Pirates fifth-round pick pitches five near-perfect innings By Alex Raskin / Special to MLB.com Tyler Waldron tossed five nearly perfect innings the State College Spikes came within three outs of a no-hitter Saturday in a 1-0 blanking of the Aberdeen IronBirds. The Pirates’ fifth-round pick in the 2010 Draft, Waldron (3-5) threw only 57 pitches, [...]

By Jake Kaplan Collegian Staff Writer The State College Spikes’ bats haven’t been clicking the last two games. One day removed from scoring just one run, the Spikes fared even worse Monday night. State College mustered only three hits on their way to their second straight defeat at the hands of the Tri-City ValleyCats, a [...]

Guy Cipriano State College Spikes pitching coach Mike Steele gazed at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ draft board in Bradenton, Fla., and saw hundreds of unfamiliar names. Once stares went from casual to intense, one name stood out: Eastern Michigan catcher Matt Skirving. Steele kept quiet. Pitching coaches simply don’t offer unsolicited draft advice. The silence changed [...]

By Jake Kaplan Collegian Staff Writer Gerlis Rodriguez laid down a sacrifice bunt, attempting to put two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth. But the bunt by the State College Spikes designated hitter ended up doing more than that. Staten Island Yankees catcher Nick McCoy overthrew first base, and Spikes left [...]

AUBURN, NY – Trailing 6-0 entering the eighth inning, the State College Spikes made the largest comeback in team history, with Matt Curry driving in the game-winning run with an infield single in the tenth inning in a 7-6 win over the Auburn Doubledays on Sunday night at Falcon Park. State College (22-21) started its [...]

By Jake Kaplan Collegian Staff Writer With the bases loaded and two out in the tenth inning, Matt Curry stepped to the plate with a chance to give the State College Spikes their first lead of the game. The Spikes first baseman delivered, singling to the shortstop to score third baseman Andy Vazquez from third. [...]

Four relievers combine to allow seven runs By Tim Heiman / Auburn Doubledays AUBURN, NY – The Auburn Doubledays watched a six-run lead vanish over the final three innings tonight at Falcon Park as they lost to the State College Spikes 7-6 in 10 innings. The State College Spikes scored seven runs in the final [...]

State College’s late rally not enough as 5,807 pack ballpark STATE COLLEGE – The State College Spikes received a record standing-room-only sellout crowd of 5,807 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Friday night, and the second record-smashing crowd of the year at the ballpark saw the Spikes fall to the Williamsport Crosscutters, 7-6. The [...]

Cutters’ series domination has Spikes reeling to begin second half Guy Cipriano UNIVERSITY PARK — Begin the new season with three losses to the Williamsport Crosscutters. Okay, not ideal. But the sweep produced no lingering effects as the State College Spikes ended the first half 20-18, two games behind the Crosscutters. Begin the second half [...]

By Jake Kaplan Collegian Staff Writer The first two series between the State College Spikes and the Williamsport Crosscutters ended in sweeps — the first by the Cutters and the second by the Spikes. This week’s three-game set was no different. Williamsport completed its sweep behind 15 hits, beating State College 7-6 Friday night in [...]

By Zach Fleagle Collegian Staff Writer In the third inning the State College Spikes were still looking for their first hit–and they found it, courtesy of the bottom third of the lineup. Left fielder Pat Irvine led off the inning with a single up the middle and was brought home, along with catcher Matt Skirving, [...]

Guy Cipriano – gciprian@centredaily.com UNIVERSITY PARK — Whenever they looked behind their right shoulders, pitchers witnessed an uncomfortable scene Wednesday. The Medlar Field at Lubrano Park flags were blowing toward Mount Nittany. For 7 1/ 3 innings, the steady breeze didn’t hinder the State College Spikes against the free-swinging Williamsport Crosscutters. A few pitches in [...]

Spikes players help man battling cancer achieve his dream Lauren Boyer – lboyer@centredaily.com When the cancer that Larry Halstead is battling sidelined his plans to visit some ballparks in the Northeastern U.S., some State College Spikes players stepped up to the plate. Diagnosed with stage four melanoma in February, Halstead, 62, and his son Ryan, [...]

NILES, Ohio — The State College pitchers had their team record streak of 28 scoreless innings snapped, but the Spikes’ hurlers still threw well in a 6-4 triumph against Mahoning Valley in New York-Penn League action on Monday. Cole White had three hits and drove in three runs and Matt Curry had three singles as [...]

By Joe Kurtek For the Collegian After a 75 minute rain delay, the State college Spikes finally took the field in a grueling game that would last well over three hours Friday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Despite rallying within one run in the fourth inning, the Spikes eventually fell 10-7. Spikes pitcher [...]

UNIVERSITY PARK — The fifth inning started and both mounds in the State College Spikes bullpen remained unoccupied. This was a rare sight considering the team’s 2010 pitching history: none of the 19 pitchers used in the first 35 games lasted six innings. On a muggy Saturday night, Tyler Waldron ensured the Spikes would reach [...]

Guy Cipriano – gciprian@centredaily.com UNIVERSITY PARK — Mahoning Valley pitcher Nick Kirk tried gripping the first batch of baseballs sent his way. He then requested new ones. Plate umpire Dane Ratajski could have brought out rubber cement around 9:15 p.m. Wednesday and it wouldn‘t have mattered. Finally, after Kirk’s second pitch to State College’s Chase [...]

- From CDT staff reports NORWICH, Conn. — One night after erupting for 11 runs and 13 hits against the Connecticut Tigers, the State College Spikes’ bats fell silent. Clemente Mendoza shut the Spikes down, surrendering just two hits during an eight-inning pitching performance in a 5-0 victory Thursday night at Dodd Stadium. The Spikes [...]

Spikes fail to get clutch hits, sweep against Vermont Guy Cipriano UNIVERSITY — PARK Chances to sweep a team like Vermont only emerge once a season for the State College Spikes. OK, part of that statement is deceiving. The Spikes play the four Stedler Division teams just once. So during a rare afternoon game Tuesday, [...]

By Bill Landis Collegian Staff Writer A quick glance over the State College Spikes team pitching statistics doesn’t reveal any jaw-dropping numbers. The team’s ERA is 4.42, placing it in 11th place in the 14-team New York-Penn League. But over the last three games against the Vermont Lake Monsters, the performance of the Spikes pitching [...]