STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Andy Young tied a State College Spikes record with two triples in one game as the Spikes overcame an 8-4 defeat at the hands of the West Virginia Black Bears in the completion of a suspended game to take the seven-inning nightcap, 7-4, on Thursday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
With the win, the Spikes (36-17) avoided being swept for the first time this year.
Young’s pair of triples enabled him to tie the State College franchise single-game record shared by teammates Danny Martin and Vince Jackson, along with six other players. The Indiana State product delivered his first three-base hit to lead off the bottom of the fourth, then added another to plate two runs in the fifth.
The Spikes broke a scoreless tie in the fourth on Elier Rodriguez’s two-out, two-run single before Young’s triple and a Jackson sacrifice fly brought in a total of three runs in the fifth.
Action was halted by weather for 44 minutes at that point, but when it picked up, the Spikes responded to a four-run West Virginia (24-29) surge with two more runs on a Mick Fennell groundout and a Tommy Edman single with two outs.
Spencer Trayner started and threw four scoreless innings, yielding just three hits and recording one strikeout. Gerwuins Velazco (2-0) then tossed a perfect fifth to pick up the win, and New York-Penn League All-Star Eric Carter finished out the game for the Spikes.
West Virginia reliever Scooter Hightower (2-4) took the loss after yielding two runs, one of them earned, on three hits while striking out one batter over two-thirds of an inning.
In the completion of Wednesday night’s suspended game, the Black Bears used a five-run second to upend the Spikes. Stephen Alamais produced a solo homer on Wednesday to give West Virginia the lead before play was halted in the middle of the first, and the Black Bears followed on Thursday with three hits and three bases-loaded walks.
West Virginia then extended the lead to 7-0 in the fourth on a State College error. Ryan McCarvel responded with his sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot to center field, in the fourth to put the Spikes on the board. State College grew closer on a wild pitch in the seventh and a Young sacrifice fly in the eighth, but Ty Moore’s solo home run in the ninth finalized the scoring.
Bryan Dobzanski (4-5), who yielded Alamais’s homer in the first before play was halted, took the loss despite only pitching one inning. Dobzanski gave up a total of one hit and one walk on 19 pitches.
Danny Beddes (4-2) earned the win for the Black Bears with six innings on the hill. Beddes allowed two runs on one hit and one walk while striking out five.
Friday, the Spikes welcome the Staten Island Yankees (New York Yankees) to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in a matchup of NYPL playoff contenders. State College will start left-hander Jordan DeLorenzo (1-0) on the mound, while Staten Island will go with right-hander Colton Mahoney (4-3). First pitch is set to fly at 7:05 p.m.
Gates open to the public at 6 p.m., and the first 1,000 fans will receive a Patriotic Shirtsey Giveaway presented by ServiceMaster by Holobinko and Merry Maids. After the game, the skies over Happv Valley will light up with a fantastic FIREWORKS show presented by Penn State Health.
Plus, it’s Philipburg-Osceola Community Night, part of the Community Nights Series presented by CATACOMMUTE, with a FREE Kids Zone! presented by Friends of Jake Corman. Kids can also run the bases after the game thanks to Clinical Outcomes Group, Inc.
Saturday, gates open at 6:00 p.m., and the first 1,000 fans get a Christian Hackenberg Bobblehead presented by The Nittany Lion Inn and the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel & ESPN Radio 1450.
Sunday, fans can meet Dennis Haskins, who played “Mr. Belding” on TV’s “Saved by the Bell,” with the appearance presented by Comcast Spotlight. The skies will also light up with FIREWORKS presented by Nuts For You after the 6:05 p.m. game.
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