_WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. _– *Carlos Aranda *smashed his second home run in as many games to tie the score in the eighth inning for the State College Spikes, and *Kevin Karstetter *posted a three-hit game, but the Williamsport Crosscutters walked off with the win, 5-4, in the ninth inning on Sunday afternoon at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field.
Aranda, who plays collegiate baseball at Northern Illinois University, took the 11th pitch of his at-bat against Williamsport (4-0) reliever *Nick Palumbo *381 feet over the left field wall to make it 4-4. The native of the Dominican Republic has now started the season 6-for-10 at the plate, including his single in the MLB Draft League Sudden Death Tiebreaker inning on Saturday night.
Karstetter, who started the game at third base before shifting to catcher in the eighth, went 3-for-5 and stole his first base of the MLB Draft League season. The State College native, who just completed his career at State College of Florida and is now poised to continue playing collegiately at the University of Houston, also scored a run.
The Crosscutters were able to rally in the ninth, however. After two walks and a hit batsman loaded the bases with one out, the Spikes (0-4) notched a forceout at home, but the subsequent throw to first sailed high, allowing *Dinzey Feliz *to score the winning run.
State College had battled back from a 4-1 deficit after Williamsport plated a trio of runs in the fifth on from Jordan Schaffer’s RBI single and Travis Holt’s two-run single. The Spikes took a chunk out of the Crosscutters’ lead in the seventh when Lukas Cook’s two-out double brought in a pair of runs.
The Spikes were also bolstered by strong performances on the mound. Starter *Chris Chiriboga *from St. Thomas (Minn.) University tossed three hitless innings to start the game. The right-hander yielded one run on three walks and a hit batsman while notching four strikeouts.
Left-hander Christian Wall, a returnee from the 2021 Spikes who spent the spring at the University of Missouri, struck out the first four of the six batters he faced over two innings of relief. Wall gave up one hit, but also forced a double play to end the seventh.
*Trae Robertson *(0-1) took the loss after being tagged with one unearned run on two walks and a hit batsman in the ninth.
Williamsport reliever *Kyler Patterson *(1-0) picked up the win after a perfect ninth inning that included two strikeouts.
The Spikes will now enjoy an off day on Monday before starting a three-game home series against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. The opener of the set will be seven innings in length, as all Tuesday games in the MLB Draft League will be for the first half of the season only.
Right-hander Hunter Deprimo *(0-1), who set Mansfield (Pa.) University’s career record for strikeouts with his 282 whiffs over five years, is slated to start on the mound for State College. Mahoning Valley is scheduled to send right-hander *Tanner Perry (1-0) to the mound.
Tuesday’s game is one of four at home this coming week for the Spikes, and the first 150 dogs will get Purple Puppy Bandanas, presented by Juniper Village, on Bark in the Park Night and Paint the Park Purple Night presented by Juniper Village. Gates and doggie doors open at 5:30 p.m. for the general public, and fans can enjoy all of the fun with their four-legged friends while helping to fight Alzheimer’s disease. Bark in the Park rules and regulations are available online at StateCollegeSpikes.com.
It will also be the first $2 Walking Taco Tuesday *of the season, presented by *WOWY, with $2 Walking Tacos available all game long. In addition, all *Miller Lite *and *Coors Light *products are half-off from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
More big promotions include Education Day with a 10:35 a.m. start time against Williampsort on Wednesday, Pride Night featuring a Spikes Pride Night T-Shirt Giveaway for the first 500 fans presented by Chumley’s Cocktail Bar on a Thirsty Thursday, and FIREWORKS with a Sean Clifford Appearance as Happy Valley’s QB1 signs autographs and throws out the first pitch on Saturday.
Tickets for this week’s homestand, as well as every game on the Spikes’ biggest regular season home schedule in franchise history, are available now. Tickets can be purchased by calling (814) 272-1711 or by visiting the Spikes Ticket Office in person from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Fans can also buy and download single-game tickets, and view the full 2022 promotional schedule, by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.
More ticket packages, including Flex Books and an array of group and hospitality options for the 2022 season, are currently on sale by calling the Spikes at (814) 272-1711. Additional information on all club ticketing options, as well as team news and schedule info, can be viewed at StateCollegeSpikes.com.
Catch all of the action on Tuesday via the Spikes Radio Network, presented by Penn State Sports Medicine, Official Healthcare Provider of Penn State Athletics, with Steve Jones and Joe Putnam on the call. The broadcast starts with Spikes Live, presented by Mount Nittany Health, on the air from Medlar Field at Lubrano Park at 6:05 p.m. The game can be viewed worldwide on the *MLB Draft League *streaming platform at MLBDraftLeague.com/streaming, along with the “Listen Live” link on StateCollegeSpikes.com and the *TuneIn Radio *app.
