Farinaro hurls six shutout frames for eighth win
STATE COLLEGE, PA - Steven Farinaro stretched his scoreless streak to 13 innings with six shutout frames, and the State College Spikes reduced their magic number to six with a 6-1 victory over the Batavia Muckdogs on Tuesday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Farinaro (8-1), named the New York-Penn League Pitcher of the Week on Monday after seven scoreless innings against Williamsport last Wednesday, scattered three hits and a walk while striking out five batters to earn his eighth win of the season.
The right-hander tied the Spikes' (42-21) single-season wins record shared by Tyler Cox and Kevin Decker with the victory.
Vince Jackson homered for the fourth time this season to extend his league-leading RBI total to 43. Jackson's solo shot just to the left of the right-field wall in the fifth extended the Spikes' advantage to 5-0.
State College took the lead in the second when Joey Hawkins and Riley Drongesen each produced RBI singles after a pair of Batavia (16-45) errors helped put runners on base.
Danny Hudzina then knocked in a run with a single in the third, and Hawkins provided a fielder's choice in the same frame to make it 4-0, Spikes.
Andy Young singled in a run in the sixth to finish the State College scoring.
Batavia put up its only run of the game in the eighth inning when Samuel Castro hit an inside-the-park home run to deep center field.
Muckdogs starter Jose Diaz (0-6) took the loss after yielding two unearned runs on two hits and two walks over 1 2/3 innings. Diaz struck out three in the effort.
Every member of the Spikes' starting lineup produced exactly one hit in the game.
Wednesday, the Spikes and Muckdogs play the middle game of their three-game set. The 7:05 p.m. matchup at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park will feature left-hander Dewin Perez (3-3) on the mound for State College. Batavia will go with right-hander Michael Mertz (1-2).
Fans can enjoy a Half-Craft Wednesday at the ballpark, presented by 93.7 The BUS. Get into the park with half-price bleacher seats, then enjoy half-price craft beers from 6-8 p.m. and half-price medium sodas all game long.
The Spikes will also celebrate one of America's greatest rock and roll bands on Wednesday night with another KISS Night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. KISS is ready to rock America in their new Freedom to Rock tour, and fans can get ready by coming out to the game on Wednesday for tributes, contests and great KISS prizes all night long.
In addition, college students across Central PA can enjoy even more value during every remaining Spikes home game with the College 3-2-1 Special. The College 3-2-1 Special offers any college student presenting a valid student ID at ticket and concessions windows $3 Outfield Bleacher seats or $3 off seat in any other ballpark section, excluding Pepsi Picnic Pavilion and suites, plus $2 medium sodas and $1 hot dogs all game long.
Plus, in anticipation of as many as four potential September home playoff games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, Spikes Four-Game Playoff Packs are now available for purchase. Playoff Packs start as low as just $16 per seat and include a $4 per game savings off the single-game price. In addition, each seat purchased as part of a Four-Game Playoff Pack will come with a free, limited-edition Spikes Rally Towel while supplies last.
Fans can purchase Four-Game Playoff Packs by visiting the Spikes Ticket Office at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, or by calling (814) 272-1711 during Ticket Office hours (9 a.m. to end of game on game days Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to end of game on game days Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on non-game days Monday-Friday).
Catch all of the action on Wednesday via the Spikes Radio Network, presented by Penn State Health, at 6:35 p.m. with Spikes Live, presented by Mount Nittany Health, on the air from Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Spikes' radio broadcast can also be heard worldwide through the "Listen Live" link on StateCollegeSpikes.com, provided by the club's flagship radio home, Newsradio 1390 WRSC, as well as the TuneIn Radio app.
Spikes fans can also catch home games in 2016 even when outside Central PA thanks to the new partnership with MiLB.TV to stream all games online to paid subscribers of the service. MiLB.TV offers fans the chance to follow the game's future stars across Minor League Baseball, with more than 5,000 games streamed live, including affiliates of all 30 MLB teams, and complete game archives available on demand. Fans can subscribe to MiLB.TV monthly at $12.99 a month.