State College Spikes bounce back to even series with Crosscutters with a 6-4 victory
After dropping a 10-9 slugfest to Williamsport on Friday, the State College Spikes were able to change their outcome on Saturday, claiming a 6-4 victory.
One of the biggest keys to victory was the Spikes’ bullpen, relieving starter Louis Davenport and pitching six scoreless innings. State College manager Delwyn Young was in a congratulatory mood after the game, praising his relievers for getting the job done.
“It’s huge for the bullpen to come in and put up a bunch of zeroes like that,” Young said. “(We were) 6-4 and there were six or seven blown calls by the umpires early that gave them runs, that helped them extend innings. They called outs on us, there’s two guys safe at second base, the play at home plate where the [catcher] threw his mask. So, we had to deal with not just the other team, but the lack of focus from the umpires today. For our bullpen to be able to come in, stay focused and put up zeroes, keep us in the game and win the game for us was phenomenal.”
Davenport pitched three innings, allowing four runs on six hits while walking two and striking out three. Crosscutters starting pitcher Troy Taylor pitched 4 ⅔ innings, allowing four runs on six hits, while striking out three and walking four. Spikes reliever Trae Robertson entered the game in the fourth inning, pitching three scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out two batters. He took the victory.
“It’s always good to get clean innings,” Robertson said. “Obviously, whoever gets the most clean innings wins the game. That’s our job and what we’re trying to do every time we go out there, but it’s been working out pretty well recently and we’ve been playing good ball.”
Ryan Linkletter pitched two innings, allowing no runs, two hits and struck out two batters for the Spikes. Austin Cheely closed the door with a scoreless ninth inning with two hits allowed and two strikeouts for the save.
The Crosscutters began the first inning with shortstop Roman Bramasco reaching first base on a single. He proceeded to steal second base and advanced to third on a passed ball. Catcher Rob Marinec drove in Bramasco on an RBI sacrifice fly to give WIlliamsport a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.
State College jumped into the driver’s seat with right fielder Hylan Hall reaching first on an error and later scoring on first baseman Trent Lewis’ opposite field single to left-center field. Then, left fielder Zacchaeus Rasberry scored after advancing from first to third on Lewis’ single and touched home on third baseman Marques Paige’s sac fly for a 2-1 lead.
The Spikes added onto their lead with Hall’s two-out double to score center fielder Luke Seidel, who singled earlier in the bottom of the second. State College led 3-1.
Marinec had his second RBI of the game and for the second time, scoring Bramasco. Crosscutters first baseman Lance Logsdon and Marinec touched the plate after third baseman Alec Burns doubled to retake the lead at 4-3.
Rasberry, who singled earlier in the bottom of the fifth, scored on an RBI single by Lewis to tie the game at 4-4. The Spikes went on to reclaim their lead in the bottom of the sixth following second baseman Brady Brecklin’s single, a stolen base and a run on catcher Max Guadalupe’s RBI single. Designated hitter Michael Dorcean entered the game as a courtesy runner for Guadalupe and stole home on a double steal for the Spikes to control at 6-4.
With the series evened at one apiece, the Spikes will travel to Williamsport on Sunday for the final game of the series.
This story was originally published July 24, 2021 at 10:39 PM.
