STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Riley Drongesen’s double to right field scored Elier Rodriguez with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the State College Spikes a 5-4 victory over the West Virginia Black Bears on Tuesday afternoon at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
The Spikes (30-14) became the first team in the New York-Penn League to reach 30 wins this season with the victory, and went to 6-0 on the year against the Black Bears (20-24).
State College had the first and last word in a back-and-forth game that featured three ties and two lead changes. The Spikes took the lead in the first when Tommy Edman doubled, went to third on a bunt and scored on Andy Young’s sacrifice fly.
West Virginia responded with Kevin Mahala’s solo home run to lead off the fourth to tie the game. Later in the frame, Chris Harvey knocked in the go-ahead run for the Black Bears with a single.
In the home half of the fourth, Mick Fennell drove in Danny Martin with a single to knot the game at 2-2. State College then took the lead back in the sixth when Martin reached base via error, went to second on a bunt, and scored on Ryan McCarvel’s sacrifice fly.
Ricardo Bautista then smashed his first home run of the year, a solo shot off West Virginia reliever Dylan Prohoroff, to extend the Spikes’ lead to 4-2 in the seventh.
However, the Black Bears took advantage of two State College errors to tie the game in the eighth.
The Spikes were poised to walk off with the win as they loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth. However, West Virginia reliever Luis Paula then recorded two strikeouts and covered first on a grounder to send the game into extra innings.
Spikes reliever Jhonatan Escudero (1-0) then stranded runners on second and third in the 10th, while the Spikes could not get a runner into scoring position in the bottom half of that frame.
In the 11th, Rodriguez led off with a single to right-center field and moved to second on a bunt before Drongesen’s heroics.
Spikes starter Carson Cross yielded two runs on six hits and two walks over seven innings. Cross also struck out six batters on the day in his second straight quality start.
Escudero earned the win with two scoreless innings in which he allowed two unearned runs on four hits while striking out four batters.
West Virginia reliever Scooter Hightower (2-3) took the loss after allowing the winning run. Hightower gave up a total of three hits while striking out one batter over 1 1/3 innings.
Black Bears catcher Arden Pabst put together a three-hit game to lead the West Virginia offense.
Wednesday, the Spikes begin a six-game road trip with the opener of a three-game series against the Auburn Doubledays at Falcon Park. Right-hander Steven Farinaro (5-0), who is tied for the league lead in pitching victories, gets the start for State College in the 7:05 p.m. matchup. Auburn is scheduled to send left-hander McKenzie Mills (3-2) to the mound.
After the series in Auburn, the Spikes will visit the Vermont Lake Monsters for three games before heading home on Tuesday to start a stretch of six straight home games. The Spikes will start with three games against West Virginia before welcoming the Staten Island Yankees to town for a three-game weekend series.
The homestand starts with $2 Walking Taco Tuesday, presented by B94.5, as well as Half-Craft Wednesday, presented by 93.7 The BUS. Thursday is Ladies Night, featuring Digger Dog’s Diamond Dig with a $1,000 Confer’s Jewelers Diamond Giveaway for one lucky winner presented by Columbia Gas of PA. In addition, Diamond Club seats will be just $8.11 each on that night for Call 811 Night, and it’s a $1 Beer Thursday, presented by BIG FRoggy 101.
Friday will feature FIREWORKS presented by Penn State Health, and a Patrotic Shirtsey Giveaway presented by ServiceMaster by Holobinko and Merry Maids for the first 1,00 fans. Plus, on Saturday, gates open at 6:00 p.m., and the first 1,000 fans get a Christian Hackenberg Bobblehead presented by The Nittany Lion Inn and the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel & ESPN Radio 1450.
Sunday, fans can meet Dennis Haskins, who played “Mr. Belding” on TV’s “Saved by the Bell,” with the appearance presented by Comcast Spotlight. The skies will also light up with FIREWORKS presented by Nuts For You after the 6:05 p.m. game.
Tickets for all of the games on the upcoming homestand, as well as every game remaining on the Spikes’ 2016 home schedule, are currently on sale through the Spikes Ticket Office by calling (814) 272-1711 or by visiting in person. Fans can also buy and download single-game tickets by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.
Catch all of the action on Wednesday via the Spikes Radio Network, presented by Penn State Health, at 6:35 p.m. with Spikes Live, presented by Mount Nittany Health, on the air from Falcon Park. The Spikes’ radio broadcast can also be heard worldwide through the “Listen Live” link on StateCollegeSpikes.com, provided by the club’s flagship radio home, Newsradio 1390 WRSC, as well as the TuneIn Radio app.
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