UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Six State College Spikes pitchers combined to whiff 13 Williamsport Crosscutters on Thursday night as the Spikes drew within a half-game of the first-place Crosscutters with a 5-2 win at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
With eight games remaining on the MLB Draft League first-half schedule, the Spikes (11-10) are tied for third with the West Virginia Black Bears. The Crosscutters (12-10) remained in first place despite the loss, but now lead the Trenton Thunder (13-11) by only three percentage points.
Another stout mound effort powered the Spikes, beginning with the debuting Jacob Mayers. The LSU product, fresh off winning a national championship in Omaha and notching the win in the MLB Draft League’s 10-6 win over the Cape Cod League in Monday’s exhibition at Citi Field in New York, allowed just one run on four hits and one walk while striking out seven batters over four innings.
Caden Wooster (1-0) then struck out two batters and yielded just one walk and one hit batsman over two scoreless frames before Landon O’Donnell and Ethan Storm kept the Crosscutters off the board in the seventh. Jason Shockley then left the bases loaded with two strikeouts in the eighth before Treyson Peters (1) whiffed one batter in a one-hit ninth for the save.
Ryan Rivera got the offense going for State College with a two-run single in the first. Despite continuing his eight-game hitting streak, the longest active string in the MLB Draft League, Rivera saw his streak of multi-hit games finish at five after a 1-for-3 performance. The multi-hit streak finished one game shy of the Spikes record shared by Steven Ramos in 2013 and Trent Taylor in 2022.
Dan Tauken and Caden Shapiro added RBI singles for State College.
Williamsport starter Connor Knox (1-1) took the loss after giving up two runs on seven hits while recording five strikeouts.
Friday, the Spikes and Crosscutters will head to Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field for the back half of their home-and-home series. The 1:05 p.m. Independence Day matinee will feature right-hander Dayne Pengelly (0-2) on the mound for State College against Williamsport left-hander Ryan Ure (0-0).
While the Spikes play on the road on Friday, Medlar Field at Lubrano Park will play host to the Central PA 4thFest as the VIP Viewing Area for the fully choreographed July 4 FIREWORKS display provided by Starfire Corporation. The home of the Spikes will also host Tyler's Amazing Balancing Act, Kids Run the Bases presented by Mount Nittany Health, a Community Baseball Game featuring all-stars from the Centre County League and North Branch Baseball League, live music from Honey Pump and much more during the day!
The Medlar Field at Lubrano Park Ticket Office will open at noon on Friday for fans seeking VIP tickets, and ballpark gates will open at 4:00 p.m. for the 4th.
Following the festivities, the Spikes will have a weekend two-game trip to Trenton before a five-game homestand against Frederick and Williamsport from Tuesday, July 8 through Saturday, July 12 to close out the first half, featuring Dugout’s 2nd Birthday Paw-ty at Bark in the Park II on Tuesday, appearances from the Pirate Parrot, the Pittsburgh Pierogies and the Bucco Brigade at BuccoMania on Friday, July 11, and FIREWORKS on Cancer Survivors Night presented by Penn Highlands Healthcare during the first-half finale on Saturday, July 12.
Tickets for every remaining home game on the Spikes’ 2025 schedule, are available by calling 814-272-1711 or by visiting the Spikes Ticket Office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on 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 2025 promotional schedule, by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.
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 12:50 p.m.
Audio streaming of every Spikes game, home and away, is available on StateCollegeSpikes.com and the TuneIn Radio app.
