UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Carter Holjes and the pitching staff made an early lead stand up with a total of 16 strikeouts in a 3-2 win over the Williamsport Crosscutters on Thursday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in the Spikes’ regular season home finale.
Fans were also thrilled by the presence of Penn State men’s ice hockey coach Guy Gadowsky as his bobblehead, presented by Centre Dental Care by Dr. Carnicella, went to the first 1,000 fans at Thursday’s game.
Gadowsky also fired the first shot of the game with a wrist shot of a baseball off the pitcher’s mound to the mitt of the Spikes’ Jakobi Davis behind the plate, then signed autographs for approximately an hour on the concourse.
In game action, Holjes (3-2) notched nine strikeouts over the first five innings, including striking out the side in order in the fifth. The right-hander allowed one run on three hits and a walk to earn the win.
The bullpen was strong as Zane Probst then added a strikeout, Jack Hagan two more and Dylan Cheeley another whiff as each took an inning of work before Jason Shockley (2) overcame an early error in the ninth to strike out the side for the save.
The Spikes (18-21 2nd Half) matched an MLB Draft League single-game high for strikeouts in the 2025 season with the combined effort. Frederick previously struck out 16 State College batters on June 12 of this year.
Conor Higgs’s groundout and Cole Caruso’s ground-rule double each knocked in runs in the first for the Spikes, and after Carlos Castillo brought in his 31st run with an RBI single for Williamsport (17-21 2nd Half) in the fourth, Chenar Brown launched an RBI double to bump the Spikes’ lead back to two runs in the bottom half.
Castillo then delivered a run-scoring triple in the sixth for his 32nd RBI of the season, but the Crosscutters would get no closer.
Williamsport starter Brad Rudis (3-4) took the loss despite a quality six innings of work in which he yielded three runs, two of them earned, on six hits and two walks while striking out six batters.
Jaden Collura singled in the seventh inning to prolong his hitting streak to 15 games, the longest for any Spikes player this season and the second-longest in the MLB Draft League behind the ongoing 17-game string of Jace Rinehart of West Virginia, the team that the Spikes will face in the MLB Draft League Championship Game next Thursday.
Friday, the Spikes start a six-game stretch of road games to round out the regular season with the back half of a two-game series against the Crosscutters, this time at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. Right-hander Andrew D’Alessio (1-1) is slated to get the ball for the Spikes in the 6:35 p.m. game against Williamsport right-hander A.J. Campbell (3-1).
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 of the action of the Spikes’ game against the Crosscutters on Friday 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 Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field starting at approximately 6:20 p.m.
Audio streaming of every Spikes game, home and away, is available on StateCollegeSpikes.com.
