UNIVERSITY PARK – Nyan Hayes homered to tie the game in the seventh inning, then led off the bottom of the ninth with a triple to set up Trent Turner’s walk-off single to give the State College Spikes a 5-4 win over the West Virginia Black Bears on Wednesday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

Hayes, who completed his collegiate career at Oregon State this spring after 45 RBI’s over 53 games at Grambling in 2025, took a 1-2 pitch from West Virginia (0-1 2nd Half) reliever Cameron Padgett into the Pepsi Picnic Pavilion for a three-run shot to even the game at 4-4 in the seventh.

The New Orleans native then sent a 2-2 pitch from Jake Kramer (0-2) onto the warning track in left-center field to start the final frame. Turner followed by sending a 2-2 pitch through the infield for the game-winner.

The Spikes (1-0 2nd Half) fell behind early in the game when Jackson Trout singled home a West Virginia run in the second and Alec DeMartino smashed a 404-foot solo shot to left-center field in the third for his first home run with the Black Bears.

After State College responded with Stan DeMartinis III’s RBI double in the sixth, West Virginia scored a pair of two-out runs on run-scoring singles from Ben Barrett and Zack Thompson prior to the Spikes’ surge.

Spikes reliever Patrick Morris (1-0) earned the win with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless ball, allowing just one hit while striking out four batters in the process. Kramer faced two batters in taking the loss.