Doubledays Drop Series to Spikes

It was an all around rough day for the Doubledays on Bark at the Park at Leo Pinckney Field. Even with dogs galore roaming the confines of Falcon Park, there was little to feel good about following Auburn's 9-3 loss to the Spikes. With shaky starting pitching and slow bats, the Doubledays will go into the All-Star game with a 30-24 record.
Reid Schaller had his first shaky outing with the Doubledays after tossing 65 pitches over just 2.2 innings. The Spikes tagged him for a run in the first inning after playing a bit of small ball to kick things off. State College right fielder Justin Toerner led off with a single and promptly swiped second base, and later scored on a Stanley Espinal RBI single.
Schaller rebounded in the second inning by putting down the side in order but was hit hard and eventually knocked out of the third. He recorded the first out on only two pitches but walked the following batter and plunked the next. A passed ball advanced both runners to second and third, allowing both of them to score easily on a line drive double by Nick Dunn. Dunn advanced to third two batters later on a wild pitch and scored on a Brady Whalen double. A 4-0 deficit and single the following batter was all acting manager Michael Barrett needed to see to to point to the bullpen and recall newcomer Joan Adon, who escaped the inning.
Adon gave up a run in the fourth inning but retiring the fifth inning in order to end his Auburn debut on his 20th birthday. Carson Teel served as the long man for the Doubledays and was fairly effective on the afternoon. While he did serve up a run in the sixth, he blanked the Spikes in the seventh and eighth in a gritty effort.
Trailing 7-0, the Doubledays made their first splash of the game in the sixth inning with a three spot to make it a ballgame. Auburn got its first run of the game on a ground out, and Carson Shaddy lined a ball up the gut to make it a 7-2 ballgame. Batting in the three-hole, Adalberto Carrillo brought in another run with an RBI single to highlight his two-hit night.
But despite the Doubledays' best efforts, the Spikes put up two big insurance runs on one big swing of the bat by Stanley Espinal. His fourth home run of the year put State College on top, 9-3, to effectively end the game.
Six Doubledays will participate in the New York-Penn League All-Star Game on August 14 - David Smith, Angel Guillen, Pablo O'Connor, Kyle Marinconz, Jacob Rhinesmith, and Israel Pineda. The Doubledays will be back as a whole on August 15 as Auburn takes on Mahoning Valley in a doubleheader on the road.