De Leon's three homers set Spikes record in win
BATAVIA, NY - Alex De Leon set a State College Spikes record with three home runs in one game, and the Spikes set a new franchise record with six homers as a team in a 10-3 victory over the Batavia Muckdogs on Sunday evening at Dwyer Stadium.
De Leon delivered a solo shot in the first inning, another solo bomb in the sixth, and a two-run homer to right field in the seventh to etch his name into the Spikes (7-3) record books. The University of Kansas product collected four runs batted in with his three blasts. De Leon bested a team record set by eight other players who hit two homers in one game, including teammate Rowan Wick, who had done so twice earlier this season.
State College got the home run party started early as Jhohan Acevedo led off the game with a home run to left field. Danny Diekroeger notched the third Spikes homer in the third with a two-run shot, and Wick capped off the homer barrage with his seventh of the year one batter after De Leon's record-setting smash.
The Spikes had hit four home runs as a team in a single game on four previous occasions, the most recent being on August 6, 2013 at Staten Island.
Acevedo came a triple shy of the cycle on Sunday, going 3-for-5 with a double and a single as well.
Ronnierd Garcia also contributed an RBI double as all but two Spikes runs scored via home run in the game.
Jeff Barkley (1-0) earned the win in relief for the Spikes, allowing one run on two hits, a walk and a hit batsman over three innings of work. Barkley also recorded one strikeout. Austin Gomber, who started for State College in his professional debut, went two scoreless innings and escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the first with a 1-2-3 double play.
Batavia (7-3) starter Yeims Mendoza (0-3) took the loss after giving up the first three Spikes homers. Mendoza yielded a total of four runs on five hits and a hit batsman while striking out two.
Brad Haynal produced a solo homer for the Muckdogs in the fourth inning. Luis Alberto Sanz collected two RBI with a double in the sixth for Batavia. The Muckdogs' loss snapped their four-game winning streak.
Monday, the Spikes complete their four-game road swing with a 7:05 p.m. matchup against the Muckdogs at Dwyer Stadium. State College will send right-hander Luis Perdomo (1-0) to the mound for his second start of the year. Perdomo tossed six scoreless innings for the win against Batavia at home on Tuesday.
Batavia will go with left-hander Michael Mader (0-0), who will be the first southpaw starter the Spikes have faced this year.
The Spikes return home on Tuesday, June 24 to start a stretch of four home games in six nights. Tuesday night, the Jamestown Jammers (Pittsburgh Pirates) provide the opposition for a 7:05 p.m. game as the first 500 fans of all ages get a great Spikes T-Shirt presented by McDonald's on a T-Shirt Tuesday. The Spikes then face Jamestown on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. with the first 1,000 fans receiving a David Washington Walk-Off Door Mat Giveaway, presented by Boyles Insurance.
Fans can also catch the return of the Cowboy Monkey Rodeo, presented by PA Preferred and NEWSRADIO 103 WRSC, on Friday, June 27, as well as a special appearance by Alfonso Ribeiro, who played "Carlton" on the '90s TV series "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," presented by B94.5 FM on Sunday, June 29.
The Spikes will also wear their nationally acclaimed "Fresh Prince"-inspired jerseys on the 29th, which will be up for bids in a Jersey-off-the-Back Auction presented by PSECU to benefit Children's Miracle Network.
In addition, fans be thrilled by FIREWORKS shows on the Friday the 27th, presented by Rex Energy, and on Sunday the 29th, presented by PSECU.
Tickets for next week's games, as well as every game on the Spikes' 2014 home schedule, are currently on sale through the Spikes Box Office by calling (814) 272-1711 or by visiting in person. Fans can also buy and print single-game tickets by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.
Catch all of the action on Monday via the Spikes Radio Network, presented by Penn State Sports Medicine, at 6:50 p.m. with Spikes Live, presented by Mount Nittany Health, on the air from Dwyer Stadium. The Spikes' radio broadcast can also be heard worldwide through the "Listen Live" link on StateCollegeSpikes.com, provided by 95.3 FM 3WZ.