UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Johan Oviedo tossed a gem as held the Williamsport Crosscutters to just two hits and a walk over eight innings, guiding the State College Spikes to a 2-1 win on Saturday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
(Photo Josh Lopez. Photo courtesy of State College Spikes)
Oviedo (2-2) allowed a Jake Scheiner single in the second, a Josh Stephen single in the fourth, and a walk to Scheiner in the fifth, but nothing else. The 19-year-old Cuban right-hander also struck out a career-high nine batters, one shy of the Spikes’ (34-30) single-game record.
With the win, the Spikes remained within three games of the New York-Penn League Pinckney Division lead with 12 games remaining in the regular season. State College also moved to within 3 ½ games of the NYPL Wild Card lead.
Will Latcham (1) finished out the game by striking out the side in order in the ninth to earn the save for State College.
Bryce Denton gave the Spikes a lead in the first with a sacrifice fly to center field. State College then responded with a pair of two-out runs in the sixth after the Crosscutters tied the game in the fifth when a wild pitch scored Scheiner. Wood Myers’s triple and Zack Kirtley’s ground-rule double each plated runs to seal the win for the Spikes.
Williamsport starter Julian Garcia (3-4) gave up two runs on six hits and three walks over five-plus innings. Garcia notched eight strikeouts on the night.
Yariel Gonzalez and Josh Lopez each produced multi-hit games for the Spikes, while Scott Hurst contributed a triple and Edwin Figuera added a double.
The Spikes’ pitching staff has now limited the Crosscutters to just four hits over the first two games of their three-game set, striking out 22 batters in the process.
State College completes the series, as well as a six-game homestand, with a 6:05 p.m. matchup against Williamsport on Sunday. The Spikes will send right-hander Jonathon Mulford (2-5) to the mound to face Crosscutters right-hander Ramon Rosso (0-0).
Fans will be thrilled by a post-game FIREWORKS show presented by First National Bank, completing FIREWORKS Weekend at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
