UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The State College Spikes needed a little extra to earn their fourth straight win as Ty Buckner recorded three outs in the Major League Baseball Draft League Overtime tiebreaker, giving the Spikes victory over the Williamsport Crosscutters following a 3-3 tie in regulation.

In the MLB Draft League Overtime tiebreaker, the home team chooses whether they will be offense or defense at the pregame plate meeting, and the offense puts the last batter of its previous inning on first base and has three outs to score, or the defense wins.

The Spikes (19-18 2nd Half) chose defense and put the game in the hands of Buckner, the stopper out of St. Louis who had struck out the side in the ninth inning. Buckner delivered a wild pitch to move designated runner Mason Minzey to second but retired Isaiah Byars on a foul bunt third strike. After an intentional walk to Brayland Skinner, Buckner struck out both pinch-hitter E.J. Taylor and first baseman Adam Becker to end the game in the Spikes’ favor.

State College took the lead by scoring three runs in the first inning off Williamsport (15-21 2nd Half) starter Salvatore Ferro. Payton Harden and Zac Vooletich led off the frame with back-to-back singles, with Harden ending up on third. Following Vooletich’s steal of second, Brennen Dorighi drove in Harden with a sacrifice fly to right. A passed ball then moved Vooletich to third, and after a walk to Josh Leslie, Carlos Contreras doubled both runners in with his two-out extra-base hit.

The Crosscutters plated two runs on a double play ball and a Skinner RBI single in the fifth before tying the game on Skinner’s triple and a Tyler Lasch RBI fielder’s choice on a ball drilled back into Spikes reliever Eric Waldichuk’s backside.

No winning or losing pitcher is recorded in a game that reaches the MLB Draft League Overtime tiebreaker, and no portion of the tiebreaker half-inning is included in the official record.

The Spikes are now in third place in the MLB Draft League’s second half, five games back of the league-leading West Virginia Black Bears with ten games to play in the regular season. Second-place Frederick is currently 4 ½ games back.

Wednesday, the Spikes look to carry their momentum forward with a 6:35 p.m. matchup against the Crosscutters at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park that serves as the middle game of their three-game series. Right-hander Sebastian Rodriguez (1-1) gets the ball for the Spikes to face Williamsport righty Shaun Gamelin (6-0).

Fans of age can enjoy a Wine Wednesday at the ballpark, presented by Seven Mountains Wine Cellars and WOWY Radio, with half-price wine and Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy available from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Tickets for Wednesday night and each of the last six games remaining on the Spikes’ largest regular season home schedule in franchise history are available now. Tickets can be purchased by calling (814) 272-1711 or by visiting the Spikes Ticket Office from 9 a.m. to the end of the game Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, 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 full 2023 promotional schedule, by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.

In addition, you can make your plans to be at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park this Labor Day weekend as the ballpark will host Happy Valley Music Fest, produced by Chautauqua Region Music Alliance, on Sunday, September 3. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band will headline the lineup for the return of this community concert event, with more acts to be announced in the coming days.

All tickets for the Happy Valley Music Fest at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park will be in digital form and are now on sale at StateCollegeSpikes.com. The stage for Happy Valley Music Fest will be on the field, with general admission digital tickets available for $20 with access to the field as well as seats in the main seating bowl.

The full slate of concessions will be available at the ballpark for fans throughout the event.

Parking is available in the Porter North, Jordan East, and Stadium West parking lots. Parking can be purchased in advance until Saturday, September 2 at 11:59 p.m. for $5.50 at https://psu.parkmobile.io/medlar-field-lubrano-park. Day of parking will be available for $10 at the above link, and at ParkMobile Zone 95112. Penn State parking permits are valid in the commuter lots at no additional charge.

Catch all the action of the Spikes’ game on Wednesday 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.