TRENTON, N.J. – Trailing by four runs entering the ninth inning, the State College Spikes came back to tie Saturday night’s matchup against the Trenton Thunder at 5-5 through nine innings before the Thunder prevailed in the MLB Draft League Overtime tiebreaker at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.
Facing a 5-1 deficit, Adam Paniagua started the ninth inning with a double before back-to-back walks to Conor Higgs and Adonis Forte loaded the bases. A wild pitch then scored Paniagua to make it 5-2 while advancing Higgs and Forte before Jaden Collura, facing the end of a 16-game hitting streak, singled in both runners to extend his string to 17 games and bring the Spikes (18-23 2nd Half) within 5-4.
T.J. Salvaggio then beat out a potential game-ending double-play ball, moved to second on Chenar Brown’s single and scored the tying run on Cole Caruso’s single up the middle.
Jason Shockley then set down the Thunder (21-19 2nd Half) in the bottom of the ninth before giving way to Skyler Riedinger in the bonus frame.
With Trenton choosing offense for the Overtime tiebreaker, C.J. Willis was placed on first base as the designated runner and moved to second on Jared Beebe’s single. Two batters later, Andres Vega singled to right field to score Willies with the winning run.
The game was tied 1-1 through 6 ½ innings as Alec Sparks and M.T. Morrissey each produced stellar starts for the Spikes and Thunder, respectively. Sparks allowed just two hits and three walks while striking out five batters over five innings, while Morrissey allowed four hits, three walks and a hit batsman while also recording five strikeouts over six innings.
Trenton’s Tyler Collins tied an MLB Draft League record with five stolen bases in the game, matching a record set by Matthew Etzel of Williamsport against Mahoning Valley on June 20, 2022 and tied by Trey Lipsey of Frederick against the Spikes on June 10 of this season.
No winning or losing pitcher is named in a game that reaches the MLB Draft League Overtime tiebreaker.
The Spikes will finish their two-game series against the Thunder on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. inside Trenton Thunder Ballpark before heading to Williamsport three straight days starting on Monday to continue their regular season-ending road stretch.
It all leads to the 2025 MLB Draft League Championship Game on Thursday, September 4 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, featuring the Spikes taking on the West Virginia Black Bears for the overall crown.
Tickets for the 2025 MLB Draft League Championship Game, featuring Dollar Dog Night while supplies last, free admission for all students thanks to the Spikes in partnership with Penn State SPA – The Student Programming Association, and Thirsty Thursday presented by The BUS while supplies last, are $10 apiece for every available ballpark seat, 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 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.
Catch all the action of the Spikes’ game on Sunday as the game can be viewed worldwide on the MLB Draft League streaming platform at MLBDraftLeague.com/streaming.
Action will also be available via the Spikes Radio Network presented by Penn State Sports Medicine, Official Healthcare Provider of Penn State Athletics with Joe Putnam on the call remotely from Medlar Field at Lubrano Park starting at approximately 12:45 p.m. Audio streaming is also available on StateCollegeSpikes.com.
