GRANVILLE, W. Va. – Treyson Hughes gave the State College Spikes a late lead with his first home run of the Major League Baseball Draft League season and Samuel Benjamin nearly went deep for another wall-ball double to advance his MLB Draft League-best hitting streak to 12 games, but the West Virginia Black Bears pulled out an 8-7 win over the Spikes on Sunday afternoon at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
Hughes, an outfielder from Ole Miss, checked into the game to play left field in the sixth inning, then took an 0-1 pitch from West Virginia (5-7) reliever Ryan Sleeper 360 feet over the right field wall for a solo shot to put the Spikes (6-6) up, 7-6.
Benjamin first drew a walk in third inning to extend his on-base streak to 12 games, then launched a 109-mile-per-hour laser off the very top of the right-center field wall in the fourth to keep his season-long hitting streak going. The Houston Christian product now leads the MLB Draft League or is tied for the lead in home runs (2), runs batted in (14), slugging percentage (.711), hits (21), doubles (5), extra-base hits (7), and on base plus slugging (1.282).
The Spikes were active on the basepaths once again Sunday with eight stolen bases, including thefts of home by both Brylan West in the second and Blake Wilson in the fifth as part of double steals.
West Virginia scored a pair of runs in the seventh on a Jack O’Dowd RBI single and Ryan Grabosch RBI double to provide the winning margin, and reliever Ryan Lambert (2) set a new MLB Draft League record with a 100.4-mile-per-hour fastball to close out his six-out save.
Spikes reliever Sam Swygert (0-2) took the loss after being charged with both seventh-inning runs on a total of four hits and a walk over two innings.
Jack Clemente (1-0) pitched a scoreless seventh to pick up the win for the Black Bears.
After an off day on the schedule Monday, the Spikes resume the home slate with a 6:35 p.m. game against the Williamsport Crosscutters on Tuesday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The opener of a two-game mini-series against the Crosscutters is set to feature right-hander Tanner Wiggins (0-1) starting on the mound for the Spikes.
Fans can enjoy the return of Walking Taco Tuesday presented by Bigfoot Country Legends to start the set 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. In addition, fans of age can enjoy half-price Miller Lite and Coors Light products from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The second game of the series on Wednesday marks 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 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 starting at approximately 6:05 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.
