Shaddy smacks five hits for Doubledays

Through his first 21 professional games with Class A Short Season Auburn, Carson Shaddy hadn't accumulated more than two hits in a single contest. Game No. 22 changed that.
The Nationals prospect erupted at the plate against State College, racking up five singles and driving in a pair of runs as the Doubledays ran over the Spikes, 12-5, at Lubrano Park. 

Talking to Auburn hitting coach Mark Harris after the game, Shaddy realized he'd never before collected five hits in one contest.
"Maybe in fall ball in college," he said. "But I don't think I've ever done it in an actual game. So it's pretty cool to say that I've done that. It was a fun game, for sure." 
Gameday box score
After bouncing to shortstop to open the game against Chris Holba, the 23-year-old spent the rest of the night on the bases, thanks to an in-game adjustment.
"My biggest thing right now is working on my posture as the bat is flying through the zone," Shaddy said. "I felt myself lean over in that first at-bat. I stood myself back up and was just trying to get the bat on the ball, not trying to do too much. I came up in a few situations with two outs and a runner on second, so I wasn't trying to get too big." 
In the third, Shaddy sent a 1-0 offering from Holba back up the middle for his first knock of the game. Two innings later, he pulled the first pitch to left. The 10th-round selection in this year's Draft did his run-producing damage in the sixth with a single to right that scored Tyler Cropley and Cole Daily as part of a three-run frame. 
Shaddy flashed some speed and beat out an infield single to third in the eighth before joining the fun in a five-run ninth, when he lined an 0-1 delivery from reliever Troy Montemayor for his milestone knock. Cody Wilson plated him one batter later with a triple to center. 
Normally, a five-hit night can do wonders for a hitter's confidence. But Shaddy is never overly concerned with his mojo. 
"I'm a confident guy. My confidence is always high when it comes to baseball," he said. "There's a difference between confidence and cockiness. To be humble is just huge in this game. Having a level head and staying confident, you can't play this game if you don't have that. I'm always confident. I don't know if that's a result of my at-bats, because I'm just trying to chase good swings. I'm not trying to chase hits."
That mentality comes from the University of Arkansas product's preparation.
"I spend a lot of time on my swing, perfecting everything, figuring out who I am," he said.
The performance elevated the Fayetville native's batting average 43 points to .300. While he was a singles machine Saturday, Shaddy has a homer, triple and five doubles along with 15 walks in 80 at-bats to produce a .429 on-base percentage. 

Throughout his college career, Shaddy struggled with what he called a "bad bat angle" when the barrel was traveling through the zone. During a day off this season, he realized that his right index finger and thumb weren't on the bat at all while swinging.
"It's crazy how the smallest adjustment can make such a big difference," the righty said. "That's really the one thing that I've been trying to focus on, is bat angle. And I've kind of figured it out, so it's really exciting."
Daily finished 4-for-4 with four runs scored, while rehabbing Nationals outfielder Moises Sierra was 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Daily and Shaddy have become fast friends as recent Draft picks and middle-infield partners. The duo went hit-for-hit until the ninth, when Daily grounded out and Shaddy followed with his fifth knock.
"He was right there with me tonight," Shaddy said. "We were high-fiving each other, laughing.
"We've been playing really well lately. Everybody's succeeding, which is fun to be around. That's the reason why we keep seeing more success and more success, is that we're just playing loose, not taking ourselves too seriously, just really enjoying what we're doing and the opportunity that we've got. I think that's really the key factor of why we're playing so good right now."