Gonzalez homers, but Spikes drop 6-2 decision
Gonzalez's long ball over the left field wall on a 2-2 pitch from Batavia (8-8) starter Ben O'Shea nearly hit the ballpark scoreboard and tied the score, 2-2, in the bottom of the sixth inning. The dinger broke State College's (8-8) 15-game homerless streak to start the season, and was the second round-tripper of Gonzalez's Spikes career.
However, the Muckdogs struck back in the eighth with a quartet of runs, all of which scored with two outs in the inning. After Spikes reliever Tom Harlan (1-2) recorded shutout frames in the sixth and seventh innings, the left-hander allowed a leadoff single to Jonathan Keener. Keener advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on a groundout, then scored on Jacob Wilson's base hit. Matthew Young would follow with a triple to plate Wilson, and after Logan Pevny took over on the mound, Patrick Wisdom and Jordan Walton contributed RBI singles to finish the scoring.
State College also faced an early deficit after single runs in both the first and second innings for Batavia. Young delivered a sacrifice fly to right field to bring in the Muckdogs' first run, and in the second, David Bergin delivered a solo homer to left-center field on an 0-1 pitch from Spikes starter Jason Creasy.
Creasy, however, settled down after that and went a career-long five innings on the hill, striking out six batters to set a new high-water mark for strikeouts by a Spikes pitcher this season. The right-hander and 2011 eighth-round draft choice of the Pirates yielded a total of two runs on four hits and a walk.
Ryan Hornback joined Gonzalez in producing multi-hit games for State College, with Hornback also beating out a bunt single. Rodarrick Jones doubled for the Spikes in the third inning to snap a string of 37 innings without an extra-base hit for the club.
Harlan was tagged with the loss after being charged with three runs on five hits over his 2 2/3 innings on the mound. The southpaw struck out two batters in the effort.
Muckdogs reliever Kevin Jacob (2-0) got the win after throwing a perfect 1 2/3 innings following O'Shea.
Wednesday, the Spikes hit the road on the Fourth of July to take on the Tri-City ValleyCats (Houston Astros) at 6:00 p.m. in the first game of a three-game set. The contest also begins a six-game road swing for State College that includes a trip to Vermont. State College will send right-hander Adrian Sampson (0-0), the fifth-round draft choice of the Pirates in 2012, to the mound for the first start of his professional career. Tri-City is scheduled to have left-hander Joe Bircher (0-0) starting on the hill.
The Spikes will return home to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Wednesday, July 11 to start a six-game homestand with a 7:05 p.m matchup against the Staten Island Yankees (New York Yankees). Fans will be able to get into the park with half-price Outfield Bleacher tickets and quaff half-price fountain drinks and half-price select domestic drafts on Half-Price Wednesday, presented by BIG Froggy 101.
Plus, health care professionals from across the region will be celebrated on Health Care Appreciation Night, and the Spikes will attempt to emulate the weird wackiness of game shows from the Land of the Rising Sun on Japanese Game Show Night.
Tickets for all six games in the July 11-16 homestand against the Yankees and the Brooklyn Cyclones (New York Mets), as well as every Spikes regular season home game in 2012, are currently on sale through the Spikes Box Office by calling (814) 272-1711 or by visiting in person. Fans can also buy and print single-game tickets by clicking here.
Catch all of the action on Wednesday via the Spikes Radio Network, presented by Penn State Sports Medicine, at 5:45 p.m. with the Spikes GameDay Show live from Joseph Bruno Stadium. The Spikes' radio broadcast can also be heard worldwide through the "Listen Live" link on StateCollegeSpikes.com, provided by 95.3 FM 3WZ.