NILES, Ohio – Spencer Trayner locked things down with a five-out save, and the State College Spikes knocked the Mahoning Valley Scrappers out of first place in the New York-Penn League Pinckney Division as they clinched a series win with a 3-2 victory over the Scrappers on Monday night at Eastwood Field.
(Photo: Spencer Trayner. Photo courtesy of State College Spikes)
The win brings the Spikes (26-21) within a game-and-a-half of first place in the race for the NYPL’s lone Wild Card berth, and within two games of the Pinckney Division lead now held by West Virginia.
Trayner’s (5) clutch performance started as he came in with two runners on and one out in a one-run game in the eighth and recorded two strikeouts, the last with the bases loaded following an error. The righty then elicited a pair of flyouts sandwiched around another strikeout to end the game.
Evan Mendoza, who became the first State College player to earn consecutive NYPL Player of the Week awards when he received the honor earlier in the day, started the scoring with an RBI single in the third. Mendoza is now second in the league in runs batted in with 26 on the year.
Tyler Lancaster then extended the Spikes lead with a run-scoring single in the fourth, and after Jesse Berardi put the Scrappers (27-19) on the board with an RBI groundout in the fifth, Josh Lopez provided a much-needed insurance run with his single to drive in Edwin Figuera in the eighth.
Jonathan Laureano then knocked in a run with a single in the eighth for Mahoning Valley to draw the Scrappers within a run in the eighth.
Andrew Summerville (3-0) allowed one run over five innings to earn the win for State College. Summerville yielded three hits, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out six batters in the victory.
Mahoning Valley starter Eli Morgan (2-1), thrust into the role when originally scheduled starter Zach Plesac was called up to Single-A Lake County earlier in the day, took the loss after giving up one run on three hits and a walk while striking out three batters over three innings.
Ulysses Cantu reached base four times on two singles, a walk and a hit batsman for the Scrappers.
The series win allowed the Spikes to finish their seven-game road trip with a 4-3 mark.
Tuesday, the Spikes return home to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park to start a six-game homestand with the opener of a three-game series against the Hudson Valley Renegades (Tampa Bay Rays). State College will send right-hander Paul Balestrieri (2-3) to the mound for the 7:05 p.m. matchup, while Hudson Valley has not yet named a starter in what will be a bullpen-led effort.
