Spikes think pink, win in tenth over Auburn

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - On a night where the State College Spikes wore their Pink Sunrise Jerseys and helped fight breast cancer with Mount Nittany Health for Paint the Park Pink, Lars Nootbaar was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the tenth to finish a 3-2 comeback win over the Auburn Doubledays on Sunday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
The Spikes (14-21) and Mount Nittany Health raised over $3,300 for the Breast Care Center at Mount Nittany Health through the Mount Nittany Health Foundation on Sunday night. The combination of a Jersey-off-the-Back Auction for the Spikes' Pink Sunrise Jerseys and the Spikes 50/50 Raffle raised funds and awareness for the battle against breast cancer.

The Spikes, their fans, and Mount Nittany Health have now combined to raise over $60,000 for the fight against breast cancer in over a decade of Paint the Park Pink Nights.
The game was scoreless going into the tenth inning, but the Spikes (14-21) found themselves down 2-0 going into the bottom of the frame after Jose Sanchez delivered an RBI single and Cole Daily doubled in another run for Auburn (18-16) in the top half.
However, Wadye Ynfante doubled in designated extra-inning runner Justin Toerner to start the bottom of the tenth, and moved to third when the Doubledays erred on Matt Duce 's sacrifice bunt.
Nick Dunn 's infield single then tied the game, and Nootbaar took a pitch in the backside four batters later to win it for State College.
Cory Malcom (2-0) allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits while striking out one in the tenth for the win in relief. However, that only added to Malcom's big night as the right-hander proposed marriage on the field before the game to his girlfriend, Kayla Turner, who accepted.
Jake Dahlberg started for State College and added another gem to his growing collection with seven innings of shutout ball. Dahlberg, who allowed five hits and two walks on the night, racked up eight strikeouts to match a career high.
The left-hander has now gone 16 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run and has recorded 23 strikeouts over his last 21 frames on the mound.
The Spikes took on three former major leaguers as well. César Vargas , who made seven starts for the Padres in 2016, made a start on Sunday in a rehab assignment from Triple-A Syracuse. Vargas allowed one hit, a single by Matt Duce, and struck out two batters over three innings of work. Victor Robles , the Nationals' top prospect according to MLBPipeline.com, made the second appearance of his rehab assignment in Auburn, going 0-for-4 at the plate. In addition, former Nationals reliever Aaron Barrett , on the comeback trail after the reconstruction of his throwing elbow, tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief and allowed just one walk.
Doubledays reliever Yonathan Ramirez (2-4) took the loss after allowing all three State College runs, one of them earned, on two hits and a walk while striking out one over 2/3 of an inning.
The Spikes now hit the road for a travel day on Monday before beginning a six-game road trip through New England with a 7:05 p.m. game on Tuesday against the Connecticut Tigers (Detroit Tigers). Left-hander Diego Cordero (1-0) is slated to start the opener of a three-game set in the Nutmeg State against an as yet unannounced starter for the Tigers.
Following the series in Connecticut, the Spikes will meet the Lowell Spinners (Boston Red Sox) for three games before a six-game homestand at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park begins on Monday, July 30.
Highlights of the homestand include the second Super Splash Day of the year on Wednesday, August 1, doubleheader action against the Auburn Doubledays with $1 Beer Thursday on August 2, Bark in the Park III, presented by NEWSRADIO 1390 WRSC, on Friday, August 3, and Animal House Night with a State "College" Sweater Jersey-off-the-Back Auction presented by PSECU to benefit Children's Miracle Network on Saturday, August 4.
Tickets for all six games from July 30 to August 4, as well as the 2018 New York-Penn League All-Star Game presented by the Central PA Convention & Visitors Bureau, the 2018 NYPL All-Star Tailgate Gala presented by Reinhart Foodservice, and every game on the 2018 Spikes 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 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fans can also buy and download single-game tickets by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.
Catch all of the action on Tuesday via the Spikes Radio Network, presented by Penn State Sports Medicine, Official Healthcare Provider of Penn State Athletics, at 6:50 p.m. with Spikes Live, presented by Mount Nittany Health, on the air from Dodd Stadium. The Spikes' radio broadcast can also be heard worldwide through the "Listen Live" link on StateCollegeSpikes.com, provided by the club's flagship radio home, Newsradio 1390 WRSC, as well as the TuneIn Radio app.