NILES, Ohio - The State College Spikes rallied from a 4-0 deficit to tie Tuesday night's game at Eastwood Field, but the Mahoning Valley Scrappers plated two runs in the seventh inning to spoil Rinku Singh's 2011 Spikes debut and take a 6-4 victory.
State College (2-10) battled back in the fifth and sixth innings to knot the game, 4-4. The Spikes got RBI singles from Walker Gourley and Kyle Singer in the fifth to cut their deficit in half. Wes Freeman continued the comeback with a one-out single, advancing to third on an error by Mahoning Valley (9-3) left fielder Aaron Siliga. A balk by Scrappers reliever Cody Allen (2-0) then brought the Spikes within one, and Brian Sharp's second single of the night scored Jorge Bishop to force the tie.
Meanwhile, Singh (0-1), the left-hander from Lucknow, India, got the final out in the fourth inning, and then stranded a runner on third with less than two outs in back-to-back frames. In the seventh inning, though, Tony Wolters reached base on a one-out error and scored on Jake Lowery's double. Lowery would go on to cross the plate on a base hit by Alex Lavisky to produce the final margin.
Freeman and Sharp had multi-hit performances for the Spikes. Bishop reached base three times, with two walks adding to a 1-for-2 night.
Singh allowed a total of two runs, one earned, on six hits. The southpaw retired Cody Elliott to end the sixth inning for his lone strikeout of the evening.
Allen picked up the win, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out one batter. Enosil Tejeda yielded a walk in the ninth inning, then set down the next three Spikes batters to earn the save.
Lavisky went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in, while Wolters and Bryson Myles had two hits apiece for the Scrappers, who lead the New York-Penn League's Pinckney Division after sweeping the Spikes at home.
Wednesday, the scene shifts to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park as the Spikes and Scrappers head east for a 7:05 p.m. matchup to start a new three-game series. State College will have right-hander Ryan Hafner (0-0) on the hill. He has not allowed a run or walk this season in two starts, and has notched six strikeouts.
Mahoning Valley counters with left-hander Kirk Wetmore (2-0), who has allowed just four hits and two walks in earning a pair of victories this season.
