in the top of the second. Steffler later scored on an error to give the Crosscutters a 3-0 lead.
Issac Nunez singled to score Olivo and Jacob Teter later singled in the top of the fourth inning to score Steffler. Jaxon Shirley reached first base on a fielder’s choice to score Nunez to give the Crosscutters a 6-0 lead.
Lee put the Spikes on the board with a single in the fifth inning to trail 6-1. James Jett walked up to the plate and drove in a bases-clearing double for the Spikes to trail 6-4.
“It was 2-0 and he was going in every pitch with fastballs,” Jett said. “I thought that he would go with it again, I swung and got a good piece of the ball.”
Lee drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth inning for State College to trail just 6-5. The Spikes couldn’t pull any closer, leaving all runners stranded in the inning.
The Spikes will take on the Crosscutters in Williamsport at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday.
Legacy of Jackie Robinson important to Young
The State College Spikes have a host of players from different backgrounds this season. Young, who is Black, mentioned the importance of infusing the game of baseball with more Black and brown talent than it has had in the past. Only 7 percent of Major League Opening Day rosters had Black players, according to the MLB.
“I would say that Jackie Robinson himself is smiling right now and that comes from me being a Dodger and knowing the tradition that he started,” Young said. “This is part of the league — we’re trying to bring as many Black and brown players into baseball as we can. To have an opportunity for one kid, let alone however many that we may have over the summer is great.
“It’s just continuing the tradition that Jackie paved for us and it’s unfortunate over the past few years that there has been a drop-off in Black players and brown players who are making it to the big leagues and getting drafted in general. That was another reason why I was excited to take this opportunity as a manager was to help — not just one player, but all players. Especially getting Black and brown players back involved in the game at a high level.”
Fans returned to Medlar Field
Army veteran Brian Parfitt usually brings his three children to Spikes games. That changed last year with the onset of COVID-19 and the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season. Now with the new season and the abundance of opportunities to get to a game, Parfitt is hopeful to build new memories with his kids.
“You get stuck inside with your kids all summer long and they get a little antsy and everyone else gets a little antsy, so it’s nice to get out and let them run around,” Parfitt said. “This is the one thing that they love doing every year is looking forward to Spikes games and seeing all of the mascots. It’s going to be a great time this year.”
This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 1:22 AM.
