Position: Pitcher Height: 6’2″ Weight: Bats: Left Throws: Left Experience: High School Previous Team: Medina Valley TX Draft Position: 4th Round 4th pick (99th overall) More Info: Max Preps Stats Perfect Game Video from MLB Note:

Guy Cipriano – gciprian@centredaily.com One look at the list of professional baseball players arriving in State College today produces a telling conclusion about their parent club. Like the Pittsburgh Pirates themselves, the State College Spikes are relying on some of their level’s youngest players this summer. The average age of the first 25 players on [...]

Guy Cipriano – gciprian@centredaily.com UNIVERSITY PARK — The New York-Penn League’s State College Spikes and Bradenton of the rookie Gulf Coast League seemed like logical 2010 starting points for Brooks Pounders, Zack Dodson and Zack Von Rosenberg. But when Pittsburgh Pirates director of player development Kyle Stark and his staff pondered the pitchers’ futures, they [...]

Guy Cipriano – gciprian@centredaily.com June 17, 2010 8:32am EDT The State College Spikes begin their fifth season Friday at Williamsport. Here’s our annual answers to minor questions: via Answers to minor questions – Columns: Guy Cipriano | Centre Daily Times – State College, PA | Penn State, Nittany Lions, weather, news, jobs, homes, apartments, real [...]

BY TIM WILLIAMS ON Is it a bad thing that I’m going to be more interested in watching the State College Spikes once their season begins, than watching the West Virginia Power, a level above State College?  It’s not that I don’t like the prospects at West Virginia.  It’s just that it’s hard to top [...]

Guy Cipriano UNIVERSITY PARK — The former National League MVP who plays with a swagger marched to the plate to continue the process of healing his injured calf. The pitcher who has thrown one official inning as a professional tried comprehending the scene. Here Zack Dodson stood, on the mound in an extended spring training [...]

Santana powers Williamsport to win WILLIAMSPORT, PA – The State College Spikes could not overcome two home runs and four runs batted in from Williamsport Crosscutters right fielder Domingo Santana, falling to their SawBuck Series rivals, 5-3, in an Opening Night matchup at Historic Bowman Field. State College (0-1) fell behind early on Santana’s first-inning [...]

Vinny Pezzimenti UNIVERSITY PARK — When Jordan Norwood was a high schooler growing up in State College, the chances that he would one day throw out a first pitch at a minor league baseball game in his hometown were slim and none. How things have changed in the last half dozen years. State College now [...]

State College Spikes – Pittsburgh Pirates (0-2) @ Williamsport Crosscutters – Philadelphia Phillies (2-0) Game #3 / Road Game #2 RHP Brooks Pounders (0-0) vs. RHP Eric Pettis (0-0) -CROSSCUTTERS TAKE SAWBUCK LEAD: The State College Spikes continue the fifth edition of the SawBuck Series tonight against the Williamsport Crosscutters at Historic Bowman Field. With [...]

By Jake Kaplan Collegian Staff Writer The venue may have been different, but the State College Spikes home-opener yielded the same outcome as their season-opener. In front of Saturday night’s record-crowd of 5,775 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, the Spikes (0-2) struggled to get timely hits and lost to the Williamsport Crosscutters, 5-3, the [...]

Seven errors sets team record STATE COLLEGE – Seven unearned runs scored off of a team record seven errors put the State College Spikes behind the eight ball and helped the Batavia Muckdogs to a 12-3 win at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Wednesday night. After falling behind, 4-0, in the fifth inning, State [...]

Spikes impressed with young pitching Guy Cipriano – gciprian@centredaily.com UNIVERSITY PARK — Everything in Minor League Baseball is subject to immediately change, making it difficult to envision the composition of the State College Spikes pitching staff once July begins. Von Rosenberg View larger With that in mind, those around the Spikes are enjoying the moment. [...]

Jamestown Jammers – Florida Marlins (3-3) @ State College Spikes – Pittsburgh Pirates (2-4) Game #7 / Home Game #5 LHP Zack Dodson (0-0, 4.50) vs. RHP Josh Hodges (1-0, 0.00) -JAMMERS MAKE FIRST 2010 VISIT: The State College Spikes host the Jamestown Jammers tonight at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in the two teams’ [...]

Patient Jammers rally for four runs in ninth to edge Spikes Guy Cipriano UNIVERSITY PARK — Brent Keys watched Zack Dodson’s first two fastballs miss the strike zone. He watched three more fastballs. Two hit the zone. One missed it. The sixth pitch of the at-bat was predictable. Dodson was throwing a fastball. Keys wasn’t [...]

JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — Pitcher Zack Von Rosenberg, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ $1.2 mil-lion- signee, continued to struggle and Trent Stevenson didn’t do much better in his debut with State College as the Spikes fell 8-3 to Jamestown in New York- Penn League baseball play Monday. Von Rosenberg (0-3) gave up five runs on five hits in [...]

State College Spikes – Pittsburgh Pirates (5-6) @ Jamestown Jammers – Florida Marlins (7-4) Game #12 / Road Game #6 LHP Zack Dodson (0-0, 5.87) vs. RHP Josh Hodges (1-0, 1.64) -SPIKES LOOK TO EVEN SERIES: The State College Spikes continue their first road trip of the season tonight as they face the Jamestown Jammers [...]

From CDT staff reports JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — State College took advantage of nine hits, 13 walks and two errors to set a season-high for runs in an 11-7 New York-Penn League triumph against Jamestown on Tuesday. The Spikes (6-6) scored all of their runs in their first four at-bats. Chase Lyles got State College off [...]

STATE COLLEGE – The State College Spikes received a solo homer from Adalberto Santos early, but it was a five-run seventh inning that put away the Williamsport Crosscutters and earned the Spikes a series sweep in an 8-2 win on Saturday night at Historic Bowman Field. Walker Gourley had the backbreaking base hit for State [...]

Guy Cipriano UNIVERSITY PARK — Homefield advantage can’t exist in the early stages of a short-season baseball season. Or can it? On the day they never lose, the State College Spikes faced an opponent forced to play at 1 p.m. after traveling 250 miles following a 3-hour, 7- minute game the night before. Advantage Spikes. Still, [...]

Guy Cipriano – gciprian@centredaily.com Maybe the teenagers pitching for the State College Spikes will be s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d out to last five innings one of these days. When you hand somebody who just wore a prom tuxedo enough money to buy an Escalade or Bentley, you might want to learn if he can handle an opposing lineup [...]

by Tim Williams at 7/09/2010 State College started their season in mid-June, shortly after the 2010 MLB draft.  It’s hard enough to draw any conclusions about the performance of the players at the level based on two weeks of play.  What makes things harder is that development is often hard to pinpoint at the lower [...]

NEW YORK — Zack Von Rosenberg had his best pitching performance in a State College Spikes uniform, but it wasn’t enough in a 4-2 loss to the Brooklyn Cyclones on Friday night. Von Rosenberg (0-4) pitched four hitless innings, giving up just one run on two hits and one walk while striking out four. The [...]

State College Spikes – Pittsburgh Pirates (11-10) @ Brooklyn Cyclones – New York Mets (12-9) Game #22 / Road Game #11 LHP Zack Dodson (0-0, 4.30) vs. LHP Chris Hilliard (3-0, 3.52) -SPIKES FINISH CITY TRIP: The State College Spikes finish their three-game road trip to Coney Island tonight with the third and final game [...]

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NEW YORK — One trip to Coney Island this season will be enough for the State College Spikes. Brooklyn pounded 13 hits, including four home runs, as the Cyclones completed a three-game sweep of the Spikes with a 9-3 rout on Saturday. Cory Vaughn belted a pair of home runs, while Ryan Sandoval and Kurt [...]

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 [...]

By Jake Kaplan Collegian Staff Writer The State College Spikes know when they have certain spectators watching their games from behind home plate at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Monday and Tuesday’s games were two of those times. Pittsburgh Pirates GM Neal Huntington was in attendance for the latter two games of the Spikes’ three-game [...]

Guy Cipriano – gciprian@centredaily.com UNIVERSITY PARK — Neal Huntington’s focus is different than many other general managers. Instead of mingling with colleagues Monday and Tuesday in Anaheim, Calif., Huntington watched three minor-league games, including two involving the State College Spikes. Never mind the all-star break or the hullabaloo surrounding Tuesday’s game. The Pittsburgh Pirates are [...]

NORWICH, CT – Zack Von Rosenberg earned his first victory as a professional with another strong start on the mound, and the State College Spikes jumped out to a big lead early to cruise to an 11-1 win over the Connecticut Tigers on Wednesday night at Dodd Stadium. Von Rosenberg (1-4) allowed just one run [...]

State College Spikes – Pittsburgh Pirates (14-12) @ Connecticut Tigers – Detroit Tigers (13-13) Game #27 / Road Game #13 LHP Zack Dodson (0-1, 5.09) vs. RHP Clemente Mendoza (1-3, 7.88) -SPIKES HIT THE ROAD FOR SIX: The State College Spikes start their longest road trip of the season to this point tonight as they [...]

