NEW YORK-PENN LEAGUE

Carrying his team: Rubinstein lifts Spikes to win

Rubinstein stays aggressive, drives in game-winning run

Guy Cipriano

UNIVERSITY PARK — David Rubinstein lined Austin Armstrong's fastball into left field and slapped his hands together three times as he trotted into second base, a prime spot to stand with no outs in the eighth inning of a 3-3 game.

Craig Houtz

State College Spikes' Brock Holt hits a 1 RBI single against Auburn Doubledays in the 2nd inning on Thursday, July 2, 2009.

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Rubinstein was then put into even better territory by advancing to third on Craig Parry’s two-strike sacrifice bunt with one out, but he never crossed the plate.

Rubinstein received an opportunity to do something better in the ninth, however.

Rubinstein hit a two-out, game-winning single off Casey Beck as the State College Spikes defeated Auburn 4-3 before a franchise-low 2,384 fans Thursday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

The run was the first scored by the Spikes (6-8) after the fourth inning since Sunday’s loss to Mahoning Valley.

“I was just trying to step it up for the team, put the guys on my back and do what I could,” Rubinstein said.

Rubinstein’s single accomplished three major team objectives.

•It prevented the Spikes from entering extra innings for the second time this season.

•It eliminated any angst attached to leaving 12 runners on base, including two in the eighth.

•It wiped away Wednesday’s lethargic 6-1 loss from memories.

“It’s good for our guys,” manager Gary Robinson said. “I think you saw the excitement. They were a different club than they were (Wednesday). Tonight, they never gave in or felt like they were going to get beat. That’s the way we normally play. This club is going to get on a roll. It’s just a matter of time.”

Rubinstein already has momentum. Instead of sulking about his return to State College for a second season, last year’s 11th-round pick from Appalachian State is developing into a solid hitter.

Rubinstein went 3-for-5, extending his hitting streak to nine games and raising his batting average to .308. He said he wanted to give his teammates a lit. He accomplished that when he connected against Beck after pinch-hitter Kyle Morgan struck out looking at a breaking ball. The single scored Evan Chambers, a third-round pick making his professional debut, who walked with one out.

Robinson said aggression represents the biggest difference in Rubinstein, who hit .249 last summer. Rubinstein agreed with the assessment.

Matt Payne and Ty Summerlin also had two hits for the Spikes. Chambers walked three times and hit a sacrifice fly to center field in the second.

An injury to shortstop Andy Vasquez forced Robinson to alter his lineup. Brock Holt, who typically plays second base, moved to short and Summerlin started at second.

The game featured a rare pitching matchup between NY-PL veterans.

Kyle McPherson, who spent all of last season and part of 2007 in State College, gave the Spikes a season-high six innings. McPherson cruised through the first five, allowing two hits, one run and three baserunners.

In the sixth, the Doubledays (5-8) took advantage of some misplaced pitches to score two runs. With one out, Eric Eiland hit a fastball off the center-field wall to score Karim Turkamani. Eiland scored one pitch later when Welinton Ramirez drove a fastball to center field for a sacrifice fly to tie the game 3-3.

The outing was McPherson’s third since a demotion from full-season West Virginia, where he went 5-2 with a 4.94 ERA in 13 appearances. Three of the four hits he allowed were doubles and three of the five Doubledays who reached base during the first six innings scored. McPherson struck out seven to increase his total to 19 in 152/ 3 innings.

Zach Foster pitched 22/ 3 scoreless relief innings for the

Spikes. Marc Baca, a 42nd-round pick from UNLV, replaced Foster with two outs in the ninth and earned his first professional win by inducing Kyle Gilligan into a pop out on his first — and only — pitch of the night.