State College’s pitchers shine as the Spikes shut out the Mahoning Valley Scrappers

Starting pitcher Griffin Miller’s five scoreless innings and seven strikeouts highlight strong pitching in the State College Spikes’ 1-0 shutout over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers Wednesday night.

The Spikes dominated from the mound. Miller, along with fellow pitchers Christian Wall, Mason Mellott and Drew Garrett allowed only one Scrapper to reach as far as second base over the nine innings and threw a total of 12 strikeouts.

“I just saw them command the zone and attack hitters,” said Spikes’ manager Delwyn Young. “It’s hard to score, no matter what team you’re on, when you strike out a lot.”

The lone Spikes run was scored by Curtis Washington Jr. in the bottom of the first on a Hylan Hall sacrifice fly. Washington reached base on a triple on the Spikes’ first at bat of the game.

The slim lead would prove to be the difference for State College, which now evens out the series against Mahoning Valley at one game apiece.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

SP Griffin Miller: Miller earned the start on the mound and pitched a long five-inning shutout to start. Most starters in the MLB Draft League exit after three or four innings, but Miller pleaded to his manager, Young, to keep him in after a walk in the fourth inning.

That decision would prove be effective, as Miller’s start fueled the fire for Spikes’ pitchers to stay hot through the rest of the game.

STATE COLLEGE NATIVE

Former Penn State pitcher and State College resident Mason Mellott came out of the bullpen to loud cheers and chants of “hometown kid” when entering the game in the top of the eighth inning.

He would earn outs against all three of his batters faced in succession on just eight total pitches.

“It’s definitely a comfort zone pitching so many innings on this mound, and being in this setting,” Mellott said. “It was nice too have a smooth ending and feel like I had all my stuff working for me.”

UP NEXT

The Spikes will continue the series with a final game against the Scrappers at 6:35 p.m. Thursday before exiting for a three-game road trip to Williamsport to take on the Crosscutters.

Thursday’s game is Bark in the Park Night, with the Spikes inviting all fans’ dogs to the ballpark to celebrate the retirement of Bob the Baseball Dog.

This story was originally published June 23, 2021 at 11:58 PM.