UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Nyan Hayes homered to tie the game in the seventh inning, then led off the bottom of the ninth with a triple to set up Trent Turner’s walk-off single to give the State College Spikes a 5-4 win over the West Virginia Black Bears on Wednesday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Hayes, who completed his collegiate career at Oregon State this spring after 45 RBI’s over 53 games at Grambling in 2025, took a 1-2 pitch from West Virginia (0-1 2nd Half) reliever Cameron Padgett into the Pepsi Picnic Pavilion for a three-run shot to even the game at 4-4 in the seventh.
The New Orleans native then sent a 2-2 pitch from Jake Kramer (0-2) onto the warning track in left-center field to start the final frame. Turner followed by sending a 2-2 pitch through the infield for the game-winner.
The Spikes (1-0 2nd Half) fell behind early in the game when Jackson Trout singled home a West Virginia run in the second and Alec DeMartino smashed a 404-foot solo shot to left-center field in the third for his first home run with the Black Bears.
After State College responded with Stan DeMartinis III’s RBI double in the sixth, West Virginia scored a pair of two-out runs on run-scoring singles from Ben Barrett and Zack Thompson prior to the Spikes’ surge.
Spikes reliever Patrick Morris (1-0) earned the win with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless ball, allowing just one hit while striking out four batters in the process. Kramer faced two batters in taking the loss.
Thursday, the Spikes complete their second-half-opening, two-game series against the Black Bears with a 6:35 p.m. matchup at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Left-hander Caleb Ruter (0-1), a holdover from the first-half Spikes, gets the start for State College against an as yet unnamed West Virginia hurler.
Fans and their four-legged friends can enjoy Dugout’s 3rd Birthday Paw-ty at Thursday’s game, as Dugout the Baseball Dog celebrates his 3rd birthday at Bark in the Park. Dugout, the Spikes’ newest Labrador Retriever mascot, is from the same family tree as the late, great Bob the Baseball Dog, and we’ll get the favors ready for all the humans and canines celebrating with him on Thursday.
It’s also a Thirsty Thursday presented by The BUS, with $2 12-oz. drafts from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Tickets for Thursday’s game, along with every remaining home game on the 20th Anniversary Season schedule, are available by calling 814-271-1711 or by visiting the Spikes Ticket Office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with hours during home game days of 10 a.m. to the end of the game Monday through Friday and 12 p.m. to the end of the game on Saturday and Sunday.
Fans can also buy and download single-game tickets, and view the 2026 promotional schedule, by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.
Catch all the action of the Spikes’ game against the Black Bears on Thursday 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 starting at approximately 6:05 p.m.
Audio streaming of every Spikes game, home and away, is available on StateCollegeSpikes.com.
