Penn-Trafford grad, Penn State standout Josh Spiegel lives out dream of homering at PNC Park

Young baseball players in Western Pennsylvania grow up dreaming about the moment.

Josh Spiegel experienced it.

The Penn-Trafford graduate hit a three-run homer at PNC Park on May 17, leading Penn State to a 19-6 victory over Pitt. Spiegel drove a first-pitch slider over the North Side Notch in left-center, pulling the Nittany Lions ahead 8-6 in the ninth inning. Penn State went on to score 11 more runs.

“Going to that park, you always watch the big leaguers and want to be them,” Spiegel said. “Having that experience on that field and being able to hit a home run was a great feeling. It was definitely something that I had envisioned.”

The Nittany Lions’ baseball facility, Medlar Field, has similar dimensions to PNC Park, with left-center also being the deepest part of the outfield. So Spiegel wasn’t sure the ball would clear the wall at first.

“I knew I hit it well, but I knew I hit it to that spot, and I’m like, ‘Hopefully, this gets out.’ Once it went out, I lost it,” Spiegel said.

About 15 friends and family members were in attendance. Spiegel struck out in his first two at-bats and grounded out in his third, so he had received some gentle ribbing before his homer.

“I remember looking at them, and they told me to quit (stinking) a little bit,” Spiegel said.

“It was all love. They gave me that look of ‘Come on, you’ve got to do better.’ It kind of relaxed me. I just remembered that it was fun, and they had my back.”

A more relaxed approach has played a key role this season for Spiegel, a 6-foot-3, 206-pound redshirt junior who plays catcher and first base. He is hitting .310 and ranks second on the team with eight homers and 40 RBIs. His 16 doubles are first on the team. He has nearly doubled his output from last year, when he hit .261 with four homers and 22 RBIs.

Spiegel also has helped Penn State (25-25, 11-11 through Thursday) to its highest win total since 2016.

“I’ve matured as a hitter and matured as a person,” he said. “That’s been the biggest thing for me that I’ve grown from last year to this year.

“I feel like when I’m going good, I’m up there relaxed. I know that I’ve put in all the work ahead of the game. Whenever I go up into the box, I want to attack the baseball.”

Spiegel became a force so early at Penn-Trafford that opponents rarely challenged him as he got older. He received his first Division I offer as a sophomore — from Pitt — and committed to Oklahoma State in the summer before his junior year. Other offers included Notre Dame, North Carolina, Virginia, Michigan State, Virginia Tech and Penn State.

During his senior year of high school, Spiegel drew 23 walks in 63 at-bats and had an on-base percentage of .556 while hitting .300 with four homers and 17 RBIs.

Spiegel never got a chance to produce much at Oklahoma State. After redshirting as a freshman, he appeared in three games during the covid-shortened season of 2020, going 2 for 4 with an RBI.

He said that experience fuels him.

“Deep down, there a big chip on my shoulder,” Spiegel said. “But I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had here at Penn State and the beliefs that the coaches have had in me here. Even when I’m struggling, they still believe in me, and that’s helped me as a player.”

After fulfilling one dream of homering at PNC Park, perhaps another is within reach. Spiegel is MLB Draft-eligible this season, and even if he doesn’t get selected, he has two years of college eligibility left to improve his stock.

“Playing professional baseball is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid,” he said. “If that happens this year, then great. If it doesn’t, I’ll just continue on the journey that I’ve been put on.”