After weeks of coming up short at home, the State College Spikes offense finally showed the hometown fans they could score runs.
A five-run sixth-inning and a workman-like effort from starter Donnie Smith led to the first series opener win at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park as the Spikes destroyed the Tri-City Valley Cats yesterday, 8-1.
After another rain delay -- in what seems like the 12th time at home -- it didn't take the Spikes' offense long to get started. The Spikes recorded hits in the first five innings, but it was in the sixth that State College mustered its best offensive inning in recent memory.
Valley Cats' starter Bryan Hellberg somewhat cruised through the first five innings without any real damage, but the Spikes finally got to him in the sixth.
Hellberg became uncharacteristically wild, as the Spikes were able to get two runs off of him, and two more off of reliever Celson Polanco. The final two runs came with two outs on hits by Matt Wilkerson and Yonathan Sivira. The one-inning rally has become a staple for the Spikes at home, and that's something that doesn't worry manager Mark DeJohn.
"I don't mind big innings," he said. "I just want that when we have a big inning early that you keep playing and keep trying to put a one on the scoreboard. That's how you win."
The outburst on offense came as a relief to Smith, who by his own admission, he didn't have his best start. Smith said that he finally learned how to pitch yesterday, especially when his fastball topped out at only 78 mph, and he had to rely on his junk.
"It loosened me up mentally," Smith said about the team giving him a seven-run cushion. "But my arm never really loosened."
The real shocker came in the bottom of the fifth when home plate umpire Marc Chamberlain, who was already drawing the ire from both benches after he expanded his strike zone, tossed Spikes first baseman Mark Hamilton from the game. The ejection was because Hamilton drew a line in the dirt to signify that the pitch he struck out on was inside.
"This was the first time I've been thrown out since high school," he said. "It was something stupid on my part. I did something you should never do. I kinda showed him up."
Before Hamilton's day was cut short he crushed a 2-2 pitch from Hellberg 405-feet to straight away center. Hamilton now has homered to every field, including an opposite-field home run in Brooklyn last week.
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
The Spikes announced the outright release of infielder Adam Morris and outfielder Charles Carter. Carter had seven hits, which was good enough for a .171 average. Morris also had seven hits in 43 at-bats -- for a .163 average... Rhett Parrott was called-up to the Palm Beach Cardinals after his start in Jamestown... Kenny Maquies was sent to Johnson City for a 10-day rehab assignment for soreness in his shoulder. There were whispers around the club that he might require Tommy John surgery... A.J. Van Slyke has been demoted to the Spikes and should be in uniform today... Eddie Degerman, the Cardinals fourth round draft choice was signed and will join the team at a later date.
