Auburn Celebrates July 4th with a 4-2 Victory Over State College

AUBURN, NY - Is there anything better than baseball on July 4th? How about a Doubledays' win on July 4th? Probably not. Well that's what happened this year as Auburn defeated State College 4-2 on Independence Day and is now 8-4 on July 4th since 2005. 

The Spikes took the lead first in the first inning thanks to a couple of singles.Thomas Spitz led off the game with a single to second. Spitz stole second with the next batter Craig Aikin hitting and eventually scored on a single to center fielder Andrew Stevenson by Casey Grayson. 

The Doubledays responded in the bottom of the first. Stevenson led off with a triple, the first of his career. He later scored when David Kerian grounded out to second base. 

After a scoreless second and third, Auburn took the lead in the fourth. Matthew Page led off with a single to left field and was moved over to third when Jakson Reetz singled to center. Luis Guzman stepped up next and drove in Page with a single to center. Edwin Lora then grounded out to strand runners on first and third. 

In the fifth inning, Erick Fedde went out for his final inning of work as the Doubledays starter. In just his third professional start after Tommy John Surgery in 2014, Fedde had his best outing. His line was 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, and 6 Ks.

An inning later in the home half of the sixth, Kelvin Gutierrez doubled with one out. The third baseman later scored on a single into left by Guzman. Guzman was stranded on second in the sixth, but Auburn added another run in the seventh. Stevenson singled to left and then stole second base, his third stolen base of hte season. The speedy outfielder later came around to score on a single to right by Page. 

The Spikes mounted a small rally in the ninth that ended almost as quickly as it started. Brian O'Keefe doubled with one out and moved over to third on a single from Josh Swirchak. O'Keefe later scored on a single from Thomas Spitz to left that put the score at 4-2. With runners on first and second and two outs, Michael Pritchard was called on to pinch hit for Craig Aikin, but struck out looking to end the ballgame. 

Fedde's five innings of work helped him earn the first win of his professional career. Juan Perez took the loss, his first of the season, after the following line: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, and 3 K.

Game two of the three-game series with the Spikes is tomorrow at 5:05. Joan Baez (0-1, 13.50 ERA) takes the ball for Auburn against Landon Beck (0-1, 0.90 ERA) for State College. 

Saturday's Particulars:

WP - Erick Fedde (1-0)

LP - Juan Perez (2-1)

SV - Luis Torres (1)

HR - AUB: None, SC: None