Austin, Davenport lead Spikes past Keys

BOX SCORE/PLAY-BY-PLAY (via PitchAware)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Myles Austin delivered a two-run single to give the State College Spikes the lead, and Louis Davenport III earned the win on the mound in his Major League Baseball Draft League debut on Tuesday as the State College Spikes downed the Frederick Keys, 3-1, to finish a two-game series sweep at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

Austin, a product of Chipola (Fla.) College who started his college career at Alabama, singled to shallow right field in the fourth inning to give the Spikes a 2-0 lead which they would not relinquish. The Spikes (2-4) shortstop then helped close the door on the win by going deep in the hole and throwing across his body to retire Kameron Wells for the next-to-last out of the game.

Davenport (1-0), who joined the Spikes from Eastern Kentucky this weekend, tossed two innings of relief and yielded just one unearned run on two hits, two walks and a hit batsman. The right-hander also recorded four strikeouts in the victory.

After taking the lead on Austin’s two-run single, the Spikes responded to Frederick’s (0-6) Dominique Collie coming home on a wild pitch in the sixth as Mark Vierling drove in Brady Brecklin with an RBI groundout.

Cade Carlson started on the mound for the Spikes and tossed four scoreless innings in which he allowed one hit and three walks while striking out five batters. Kiernan Higgins (1) struck out one hitter in a perfect ninth inning to pick up the save.

Frederick starter Dwayne Marshall (1-1) took the loss after allowing two runs on four hits and three walks. Marshall recorded eight strikeouts in the effort, matching State College’s Jared Kengott for the most in a single outing this MLB Draft League season.

The Spikes will look to get a winning streak going on Wednesday night as they visit the Williamsport Crosscutters at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field for a 7:05 p.m. matchup. The Spikes are slated to send right-hander Griffin Miller (0-1) to the hill to meet Crosscutters right-hander Troy Taylor (0-0).

After the quick jaunt to Williamsport, the Spikes return home Thursday for a 6:35 p.m. matchup against the Crosscutters. Fans will enjoy the first Thirsty Thursday of the season, featuring $2 16-oz. select drafts and $3 16-oz. craft drafts from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Plus, it’s the Salute to Masked Men and Women, featuring a Spikes Deer Head Mask Giveaway for the first 250 fans. Gates will open to the general public at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets for Thursday’s game, as well as every game on the 2021 home schedule, are currently on sale through the Spikes Ticket Office. Tickets can be purchased by calling (814) 272-1711 or by visiting the Ticket Office in person from 9 a.m. to the end of the game on gamedays Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to the end of the game on gamedays Saturday and Sunday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on non-gamedays Monday through Friday.

Fans can also buy and download single-game tickets by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.

Catch all of the action on Thursday via the Spikes Radio Network, presented by Penn State Sports Medicine, Official Healthcare Provider of Penn State Athletics, starting with Spikes Live, presented by Mount Nittany Health, on the air from Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The game can be viewed worldwide on the *MLB Draft League *streaming platform at MLBDraftLeague.com/streaming, along with the “Listen Live” link on StateCollegeSpikes.com and the *TuneIn Radio *app.

Time of Game – 3:03

Attendance – 1,751