Seven-Run First Leads Spikes to Victory

Chris Rossetti

Chris Rossetti

Published August 9, 2017 4:17 am
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A seven-run first inning propelled the State College Spikes to a 10-5 victory over the Hudson Valley Renegades in the opener of a three-game set at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Tuesday night.

(Photo: Bryce Denton. Photo courtesy of State College Spikes)

Bryce Denton and Tyler Lancaster each collected three hits for the Spikes (27-21), who edged up to third place in both the New York-Penn League Pinckney Division and Wild Card races.

Zach Kirtley produced two hits in the first, including an RBI double, and Denton, Lancaster, Evan Mendoza and Dennis Ortega all drove in runs with singles in the initial frame.

Mendoza went 2-for-5 and knocked in two runs, upping his season RBI total to 26, good for second place in the league. The N.C. State product was one of six Spikes selected to the New York-Penn League All-Star Game prior to Tuesday’s action, setting a new franchise record.

State College added three runs in the fifth, with Wood Myers providing a key run-scoring double, to enlarge the lead to 10-0.

Hudson Valley (23-25) responded with a four-run sixth as Brendan McKay, the Tampa Bay Rays’ first-round draft choice out of Louisville, doubled in a pair of runs. McKay then capped the scoring with a gigantic solo home run to right field in the eighth, his fourth as a professional.

Spikes starter Paul Balestrieri (3-1) earned the win with 5 2/3 innings of work on the mound. Balestrieri allowed four runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out four. The righty did not allow a run over his first five innings, and left the game having yielded two runs.

Nick Padilla (2-2) started and took the loss for the Renegades after lasting just 1/3 of an inning. Padilla gave up six runs, four of them earned, on five hits and a walk.

The Spikes, already the highest-scoring team in the NYPL this year, produced their fifth double-digit scoring effort of the season in the win.

Wednesday, the Spikes face the Renegades in the middle game of a three-game series. State College will send left-hander and NYPL All-Star Daniel Castano (7-2) to the mound, while Hudson Valley will respond with their own NYPL All-Star on the hill in right-hander Drew Strotman (2-2).

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