State College Spikes bounce back with a big win over Mahoning Valley to take the series
State College center fielder Curtis Washington Jr. and the Spikes came out on fire Thursday night and never turned back, pouring it on the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in a 10-2 victory.
The Spikes came out of the dugout with something to prove and scored six runs on five hits in the first inning. The Scrappers would earn one run back in the second, but the five-run gap would be the closest the scoring would be all night, as a Marques Paige solo home run and a Washington Jr. base-clearing double added on to the State College lead.
Mahoning Valley was victim to multiple errors on the mound and had gave up a massive 10 free bases, eight walks and two hit by pitches by midway through the seventh inning.
Washington Jr., Lukas Cook, and James Jett all took advantage of the Scrappers’ sloppy play. Every member of the trio finished the night with multiple RBIs and at least one base on balls. Their performances paved the way for the first State College series victory (2-1) over Mahoning Valley this season.
Despite the loss, Samuel Crail had a great day for the Scrappers by hitting a perfect 4-for-4 on the night. He batted in one of their two runs in the second inning and scored the other in the fifth.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
CF Curtis Washington Jr.: State College had a number of strong hitting performances in the final game of the series, but the highlight was Washington Jr., who led the team with three RBIs.
The three RBI double in the fifth inning was just Washington Jr.’s second double on the season, and the single walk he drew increased his team leading statistic to 17 on the year.
“I was really just looking for a fastball and I got into a good hitters count,” Washington Jr. said. “I pretty much knew a fastball was coming and I saw it and put a good swing on it.”
ROLE REVERSAL
This game proved to be the complete opposite of Wednesdays night’s meeting, which was a 10-2 Scrapper victory.
On Wednesday, the Spikes allowed free bases nine different times over the course of the game and gave up a seven-run inning. This time around it was the Scrappers who made those familiar mistakes, allowing 11 different free trips to first base and a similar six-run inning.
UP NEXT
The Spikes will travel from State College to West Virginia on Friday to face the 17-9-5 Black Bears. The team will spend two days there before traveling back to University Park for the Fourth of July to play a two-game series against the Trenton Thunder.
Fans are invited to stay put after Sunday’s game as Medlar Field at Lubrano Park is the official viewing location for the Central PA 4th Fest Fireworks show.