FREDERICK, Md. – Manny Jackson’s three-run homer in the eighth inning, his first of the 2025 season, propelled the State College Spikes to a 5-4 victory over the Frederick Keys on Monday night at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium, giving the MLB Draft League First Half Champions their fourth straight win.

With two outs in the eighth, Jackson sent an 0-2 pitch from Frederick (3-3 2nd Half) reliever Jacob Phillips (0-1) high over the right-field fence and just inside the foul pole 383 feet from home plate to give the Spikes (4-1 2nd Half) a 5-3 lead and cap a 3-for-4 night at the plate. Jackson returned to State College from the 2024 Spikes after hitting three home runs and driving in 23 runs across both halves of last season.

Jack Hagan (1) then entered the game in the ninth and, after allowing a run on Devan Bade’s double to right-center field, completed the game by striking out Bronson Rivera and forcing Taj Bates to ground out for the save.

Andrew D’Alessio (1-0) earned the win after allowing one run on two hits, a walk and a hit batsman while striking out three batters over three innings of relief. D’Alessio followed Dillon Fischer, who allowed one earned run over five innings and logged 108 pitches, a season high for any Spikes hurler.

The Spikes had taken the opening lead of the game on Chenar Brown’s RBI single to center in the third, then after Cam Hassert tied the game with an RBI groundout in the same frame, retook to lead in the fourth as Jackson’s single and a subsequent error scored Jakobi Davis.

Frederick tied the game in the fifth on Bronson Rivera’s two-out RBI single, then took the lead on a swinging bunt single by Dylan Symonds in the sixth. Symonds recorded three hits of his own for the Keys in Monday’s game.