WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Jaden Collura tied Danny Diekroeger’s Spikes record with a hit in his 21stconsecutive game, Chenar Brown became the sixth Spike to produce five hits in a game, and Skyler Riedinger pitched five scoreless innings of relief to give the Spikes a 6-4 victory over the Williamsport Crosscutters on Wednesday night at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field to finish the regular season.
With the win, the MLB Draft League First Half Champion Spikes built momentum toward Thursday’s MLB Draft League Championship Game at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, where they will face the league’s Second Half Champion, the West Virginia Black Bears (29-15 2nd Half, 45-28 overall).
Game time is 6:35 p.m. for the title match, with a Dollar Dog Night for fans while supplies last, FREE Student Admission with ID thanks to the Spikes and Penn State SPA – The Student Programming Association, and $2 12-oz. drafts from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., while supplies last, on a Thirsty Thursday presented by The BUS.
Collura entered his name next to Diekroeger in the Spikes (21-24 2nd Half, 38-36 overall) record books with an RBI single through the right side in the second inning. During his 21-game string from August 10 to now, the Nicholls State catcher has hit .372 with four doubles, a home run and 16 runs batted in.
Diekroeger’s string, which came during the first of the Spikes’ two New York-Penn League championship seasons, occurred from August 2-27, 2014.
Brown followed Ciro Rosero in 2008, David Vinsky in 2019, and 2024 Spikes Parker Coddou, Cam Bufford and Caleb Hill by going 5-for-5 with five singles to tie the franchise record for hits in a game. Brown also scored two runs.
Riedinger (4-1) followed Carlos Anziani on the mound with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth inning, then proceeded to elicit a double-play ball that made it a 5-4 game before allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out five batters through the remainder of the night.
The Spikes took a 3-0 lead in the first on Cole Caruso’s bases-loaded, bases-clearing triple, then added two more in the second. After the Crosscutters (19-25 2nd Half, 31-43 overall) got to within a run, Adonis Forte scored all the way from second on Caruso’s flyout to center field in the seventh to make it a sacrifice fly that finalized the scoring.
Tickets for the 2025 MLB Draft League Championship Game are $10 apiece for every available ballpark seat, with FREE Student Admission thanks to the Spikes and Penn State SPA – The Student Programming Association, and can be purchased online at StateCollegeSpikes.com or through the Spikes Ticket Office.
Tickets to the 2025 MLB Draft League Championship Game are also available by calling 814-271-1711 or by visiting the Spikes Ticket Office from 9 a.m. to the end of the game on Thursday.
Catch all of the action of the 2025 MLB Draft League Championship 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 starting at approximately 6:05 p.m.
Audio streaming of the MLB Draft League Championship Game is also available on StateCollegeSpikes.com.
