TRENTON, N.J. – The State College Spikes earned a series victory to begin the 2024 MLB Draft League season and posted their second straight shutout as a pitching staff with a resounding 10-0 win over the Trenton Thunder on Thursday night at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.
One night after blanking the Thunder (1-2) on four hits, the Spikes (2-1) yielded just five hits on Thursday with three pitchers – Jaxon Dalena, Jaren Warwick (1-0) and Chris Stuart – combining to strike out 11 batters without walking one until the eighth inning.
Dalena, a native of Montoursville, Pa. who pitched at Shippensburg (Pa.) University this spring, logged four innings and gave up two hits and no walks while notching three strikeouts. Warwick, who pitched most recently at Southwestern (Fla.) University, took over in the eighth and posted five strikeouts while allowing just to hits and earning credit for the win. Stuart, who threw two scoreless innings in the season opener on Tuesday, followed with 2 1/3 shutout frames to finish of the whitewash.
The Spikes jumped on the board with Deniel Ortiz’s sacrifice fly in the first, then poured it on with three runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth, including a steal of home by Blake Wilson on a delayed first-and-third double steal.
Tyson Bass then delivered an RBI single in the eighth before an error scored Derek Wylie in the ninth.
Ortiz knocked in two runs and Bass drove in three more in the game. Samuel Benjamin went 3-for 6 to record his third straight multi-hit game to start the season.
Trenton starter Cregg Scherrer (0-1) took the loss despite allowing just one run on two hits and two walks while striking out three batters over four innings.
Friday, the Spikes return home to open the 2024 home schedule at the new-look Medlar Field at Lubrano Park as they take on the West Virginia Black Bears at 6:35 p.m. Left-hander Carson Bailey, an 18-year-old out of Richardson, Texas, is slated to get the ball to start for State College.
The festivities of Opening Night presented by PSECU will be out in full force as the skies will light up with a fantastic FIREWORKS show after the game presented by PSECU, and the first 500 fans will receive a Schedule Poster Giveaway presented by PSECU as gates open at 5:30 p.m. for all fans, with Season Ticket holders entering at 5:20 and groups at 5:25.
In addition, one lucky fan will have the chance to throw one pitch from the mound through the target 60 feet, 6 inches away with 25 grand at stake in the $25,000 Opening Night Pitching Challenge.
After the game, it’s also Kids Run the Bases Home Run Edition presented by Mount Nittany Health. Plus, it’s 4-Pack Friday, with four of our best seats, four hot dogs, and four regular sodas available for just $54 only at the Spikes Ticket Office or by phone at 814-272-1711.
Friday’s fun kicks off Opening Weekend at the new-look Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, and fans can take it all in while sampling major improvements throughout Medlar Field of Lubrano Park. The first thing many fans will notice is the brand-new, 2,739-square-foot videoboard in left field that presents game action along with graphics and video in eye-popping high-definition over an area five times larger than the previous videoboard at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
More enhancements include a new point-of-sale system with cashless concessions that will create more efficient lines at ballpark concessions stands, digital menu boards, a grab-and-go concessions location for added convenience, a newly installed field of fresh Kentucky bluegrass along with upgraded irrigation and drainage, new padded walls in the outfield and other ballpark areas, along with new, brighter LED lights capable of entertaining light shows to celebrate special occasions at Spikes home games and other events.
For tickets to Opening Weekend, as well as all 40 home games on the Spikes’ 2024 schedule at the new-look Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, fans can call 814-272-1711 or by visiting the Spikes Ticket Office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. until the end of the game on Friday, and 10 a.m. until the end of the game on Saturday and Sunday.
Fans can also buy and download single-game tickets, and view the 2024 promotional schedule, by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.
Catch all of the action of the Spikes’ game 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 Medlar Field at Lubrano Park starting 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.
