TRENTON, N.J. – In spite of the State College Spikes coming back to tie the game not once, but twice, Ryan Vogel’s walk-off sacrifice fly to center field scored Ian Battipaglia to give the Trenton Thunder a 5-4 victory on Saturday night at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.
With the result, the Spikes (20-19 2nd Half) now trail first-place Trenton (22-15 2nd Half) by three games and sit in a virtual tie for fourth place in the MLB Draft League second-half standings with four games remaining in the regular season. The Thunder extended their lead over second-place West Virginia (21-16 2nd Half) to a full game after the Black Bears and Frederick Keys were rained out on Saturday.
State College fought back after trailing 2-0 in the first and 3-1 after two innings. The Spikes halved the deficit as former Penn Stater Grant Norris walked, stole second base, advanced to third base on a flyout and scored on Cooper Hext’s infield single in the fifth. Carmine Lane, who joined the Spikes on Friday, then delivered his second RBI of the game with a single to center field to score Caleb Hill in the sixth.
After Battipaglia returned the lead to Trenton with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth, Hext scored the tying run in the seventh on Austin Roccaforte’s single to center to enable the Spikes to knot it up at 4-4.
The game stayed that way until the ninth, when Battipaglia reached base on a one-out walk, then stole second base and advanced to third on an errant throw during the play before plating the winning run.
Spikes starter Jordan Morales allowed four runs, three of them earned, on four hits, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out six batters over five innings. David Lee (0-1) took the loss after being on the mound for the Spikes in the ninth, with the run charged to him marked as unearned.
Lane’s clutch hit followed an earlier RBI double in the second. The former Marlins farmhand is now 3-for-6 at the plate in his first two Spikes games.
Trenton’s Chase Engelhard gave the Thunder the first lead of the game with a two-run homer down the left-field line, his fourth of the season, as the home team’s second batter of the game in the opening inning.
Reliever Ethan Bradford (4-0) picked up the win in relief for Trenton with a perfect ninth inning.
The Spikes and Thunder will now finish out their three-game series at Trenton Thunder Ballpark with a 6:00 p.m. matchup on Sunday night. Right-hander Nick Hohenstein (3-1) is slated to get the ball for State College.
After the series, the Spikes will head to Williamsport for a 1:00 p.m. Labor Day matchup with the Crosscutters on Monday before the 2024 home finale at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Tuesday night at 6:35 p.m.
Spikes fans will be thrilled by one last FIREWORKS show to close out the summer on Fan Appreciation Night, along with the return of Dollar Dog Night on a Tuesday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Dollar Dog Mania gripped Nittany Nation every Tuesday home game this spring, and the mania continues as the first 2,000 hot dogs go for just $1 apiece at the home finale.
The first 500 fans can also join in the fun with a Dollar Dog T-Shirt Giveaway presented by McClure Company.
Plus, Ace Baldwin Jr. is returning for another season in the Blue and White, and he'll be on hand at the State College Spikes' 2024 home finale to celebrate with hoops fans across Happy Valley.
Baldwin, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2024, will meet and greet fans, appear as a special guest on Spikes Live! presented by Mount Nittany Health and throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game before participating in the ballpark fun and signing autographs during the game.
It’s also a Walking Taco Tuesday presented by Bigfoot Country Legends on Fan Appreciation Night.
To purchase tickets to the 2024 home finale, 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. The Ticket Office will be closed on Labor Day Monday.
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 Sunday via the Spikes Radio Network presented by Penn State Sports Medicine, Official Healthcare Provider of Penn State Athletics with Joe Putnam on the call. The broadcast starts with Spikes Live! presented by Mount Nittany Health on the air from Trenton Thunder Ballpark at approximately 5:45 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.
