STATE COLLEGE - Jacob Stallings led the State College Spikes' offensive barrage with four hits and two runs batted in to help Luis Heredia earn his first win with the Spikes as they pounded the Staten Island Yankees, 11-2, on Friday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
The win gave State College (14-11) a three-game sweep of Staten Island (9-16), the third time this year the Spikes have swept a three-game series. The only other time in franchise history that State College earned a hat trick of sweeps was in 2007.
The Spikes started their hitting onslaught early, as Chris Diaz brought in a run with a fielder's choice to make it 1-0 in the first inning. In the second inning, State College broke the game open with a four-run frame, starting with a Stallings double and continuing with back-to-back singles by Samuel Gonzalez and Yhonathan Barrios to extend the lead to 2-0. After a pair of runs scored on outs, D.J. Crumlich delivered another single to make it 5-0, State College.
Staten Island responded with a single run in the third off of Heredia (1-1), but the 17-year-old right-hander would allow only that run on a total of three hits and three walks over five innings of work. Heredia was held without a strikeout for the first time this season, but earned the win as the Spikes only produced more offense in the ensuing innings.
State College put up another four-spot in the sixth inning, with each run scoring on the second out or afterwards. Barrios grounded out to drive in a run to start off the surge, and then after Tyler Gaffney was hit by a pitch, Ryan Hornback and Barrett Barnes produced consecutive RBI single to make it 8-2, Spikes. Gaffney would come around to score on a passed ball to enlarge the lead to seven runs by the end of the frame.
Stallings delivered a ground rule double to center field to drive in a run in the seventh inning, then knocked in his second run with an eighth-inning single to complete the Spikes' scoring.
Staten Island's only other offensive burst came in the sixth inning, when Matt Snyder hit a solo home run to right-center field off of Spikes reliever Dalton Friend. Friend, however, would yield only that hit over two innings.
Yankees starter Tim Flight (0-2) took the loss after allowing State College's first five runs on five hits and three walks over 1 2/3 innings. Flight struck out two in the effort. Reliever Derek Varnadore pitched 3 1/3 perfect innings for Staten Island before the Spikes started breaking back onto the scoreboard.
Saturday, the Spikes start a three-game series against the Brooklyn Cyclones (New York Mets) with a 7:05 p.m. matchup at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. State College will send right-hander Clay Holmes (2-1) to the mound. The 19-year-old right-hander currently holds a 1.45 ERA, and opponents have batted just .164 against him this year. Brooklyn will go with right-hander Luis Mateo (3-1).
