STATE COLLEGE - 2010 fourth-round draft pick Nick Kingham notched eight of the State College Spikes' 13 strikeouts as a team in the longest outing for any State College pitcher this year, but the Spikes fell to the Auburn Doubledays at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, 5-0, on Wednedsay night.
Kingham (0-2) struck out the side in the fifth inning and retired 12 of the last 14 batters he faced in a tough-luck loss. The right-hander allowed one run in the first inning on an Adrian Nieto RBI single, but kept Auburn (5-1) off the board throughout the rest of his outing, yielding a total of five hits. Kingham's strikeout total also ended up just one shy of the Spikes (1-5) record of nine, held by 2009 southpaw Nelson Pereira.
The Spikes' team strikeout total also ended up just one shy of the franchise record of 14, set on August 26, 2006 against the Doubledays.
After Kingham's sparkling outing, Auburn's Caleb Ramsey and Roberto Perez each knocked in a pair of runs to set the final margin, with Ramsey doubling in the sixth inning and Perez singling in the eighth.
Newcomer Chris Lashmet recorded his first professional hit in the fourth inning for State College. The Northwestern alum joined Lousiana-Lafayette's Alex Fuselier in the starting lineup after being added to the Spikes roster earlier in the day.
Samuel Gonzalez and Jorge Bishop added base hits for the Spikes, who were held to three hits by Auburn pitching for the second night in a row.
Doubledays left-hander Ryan Demmin (2-0) earned the win with five shutout frames, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out three batters.
The Spikes also played without manager Kimera Bartee, who is away from the team until Tuesday. Bartee is being honored along with the rest of his teammates from the 1991 Creighton Blue Jays as the 20th anniversary of their College World Series appearance is celebrated in Omaha. Pirates roving field instructor Frank Kremblas is filling in for Bartee in his absence.
Thursday, the Spikes start their first extended road trip of the year as they journey to Jamestown for the first game of six on the road. Right-hander Ryan Hafner (0-0) will start the three-game series for State College on the mound. Jamestown will send right-hander Jose Urena (0-1) to the hill.
Fans can catch all of the action on Wednesday via the Spikes Radio Network at 6:35 p.m. with the Spikes GameDay Show live from Russell Diethrick Park.
