UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Down 7-0 entering the sixth inning on Monday night, the State College Spikes rallied and survived a roller coaster in the late innings to equal the largest comeback in 20 years at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park with a 10-9 victory over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, their sixth in a row.
One night after he launched a ball to right-center field that hit the very top of the wall and bounced back into the playing field for a double, Hudson Shupe left no doubt with a tie-breaking, two-run homer into the Outfield Bleacher seats in right field as a pinch-hitter in the eighth to give the Spikes (11-5 2nd Half) a 9-7 lead.
However, the Scrappers (5-11 2nd Half) rallied in the top of the ninth, starting with a Cayden Evans double. After a wild pitch moved Evans to third base, Davis Mauzy’s fly ball to right field was dropped, giving him three bases and drawing Mahoning Valley to within 9-8.
Spikes closer Patrick Morris (2-0) then entered the game and struck out Maddox Mihalakis before Cooper Vance singled to left field to bring in Mauzy and tie the game once again.
In the bottom of the ninth, Camden Ross, who was named the MLB Draft League Player of the Week for July 20-26 earlier in the day, led off and reached on an errant throw by Vance at shortstop. Stan DeMartinis III, who had homered in the fifth to get the Spikes back in the game before committing the ninth-inning error that let the Scrappers back in, then dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Ross into scoring position.
Mahoning Valley reliever Justin Abercrombie (0-1) then uncorked a wild pitch that advanced Ross to third base. After a walk to Justin Journette, Jackson Rains then produced a walk-off win for the second time in five days with his sacrifice fly to right field to plate Ross.
The Scrappers had built their lead largely upon a pair of homers, a 440-foot, two-run shot off the batter’s eye in center field for Mihalakis in the third and a 431-foot, three-run blast to center field for Zion Williams in the fifth. Mihalakis upped his home run total to five, while Williams’s homer was his third of the season.
DeMartinis’s three-run shot to the Pepsi Picnic Pavilion in left field, his second as a Spike, put State College on the board in the sixth, followed by Elie Kligman’s RBI triple off the tall right-field wall and Ryan Rivera’s sacrifice fly.
The win marked the third time in the 20 seasons of Spikes baseball that the home team had come back from a seven-run deficit at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. State College overcame a 7-0 deficit after the first inning to defeat the Auburn Doubledays, 11-10, on August 24, 2018, then came back from a 9-2 deficit in the fourth to defeat the Frederick Keys, 13-9, on July 15, 2023.
The Spikes will look to complete a perfect homestand on Tuesday afternoon as they host the Scrappers to finish their three-game series at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park with a 12:05 p.m. matchup. Right-hander Lex Kenny (1-1) gets the ball for State College against Mahoning Valley right-hander Alex Kanipe (1-0).
It’s Super Splash Day, where the ballpark goes wet and wild as Ike’s Kids Zone in left field turns into the Splash Zone, featuring a dunk tank and Undine Fire Company fire truck. Plus, fans get to enjoy lunchtime at the ballpark on Walking Taco Tuesday presented by Bigfoot Country Legends, with half-price Walking Tacos all game long and half-price Miller Lite and Coors Light from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
After the game, the field opens up for a bonus edition of Kids Run the Bases presented by Mount Nittany Health.
Tickets for Tuesday’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 Scrappers 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 11:35 a.m.
Audio streaming of every Spikes game, home and away, is available on StateCollegeSpikes.com.
