For the second straight night, the State College Spikes barely trailed after seven innings. And for the second straight night, the Spikes self-destructed in the top of the eighth inning.
A five-run eighth, facilitated by a two-run Michael Mooney single, put the Aberdeen IronBirds (21-26) over the top and gave them a 7-3 win over the Spikes (23-24) Wednesday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
"It's very frustrating," Spikes first baseman Justin Byler said. "Having things like that happen where, with walks and the ball the kid chopped off home plate and got over my head. It's the same thing, it's just baseball. Things fall and things don't, it's something you have to deal with. But it definitely hurt, it discouraged you a little bit."
The inning was a nightmare for Spikes reliever Alan Knotts. Three singles all seemed to find their way through the Spikes' defense. Mooney's two-run single bounced off of home plate and over the head of Byler. Knotts also had a wild pitch, a passed ball, a stolen base and a defensive indifference during the eighth inning that broke open a 2-0 game.
"We walked a few guys, we put ourselves in bad counts," Spikes starter Philip Irwin said. "Ultimately, hitters are going to make you pay for doing that."
On the night where former Pirates pitcher John Candelaria threw out the first pitch, one of the starters had a major-league type performance. Aberdeen starter Nick Haughian (4-2) not only shut down the Spikes, he went one step better. Haughian no-hit the Spikes for six innings before Byler finally broke through with a single to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning.
"All game, [Haughian] did pretty well," Byler said.
"He would show you his fastball, throw for strikes every once in a while. Then he'd flip his curveball, flip his changeup which were pretty good. He kept the same arm speed with each pitch, so he just kept us off-balance."
