NILES, Ohio – Samuel Benjamin extend the longest hitting streak in the Major League Baseball Draft League to nine games, and Dayne Pengelly was solid in his State College Spikes mound debut, but the Mahoning Valley Scrappers controlled things from start to finish to take a 7-0 decision on Thursday night at Eastwood Field.
Benjamin, an outfielder from Houston Christian, stretched his string with a single to left field in the fourth inning. The Katy, Texas native is now leading the MLB Draft League in all Triple Crown categories with a .472 batting average, two home runs and 11 runs batted in, while also pacing the loop in slugging percentage (.694), stolen bases (seven) and hits (17).
Pengelly, who joined the Spikes (5-4) officially on Tuesday, logged four innings in his first appearance in a State College uniform. The New Mexico product gave up just one run on two hits and two walks while recording three strikeouts over four innings.
Crooked numbers again set the Spikes back, though, as Mahoning Valley (6-3) plated two runs in the second and four more in the third establish a lead that would not falter.
Right-hander Hunter Dryden (1-0) ran his season-starting scoreless streak to ten innings with six stout innings, matching the longest outing by an MLB Draft League pitcher yet this season. Dryden allowed just five hits while also matching an MLB Draft League single-game high in 2024 with eight strikeouts on 66 pitches over his six frames.
State College starter Jaxon Dalena (0-1) took the loss despite only three of the six runs charged to him being earned over three innings. Dalena struck out four batters and walked one while yielding six hits.
The Spikes now travel to Kendrick Family Ballpark in Granville, W.Va. to start a three-game series with the West Virginia Black Bears on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. State College swept West Virginia in three games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park last weekend, scoring 38 runs and posting 50 hits as a team. 18-year-old left-hander Carson Bailey (0-0) gets the ball to start Friday’s game for the Spikes.
After a 7:00 p.m. game on Saturday and a 1:00 p.m. game on Sunday in West Virginia, the Spikes come back home on Tuesday, June 18 for a two-game mini-series at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park against the Williamsport Crosscutters. Fans can enjoy the return of Walking Taco Tuesday presented by Bigfoot Country Legends on the 18th, with half-price Walking Tacos available at the relocated Salsa stand, now available next to the Kids Zone on the third-base side of the concourse.
Wednesday the 19th is the debut of the new Glizzy and Wine Wednesday presented by Seven Mountains Wine Cellars and WOWY Radio, with half-price Country Store Brand hot dogs available all game long throughout the ballpark and half-price servings of wine available from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
For tickets to those two games, as well as every remaining home game on the Spikes’ 2024 schedule at the new-look Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, fans can call 814-272-1711 or by visiting the Spikes Ticket Office from 10 a.m. until the end of the game on Sunday.
Fans can also buy and download single-game tickets, and view the 2024 promotional schedule, by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.
Catch all of the action of the Spikes’ game on Friday 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 Kendrick Family Ballpark starting at approximately 6:45 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.
