Spikes drop game, extend deal with Cardinals

Although the State College Spikes had already clinched the New York-Penn League’s Pinckney Division title, Wednesday’s game was one they could not afford to lose.

As they battle for the league’s best record to secure home field advantage for the postseason, they were never able to turn the corner Wednesday and fell 6-3 to the Aberdeen Ironbirds before 2,712 fans Wednesday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

“That was a tough one,” Spikes manager Johnny Rodriguez said. “(Starting pitcher Greg) Tomchik didn’t come out good and we were fortunate to come out of that (first inning) only giving up two runs. We tied it a 2-2, but then the error hurt. We battled back to get it to 4-3, but then one of our best hitters grounds into a double play and that was unfortunate.”

State College (46-25) fell percentage points behind Hudson Valley (45-24) for the league’s top seed. The Renegades beat Lowell 10-5.

The most important news for Spikes fans, however, came after the second inning.

The St. Louis Cardinals announced their player development contract with the Spikes had been extended for another two years, taking them through the 2018 season.

“Our relationship with the St. Louis Cardinals has provided a tremendous on-field product for our fans over the past four years and we are excited to continue that affiliation for at least the next two seasons,” Chairman and Managing Partner of the Spikes Chuck Greenberg said in a statement.

Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak also expressed the organization’s feelings about their experiences with the Spikes.

“We have enjoyed the last four years in State College and are looking forward to many more,” he said in a statement. “We are grateful to Chuck Greenberg, (Team President) Jason Dambach and (General Manager) Scott Walker as they provide a tremendous environment for our players to grow both on and off the field.”

On the field, the two teams came out of their respective club houses with their hitting shoes on as they combined for five hits and four runs in the first inning.

The 2-all deadlock was short-lived as the Ironbirds parlayed a hit, a base on balls and one of two costly Spike errors to retake the lead at 4-2 in the third inning.

Still trailing by a pair heading into the fifth, the Spikes managed to cut their deficit to one and it could have been more.

Loading the bases with one run in and one out, Aberdeen pitcher Lucas Humpal (1-2) coaxed Jeremy Martinez to bounce into a double play, the second twin-killing for the Ironbirds in as many innings.

They turned three double plays in the game.

“Other times those balls find the hole, today they didn’t and that is the way you have to look at it,” said Rodriguez. “We don’t have strikeout artists so we have to make plays. We can’t afford to let another hitter hit and that has been our motto all year. When we don’t make plays, that is when bad things happen for us.”

Feeling the pressure of the Spikes hanging around, the Ironbirds gave themselves some separation in the seventh when Austin Hays went yard for a two-run home run just inside the foul pole in left field.

“We had the error by (shortstop Andy) Young that brought their best hitter up and he hit a mistake,” Rodriguez said. “He didn’t miss it and that was the game.”

The manager didn’t think clinching the division title so early has affected his team’s performance.

“(Tommy) Edman is battling, (Vince) Jackson is battling and we are all battling,” Rodriguez said. “Sometimes the ball just goes against you. But to look at it from the other side, we do have the best record and every team that comes to play us wants to do well. They come here and play with a little swagger to beat us so you have to answer the challenge and we didn’t with the two errors. Those were two routine balls with a slow runner and those errors give you a bad feel for a pretty good game.”

This story was originally published August 31, 2016 at 11:05 PM with the headline "Spikes drop game, extend deal with Cardinals."