UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Chris Shull delivered six outstanding innings on the mound for the State College Spikes, but the West Virginia Black Bears erased the Spikes’ 2-0 lead in the seventh and scored two unearned runs in the ninth to take a 4-2 decision on Wednesday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park to vault State College for sole possession of first place in the MLB Draft League’s second half.
With Trenton’s loss to Williamsport, the Black Bears now sit atop the table with a 20-15 second-half mark, while State College at 20-16 and Trenton at 19-15 are each a half-game back along with Mahoning Valley, now at 19-15 following a win over Frederick.
Each team in the MLB Draft League now has seven games remaining on their regular season schedule, with the second-half champion set to visit first-half champion Williamsport on Thursday, September 5 in the MLB Draft League Championship Game at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field.
Shull struck out five batters in his longest outing for the Spikes and gave up just three hits and a walk over the game’s first six innings before yielding a leadoff double to Trace Willhoite in the seventh. The right-hander departed after that with a 2-0 lead, but saw Jeff Liquori’s base hit to left field turn into an RBI triple and Dayne Leonard’s single to left-center field plate Liquori to tie the game.
In the ninth, Jack O’Dowd led off with a fly ball to left field that was misplayed for a two-base error. After Willhoite singled him to third, O’Dowd scored on Liquori’s single to right field to give West Virginia its first lead of the game. Connor McGuire’s single two batters later then gave the Black Bears an insurance run.
The Spikes had taken the lead in the fourth. Austin Roccaforte led off the frame with a double down the third-base line for the first State College hit of the game, then advanced to third on a Kyle Russell bunt and scored on Josh Spiegel’s flare to right field.
Spiegel’s hit was the first of three in a row for the Spikes, with Cam Bufford dropping a single to left-center field and Cooper Hext sending a sharp grounder through the right side for a single to score Spiegel.
West Virginia starter Christian Womble (2-1) went eight innings for the win. Womble struck out 10 batters without a walk and gave up five hits in the game. Conner Mackay (3) walked one batter, but struck out one in a scoreless ninth for the save.
Peter Ostensen (2-2) took the loss after giving up both Black Bears runs, each unearned, in the ninth.
Thursday, the Spikes will seek to salvage the final game of their three-game series with the Black Bears in a 6:35 p.m. matchup at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Virginia Tech left-hander Jeremy Neff (3-1) will get the ball for State College, while West Virginia is slated to send left-hander Ryan Sleeper (2-1) to the mound.
Fans will be thrilled with a fantastic postgame FIREWORKS show presented by Starfire Corporation on THON Night as we start the drive towards THON 2025.
It’s also the fourth and final Bark in the Park of the season presented by the Centre Daily Times as fans can bring their four-legged friend to meet Dugout the Baseball Dog and all the other canines at the ballpark. For information on Bark in the Park policies, fans can head to https://www.mlbdraftleague.com/state-college/ballpark/barkinthepark.
All of this fun joins $1 Beer Night at Thirsty Thursday presented by The BUS, with $1 12-oz. select beers and $2 12-oz. craft beers available from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Plus, fans are encouraged to Wear White to the ballpark on Thursday as we build momentum for Penn State Football’s season opener at West Virginia on Saturday, and we’ll show we have regard for our furniture in Happy Valley as rather than burn a couch, we’ll give one to a lucky fan with the Medlar Field at Lubrano Park Couch Giveaway.
To purchase tickets to Thursday’s game, as well as the 2024 home finale at the new-look Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Tuesday, September 3, fans can call 814-272-1711 or visit 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 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 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.
