State College Spikes fall short in loss to Batavia Muckdogs

Scott Hurst put the State College Spikes in position to force extra innings Friday night, but his team fell short in a 4-3 loss to the Batavia Muckdogs at Dwyer Stadium.

Hurst hit a solo home run — the first homer of his professional career — in the seventh inning to pull the Spikes within 4-3, and he doubled with one out in the ninth inning in his next at-bat. But Hurst was left stranded at second base after Batavia’s Brent Wheatley recorded a pair of strikeouts to end the game.

Hurst, Evan Mendoza and Ricardo Bautista each finished with two hits to pace the Spikes (20-16) offensively.

State College took a 2-1 lead in the third inning after RBI singles by both Mendoza and Yariel Gonzalez. But the Muckdogs (12-24) took control with two runs in the fifth inning and one run in the sixth.

After allowing the home run to Hurst with one out in the seventh, Batavia reliever Shane Sawczak finished the inning with two strikeouts. Wheatley pitched the final two innings to earn the save.

Muckdogs starter Alejandro Mateo allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings in the win.

Player of the game

Muckdogs right fielder Brayan Hernandez: Hernandez finished 3 for 3 with a triple to lead Batavia. The Muckdogs leadoff hitter also scored two runs in his third game with the team after being traded to the Miami Marlins by the Seattle Mariners on July 20. Seattle sent Hernandez and three other players to Miami for relief pitcher David Phelps, who is 2-4 with a 3.24 ERA in 47 appearances in the major leagues this season.

At the plate

Steady production: State College’s Evan Mendoza continued his strong season with a 2-for-5 performance Friday. Mendoza came inot the night ranked third in the New York-Penn League in hitting with a .345 batting average, behind Aberdeen’s Ben Breazeale (.400) and Spikes teammate Josh Lopez (.395). Mendoza improved his average to .348 on Friday.

On the mound

Summerville stays sharp: Spikes starting pitcher Andrew Summerville turned in another solid effort, allowing one run and three hits in four innings. Though he struggled with his command — Summerville walked four — he finished his outing with the Spikes ahead 2-1. Summerville now owns a 2.33 ERA this season. State College reliever Levi MaVorhis allowed three runs in three innings to take the loss.

Next up

State College at Batavia, 7:05 p.m. Saturday: Spikes right-hander Paul Balestrieri (1-0, 2.70) will be on the mound for the series finale. For Batavia, Ryan Lillie (0-2, 4.22) is set to get the start.

This story was originally published July 28, 2017 at 11:12 PM with the headline "State College Spikes fall short in loss to Batavia Muckdogs."