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NORWICH, CT – Connecticut Tigers starter Clemente Mendoza, who came into the game with an ERA of 7.88, held the State College Spikes to just two hits and no runs over eight innings to earn the win as the Spikes collected just three hits total and fell, 5-0, on Thursday night at Dodd Stadium. State [...]

By Jake Kaplan Collegian Staff Writer Entering the game, Connecticut Tigers starting pitcher Clemente Mendoza had a robust 7.88 ERA. It didn’t show Thursday night. Mendoza threw eight shutout innings of two-hit baseball, and the Tigers beat the State College Spikes 5-0 Thursday night at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn. It was just the second [...]

- 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 [...]

NORWICH, CT – Connecticut Tigers starter Clemente Mendoza, who came into the game with an earned run average of 7.88, held the State College Spikes to just two hits and no runs over eight innings to earn the win as the Spikes collected just three hits total and fell, 5-0, on Thursday night at Dodd [...]

On the Pirates: Spikes’ class sticks together Sunday, July 18, 2010 By Chuck Finder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Peter Diana/Post-Gazette Pedro Alvarez strikes out Friday against Houston’s Brett Myers. Maybe it is fitting the fellows get to stick together, this draft class of 2009 commencing their professional baseball sojourn on a college campus. After all, from the [...]

By Jake Kaplan Collegian Staff Writer Walker Gourley stepped to the plate with runners on first and third and just one out, looking to help fuel a second State College comeback. The 11th inning comeback attempt was thwarted, however, as the Spikes shortstop grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. Despite a ninth inning comeback to [...]

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 [...]

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NILES, OH – The State College Spikes saw their team-record scoreless innings streak snapped at 28, but received three hits each from Cole White and Matt Curry to earn a 6-4 win over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers on Monday night at Eastwood Field. State College (20-18) held Mahoning Valley (14-24) off of the scoreboard for [...]

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 Jake Kaplan Collegian Staff Writer In Monday night’s seventh inning, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers did something no team had done against the State College Spikes since Friday. They scored a run. The four runs the Scrappers scored were still not enough, however, as the Spikes pounded out ten hits on the way to a [...]

Guy Cipriano – gciprian@centredaily.com A three-game winning streak entering a break, especially one that included victories over Mahoning Valley and Auburn, former Pinckney Division heavyweights with more non-drafted free agents than early-round picks, shouldn’t produce this kind of optimism. Even the worst New York-Penn League teams — see, 2008 State College Spikes — win three [...]

AUBURN, NY – The State College Spikeswere held to just two hits in the game, but took advantage of two eighth-inning errors by the Auburn Doubledays to plate a pair of runs and come from behind to earn a 2-1 victory at Falcon Park on Saturday night. State College (21-21) mustered two doubles in the [...]

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 [...]

From CDT staff reports AUBURN, N.Y. — The State College Spikes have mastered the art of winning one-run games against the Auburn Doubledays. The Spikes rallied from a 6-0 deficit to defeat the Doubledays 7-6 in 10 innings Sunday at Falcon Park. The victory improved the Spikes to 6-2 against the last-place Doubledays. Three of [...]

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. [...]

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By Jake Kaplan Collegian Staff Writers Zack Dodson did something Friday night he hadn’t in any of his seven prior starts of the season, and was relieved to have finally done it. Dodson pitched into the fifth inning for the first time in his young professional career. The 20-year-old allowed no-hits in his outing, and [...]

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The Staten Island Yankees continued their free fall in the New York-Penn League standings last night, dropping a second straight decision to the State College Spikes, 4-2, at Medlar Field. Staten Island Yankees starter Shane Greene struck out seven in four innings of work, but still picked up the loss in [...]

Dodson’s career outing leads Spikes to series victory Guy Cipriano UNIVERSITY PARK — Introduce older competition to young pitchers. Watch them struggle, learn, adjust and eventually help a team win. Perhaps this was part of what the men who invest serious money into young arms want. One night after Zack Von Rosenberg propelled the State [...]

Southpaw allows no hits in five innings as Spikes take it, 4-2 STATE COLLEGE – Zack Dodson fired five innings of shutout ball, allowing just one walk and no hits to pick up the win as the State College Spikes clinched their first-ever series victory over the Staten Island Yankees with a 4-2 win at [...]

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From CDT staff reports LOWELL, Mass. — State College made an abrupt ninth-inning rally Wednesday but couldn’t score enough runs to end a four-game losing streak as the Spikes fell 6-5 to the Lowell Spinners at LeLacheur Park. The Spikes (25-28) trailed 6-2 with two outs in the ninth inning before Andy Vasquez crunched a [...]