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Spikes offense blanked in loss to Muckdogs

From staff reports

BATAVIA, N.Y. – The State College Spikes received stellar performances from a trio of pitchers but could only muster three hits as the Batavia Muckdogs dealt them a 1-0 defeat on Tuesday night at Dwyer Stadium.

Enmanuel Solano (1-2) led the Spikes’ (10-8) mound corps with five innings of work in which he allowed just one unearned run on five hits, a walk and two hit batsmen. Solano also struck out two batters while taking the loss.

Solano was followed by Jack Ralston, the Cardinals’ 2019 seventh-round draft choice out of UCLA. Ralston logged two scoreless innings in his professional debut and yielded just one hit while striking out three batters.

Leonardo Tavares then finished off the game in his Spikes debut by retiring all three batters he faced in the eighth, two of them via strikeout.

Batavia (11-7) scored the lone run of the game in the second when Gerardo Nunez brought in Kobie Taylor in the second with a sacrifice fly to left field.

Brylie Ware, Shane Benes and David Vinsky collected the hits for the Spikes. Benes, signed as a non-drafted free agent in June out of Saint Louis University, made his professional debut with the Spikes on Tuesday.

State College threatened in the ninth as Martin Figueroa led off with a walk and Vinsky’s single put runners on first and second with two outs. However, Moises Castillo’s two-strike bunt went foul, Carlos Soto flied out to center and Stanley Espinal struck out to end the game.

Batavia starter Remey Reed (3-0) gave up two hits and nothing more over seven innings of work. Reed struck out seven batters in the effort. Lefty Easton Lucas then recorded the next five outs, four via strikeout, before Geremy Galindez (1) threw three pitches to net the final strikeout and record the save.

With the loss, their first via shutout in 2019, the Spikes fell to a game-and-a-half behind Batavia for the New York-Penn League Pinckney Division lead.

The Spikes will look to capture the final game of the series at Dwyer Stadium on Wednesday as they take on the Muckdogs at 7:05 p.m. Left-hander Jacob Schlesener (0-1), who set State College’s single-game strikeout record with 11 in an August start at Dwyer Stadium last year, gets the ball to oppose Batavia right-hander Jackson Rose (2-1).

Following a six-game road trip to visit Batavia and Mahoning Valley, the Spikes return home on Sunday, July 7 to begin a three-game series against the Muckdogs at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

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