At 6-foot-1, 170 pounds on the Jamestown Jammers roster, starting pitcher Sandy Rosario doesn't look overpowering.
But then he throws a pitch, and the perception changes.
The State College Spikes found that out the hard way, as Rosario dominated the Spikes for seven innings during Jamestown's 7-0 win Sunday over the Spikes at Medlar Field.
"He had the good stuff tonight," Spikes first baseman Aaron Baker said. "He was really able to mix all of his pitches and throw them at any count at any location. So, it's just really tough to sit on one pitch because you're not really sure what he was going to throw."
Rosario (4-2) -- who came into the game ninth in the New-York Penn League in ERA at 2.04 -- completely shut down State College. He scattered five hits over seven innings while striking out six.
He got stronger as the game went on, adding off-speed pitches that were able to catch the Spikes off guard. Five of his six strikeouts came after the fourth inning.
Rosario was able to throw his fastball in the mid-90s, while mixing in a devastating slider that caught a few Spikes batters looking at pitches. Five of his six strikeouts were called third strikes.
"Anytime a guy can command three pitches and know how to mix them, you've got something special," Spikes manager Gary Robinson said. "But when you've got the stuff he has, you've got something real special. He did a heck of a job and we talked to our players about it. He just pitched a hell of a game."
Rosario then went into cruise control after the Jammers had taken advantage of Spikes starter Ricardo Paulino in the top of the inning to take a 5-0 lead.
His performance even got Spikes pitcher Jason Erickson, who pitched four innings of shutout relief, to notice.
"He is a really good pitcher," Erickson said. "He has great command of all of his pitches. He can hit both sides of the plate with his fastball and has a really good slider and changeup. So I'm impressed with him."
Rosario also pitched his way out of trouble in the bottom of the first inning, when he got Spikes designated hitter David Rubinstein to ground into a double play. The Spikes had gotten the first two men on base in the inning, but were never able to get another rally going again against Rosario until the seventh inning when the Jammers were out in front.
But Baker and Robinson said they were happy with the approaches the Spikes took against Rosario.
Robinson said he felt his team took better approaches than it did when they faced Rosario back on July 11. But the fact remains that in Rosario's last two outings against the Spikes, he's 2-0 and allowed no runs on seven hits and struck out 13 Spikes.
"I like the fact that we made good passes at him all night," Robinson said. "But, when he had to make a pitch, he made it. And he got the outs he had to have."
