UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Justin Journette smashed his second home run of the season and Mac Rose crushed his first, with both traveling over 400 feet, but the State College Spikes fell to the Williamsport Crosscutters, 10-6, on Friday night in an Independence Eve matchup at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Journette’s solo homer to left-center field in the second went 430 feet, the fifth-longest blast in the MLB Draft League this season, to put the Spikes (13-14) on the board.
Four innings later, Rose capped a four-run frame for State College with a 402-foot, two-run bomb to right field that made it a 7-5 game.
However, Williamsport (19-7) scored a trio of two-out runs in the sixth, then added three more in the eighth to salt away the win.
With the victory, and Trenton’s loss to Aberdeen, the Crosscutters extended their lead in the MLB Draft League first-half standings to 1 ½ games with two games remaining in the first half. Williamsport can now clinch the league’s first-half crown with a victory over State College on Saturday afternoon at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field.
Kyler Heyne (1-1) started and took the loss for the Spikes after allowing three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out one batter over three innings.
Williamsport starter Brendan Sweeney allowed a run to score on Journette’s homer but yielded only one other hit and three walks while striking out seven batters over four innings. Reliever Jacob Limas (3-1) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win, while Michael Mariano (1) recorded a four-out save.
James McCoy went 3-for-4 and knocked in two runs to lead the Crosscutters offense.
Saturday, the Spikes head north to Williamsport for the third game of their four-game, alternating-site series against the Crosscutters on the Fourth of July. The 1:05 p.m. matinee will feature right-hander Cal Culpepper (0-0) on the mound for State College against Williamsport right-hander Evan Grimes (0-0).
While the Spikes make their way back from Williamsport, Medlar Field at Lubrano Park will play host to the Central PA 4th Fest on Saturday, with ballpark gates opening at 4:00 p.m. More information and tickets are available at CentralPA4thFest.org.
Sunday, the first-half home schedule will then conclude on Sunday, July 5 with Old School Baseball Night, featuring a throwback, no-frills presentation with lots of organ music at the 6:35 p.m. game against the Crosscutters, along with a Sunday Funday presented by Big Froggy 101 and Kids Run the Bases presented by Mount Nittany Health.
Tickets for Sunday’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 Crosscutters on Saturday 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 Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field starting at approximately 12:50 p.m.
Audio streaming of every Spikes game, home and away, is available on StateCollegeSpikes.com.
