STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Dylan Tice smashed his second home run of the season, and the State College Spikes continued to pour it on as they topped the Auburn Doubledays, 10-3, on Sunday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park to sweep a three-game set.
Tice’s homer, a two-run shot to right-center field off Auburn (12-11) starter Weston Davis (2-2) in the third, broke a 3-3 tie and gave State College (17-6) a lead they would not relinquish.
The Spikes then clinched their fourth straight win with a five-run eighth inning, taking advantage of an error to start the frame. Elier Rodriguez brought in a run with a one-out single, and Jose Martinez drew a bases-loaded walk to plate another before Vince Jackson knocked in three runs with a triple.
State College’s win added to the club’s best start in franchise history, and enabled them to claim the best record in the New York-Penn League by two full games.
Ryan McCarvel gave the Spikes the initial lead with an RBI single in the first, and Ricardo Bautista’s two-run double later in the frame put State College ahead 3-0 after one.
Auburn put together a brief flurry with Oliver Ortiz’s RBI double in the second and a run-scoring double by Sheldon Neuse followed by a Nick Banks single in the third. However, the Doubledays would strand 12 runners on the night en route to defeat.
State College outscored Auburn 23-6 in the three-game series and extended the lead over the Doubledays in the NYPL Pinckney Division to five games.
Steven Farinaro (3-0) started and got the win for the Spikes. Farinaro allowed three runs on six hits and five walks while striking out two over six innings of work. Bob Wheatley and Greg Tomchick followed with three scoreless innings to finish the game.
Davis took the loss for the Doubledays after yielding give runs on seven hits over four innings. The right-hander struck out two in the effort.
The Spikes now take a four-game winning streak on the road as they meet the Connecticut Tigers (Detroit Tigers) for a three-game series at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, CT. State College right-hander Ronnie Williams (2-1), who struck out 10 batters to tie a franchise record on June 30 and then gave up just one hit over his first seven innings on the mound Tuesday at Tri-City, gets the ball for the 7:05 p.m. opener. Connecticut will respond with right-hander Gregory Soto (0-0).
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