UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Resiliency was the name of the game for the State College Spikes on Wednesday night, as the Spikes overcame a 5-0 first-inning deficit to score 13 straight runs and earn a 13-9 win over the Trenton Thunder at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park to draw within one game of the Thunder in the MLB Draft League second-half standings.
The Spikes’ (17-13, 2nd Half) bottom of the order did some heavy lifting, as Caleb Hill and Josh Spiegel teamed up for six runs batted in out of the eighth and ninth positions in the lineup. Hill collected three hits, including a double, and scored two runs, while Spiegel’s 396-foot, two-run homer to right field, his second of the year, started a five-run second inning.
Spiegel, a former Penn State Nittany Lion, has hit both of his Spikes home runs at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
State College starting pitcher Nick Hohenstein (3-0) persevered after being tagged for five runs, four of them earned, in the first inning to retire eight straight batters at one point and allow just one hit over the rest of his six innings on the hill. Hohenstein struck out three batters and walked two in the winning effort.
The Spikes offensive onslaught, which followed the Thunder’s (17-11 2nd Half) five-run first with two tallies in the first before five more in the second, knocked Trenton starter Alec Rodriguez (3-3) out of the box after just one inning. Rodriguez was charged with seven runs on five hits and four walks while striking out two batters.
Sebastian Castro, a former New York Mets prospect who joined the Spikes on Tuesday, went 2-for-3 with a double and a triple after entering the game in the fifth inning in his second appearance with the club.
Trenton did use the long ball in their own right, with Hunter Dorraugh launching a 410-foot, three-run homer to left-center field to cap the Thunder first and Jack O’Reilly hitting a 395-foot, three-run homer to left-center field in the seventh.
The Spikes now seek to pull even with the Thunder in the standings on Thursday night as they meet them for the finale of a three-game series at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Virginia Tech left-hander Jeremy Neff (3-0), who has posted a 1.50 ERA that is tied for second-best in the MLB Draft League’s second half, gets the ball for State College in the 6:35 p.m. matchup.
Trenton is scheduled to go with right-hander Sonny Fauci (3-3), who earned MLB Draft League Pitcher of the Week honors for the opening week of the season’s second half, on the mound.
The skies light up after the game on Thursday as a rescheduled FIREWORKS show presented by Penn State Health will thrill fans after the game. It’s also $1 Beer Night at Thirsty Thursday presented by The BUS, with $1 12-oz. select beers and $2 12-oz. craft beers available from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
To purchase tickets to Thursday’s game, and all six remaining home games on the Spikes’ 2024 schedule at the new-look Medlar Field at Lubrano Park through September 3, fans can call 814-272-1711 or visit 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.
Fans can also buy and download single-game tickets 24/7, and view the 2024 promotional schedule, by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.
Catch all of the action of the Spikes’ 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 from Medlar Field at Lubrano Park at approximately 6:05 p.m.
