Vermont Falls 5-4 At State College Friday

STATE COLLEGE, PA --- The State College Spikes got two-out RBI singles in both the bottom of the 10th to tie game and 11th inning for a 5-4 New York-Penn League walkoff victory over the Vermont Lake Monsters Friday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

Trailing 4-3 with two outs and no one on in bottom 10th, State College's Yariel Gonzalez reached on a infield single, moved to second on a walk and scored on a Wood Myers RBI single to tie game. Then in bottom of 11th with the bases loaded and one out, Vermont reliever Bryce Conley (0-2) struckout Bryce Denton before Gonzalez grounded the first pitch he saw into centerfield to plate Matt Davis with the winning run.
The loss dropped Vermont to 2-6 in extra-inning games overall, including 0-4 on the road (all in the last 12 Lake Monster away games). Vermont is also now 11-11 in one-run games, including 3-10 in last 13 games decided by one run.
Greg Deichman had tied the game for the Lake Monsters 3-3 in the top of the seventh inning with a two-out solo homer, his third of the season, and then scored Vermont's go ahead run in the top of the 10th inning on a Payton Squier two-out RBI single. Deichman had also given the Lake Monsters a 1-0 lead in the third with a sacrifice fly after a Will Toffey triple to center.
Vermont starter Jesus Luzardo, the 2016 third-round pick for Washington who was traded to Oakland last month, retired six of seven batters faced over the first two innings (leadoff single in single), but was touched for three runs (two earned) on four hits in the bottom of the third as the Spikes took a 3-1 lead.
Brian Howard tossed three hitless innings of relief for Vermont with one walk and three strikeouts over the middle innings, while Jeferson Mejia had two walks and two strikeouts over two hitless innings as Lake Monsters bullpen held Spikes without a hit over 5 1/3 innings of work until a one-out single in ninth.
Deichmann finished 2-for-4 with two runs with the homer and two RBI, while Kevin Merrell went 2-for-6 with a walk and run scored for Vermont (27-24), which holds a one-game lead over Tri-Cty (25-24) for first-place in the Stedler Division. Gonzalez was 2-for-3 with three walks, two runs and the game-winning RBI, while Spencer Trayner (4-1) allowed one run over 2 2/3 innings to earn the win for State College (28-23).
The Lake Monsters and Spikes will play game two of the three-game series in State College on Saturday at 7:05 pm and wrap up the series Sunday at 6:05 pm. After two days off for the All-Star Game, Vermont will return to Centennial Field for a six-game homestand August 16-21.