From staff reports
JAMESTOWN, N.Y. - D.J. Crumlich contributed three hits and led a late scoring surge while State College Spikes newcomer Eric Wood knocked in three runs, but the Spikes' ninth-inning comeback bid fell just short as the Jamestown Jammers held on to take an 8-7 victory on Friday night at Russell Diethrick Park.
Crumlich doubled in a pair of runs in the ninth inning to trim a three-run deficit to just one and put the tying run on base. However, Jamestown (31-39) reliever Casey McCarthy (1) retired Samuel Gonzalez one batter later to end the game.
State College (32-39) opened up the scoring with single runs in each of the first two innings. Gonzalez singled in a run in the first, while two errors and Wood's RBI groundout gave the Spikes a 2-0 lead in the second.
The Jammers responded with a three-run, four-hit inning in the bottom half of the second against State College starter Clay Holmes, scoring each run with two outs in the frame. The Spikes battled back, though, with Jacob Stallings bringing in a run with a sacrifice fly to tie the game in the third inning and Wood delivering an RBI single in the fourth to give State College a 4-3 lead.
In the sixth inning, the Spikes looked to have added some insurance when Wood tripled off of the leftmost portion of the batter's eye, six feet above the adjacent outfield wall, in center field to score another run.
However, Jamestown plated three more runs in the sixth inning off of Spikes reliever Isaac Sanchez (0-2). Avery Romero's run-scoring single after back-to-back walks to start the frame drew the Jammers within one, and Felix Munoz brought in the tying run by beating out a double-play attempt two batters later. Yeison Hernandez and Juancito Martinez then teamed up for consecutive singles, with Martinez's scoring the go-ahead run.
Another Romero single and an error in the seventh inning gave the Jammers two more runs before State College's ninth-inning scoring burst finished off the scoring.
Wood finished the night, his second in a Spikes uniform, 2-for-4 with his three RBI. Crumlich went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles. Chris Diaz compiled two hits and scored a pair of runs for State College.
Sanchez took the loss after giving up a total of three hits and two walks in his lone inning on the mound. Holmes yielded three runs on six hits, but did not walk any batters and struck out one to leave the hill with the lead.
Chipper Smith (1-0) gave up the Spikes' sixth-inning run on Wood's RBI triple, and allowed two hits total, but got credit for the win. Smith also struck out one batter. McCarthy struck out seven batters over three innings and yielded two unearned runs on two hits for the save.
Romero went 3-for-4 with a stolen base, two RBI and a run scored for Jamestown. Martinez produced a 2-for-4 evening with a pair of RBI as well.
Saturday, the Spikes finish their 2012 road schedule with a 7:05 p.m. matchup against the Jammers. Right-hander Dovydas Neverauskas (0-0), the first Lithuanian ever to play for the Spikes, will be officially activated tomorrow and will make the start on the mound for State College. Neverauskas, a native of the capital city of Vilnius, got the win in Game 1 of the GCL Championship Series on Tuesday for the GCL Pirates.
Jamestown will go with right-hander Blake Logan (1-2) on the mound.
