UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – It was a happy return to Happy Valley for Jordan Morales on Saturday night as the left-hander, who called Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for two seasons as a member of the Penn State Nittany Lions, tossed six innings of two-run ball and enabled the Spikes’ bats to deliver a 9-3 win over the first-place Trenton Thunder.
Morales (2-0) pitched at Penn State from 2022-23 before earning Third Team All-Big Ten honors as a starting pitcher for Purdue this past spring, and the southpaw picked up right where he left off with eight strikeouts and no walks on the night. Morales allowed seven hits in his first start for the Spikes (8-8 2nd Half) after notching a victory in relief in his debut with the club on Wednesday.
After Santino Rosso, who played for the Spikes in the first half of the MLB Draft League season, knocked in a Trenton (10-5 2nd Half) run with a single in the first inning, the Spikes responded by taking a 3-1 lead after two innings assisted by RBI singles from Cam Bufford and Kyle Russell.
Hunter Dorraugh put the Thunder back on the board with a 416-foot solo shot to center field, his second of the year, in the fifth inning before the Spikes put the game away. Josh Spiegel and Parker Coddou produced back-to-back RBI doubles in the sixth, while Austin Baal knocked in runs with a single in the fifth and a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Cooper Hext also led the Spikes’ charge with a 2-for-3 night that included a double, an RBI, two stolen bases and three runs.
Trenton starter Sonny Fauci (2-2), the defending MLB Draft League Pitcher of the Week, was touched for seven runs on six hits, five walks and a hit batsman over five innings to take the loss. Fauci struck out eight batters in the effort.
Sunday, the Spikes finish their two-game mini-series with the Thunder at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The 6:35 p.m. matchup will feature right-hander Phillip Bryant (0-2) on the mound for State College.
Penn Highlands Healthcare Ballpark Takeover Night offers Penn Highlands Healthcare employees, guests and members the chance to take over the ballpark and all fans can enjoy a Pre-Game Catch on the Field from 5:30-6:00 p.m., along with more fun as the first 250 Kids Eat Free, the first 100 kids get a Youth Baseball Glove Giveaway and big kids of age can enjoy half-price Hard Seltzers, Iron City, IC Light and IC Light Mango from 5:30-7:30 at Sunday Funday presented by Big Froggy 101.
To purchase tickets to the upcoming homestand and every remaining home game on the Spikes’ 2024 schedule at the new-look Medlar Field at Lubrano Park through September 3, fans can call 814-272-1711 or by visiting the Spikes Ticket Office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with hours during home game days of 9 a.m. to the end of the game Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to the end of the game on Saturday and Sunday.
Fans can also buy and download single-game tickets 24/7, and view the 2024 promotional schedule, by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.
Catch all of the action of the Spikes’ game on Sunday 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 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.
