Sports stats



MLBDL State College Spikes

Spikes Surge In Ninth To Snare 6-2 Win Over Scrappers

July 20, 2024 - Major League Baseball Draft League (MLBDL)
State College Spikes News Release


NILES, Ohio - Down to their last out in the ninth inning, the State College Spikes plowed through the door that the Mahoning Valley Scrappers left open with an untimely error and used a five-run flurry to power a 6-2 victory on Saturday night at Eastwood Field.

The Spikes (1-2 2nd Half) faced a 2-1 deficit entering their last at-bat and started their rally as Austin Baal led off with a walk. After a flyout and a strikeout brought Will Jewell to the plate as State College's last hope, the Houston Christian product delivered a single to right field to send Ball to second base.

T.J. Pound then worked a walk to load the bases, and after Josh Spiegel took two strikes, his ground ball to third was juggled by Jake Tsukada, allowing the tying run to score. The Spikes then pounced on the opportunity, with Caleb Hill's bouncing single up the middle bringing in two more runs, and Cooper Hext's single to right knocking in two more.

David Lee, the Penn State product who joined the Spikes just hours prior to the game, then pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close out State College's first win of the MLB Draft League's second half.

The game started out as a pitchers' duel. State College starter Jeremy Neff, a Virginia Tech southpaw, allowed just one run on two hits and four walks while striking out seven batters over six innings. Mahoning Valley (2-1 2nd Half) starter Grant Umberger performed even better, yielding just two hits total over six scoreless innings and also recorded seven strikeouts.

Drey Dirksen's third-inning RBI single gave the Scrappers the early lead. After Baal tied the game for the Spikes in the seventh with a double to score Grant Norris, Drew Holderbach lofted a fly ball over a drawn-in infield to plate Tsukada with the go-ahead run for Mahoning Valley in the bottom half of the same frame.

Daelan Caraway (1-0), a righty from McNeese State, picked up the win in his debut with the Spikes after tossing a scoreless eighth inning. A.J. Riddle (1-1), who earned the win in relief in the opener of the series on Thursday, took the loss on Saturday despite all five runs he allowed being unearned.

Sunday, the Spikes and Scrappers conclude their four-game series to open the second half of the MLB Draft League schedule with a 2:05 p.m. matinee at Eastwood Field. Pitching matchups for Sunday's game have not yet been determined.

The Spikes home schedule resumes on Tuesday, July 23 with a 6:35 p.m. matchup against the Frederick Keys on a Walking Taco Tuesday presented by Bigfoot Country Legends, featuring half-price Walking Tacos at the Salsa concession stand all game long, plus half-price Miller Lite and Coors Light from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The slate also includes a Festivus in July celebration.

To purchase tickets to every remaining home game on the Spikes' 2024 schedule at the new-look Medlar Field at Lubrano Park through September 3, fans can call 814-272-1711 or by visiting the Spikes Ticket Office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with hours during home game days of 9 a.m. to the end of the game Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to the end of the game on Saturday and Sunday.

Fans can also buy and download single-game tickets 24/7, and view the 2024 promotional schedule, by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.

Catch all of the action of the Spikes' game on Sunday via the Spikes Radio Network presented by Penn State Sports Medicine, Official Healthcare Provider of Penn State Athletics with Joe Putnam on the call. The broadcast starts with Spikes Live! presented by Mount Nittany Health on the air from Eastwood Field at approximately 1:50 p.m.

The game can be viewed worldwide on the MLB Draft League streaming platform powered by Pixellot at MLB.watch.pixellot.tv and the Watch section of the MLB app by scrolling the Watch Now tab, along with the "Listen Live" link on StateCollegeSpikes.com and the TuneIn Radio app.

Check out the State College Spikes Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Major League Baseball Draft League message board...

Major League Baseball Draft League Stories from July 20, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central