How host families make Centre County ‘feel like home’ to State College Spikes

Summer nights in State College can typically be marked by the sounds of fireworks exploding above Medlar Field at Lubrano Park after yet another State College Spikes baseball game.

Players from around the country trek to Centre County each summer as a stop on their hopeful journeys to the professional ranks as part of the MLB Draft League. And while Spikes coaches and support staff do their part to assist the players along their passage, a network of host families that house Spikes players is just as integral in helping them achieve their Major League goals.

“My one guy stays in a Disney room — everything is Disney in it,” Bellefonte resident Christine McCann said with a laugh. “I tell him he’s sleeping with the princesses.”

Twenty-eight players have stayed in McCann’s two-level condo over the past four years. McCann’s finished basement consists of two bedrooms and a bathroom that houses players, while a bedroom and a bathroom on the first level are also available for a player.

McCann, 70, first contacted the Spikes in 2022 to inquire about hosting. When her husband Pat was still alive, he used their home’s basement as his office. Over time, McCann decided the space was well-suited to lodge Spikes players. The setup lends itself well to guests.

“(Pat) had bad eyes, so he had a 70-inch television down there with like six recliners,” McCann said. “So they have a room of their own down there basically. The 70-inch TV has bit the dust, so now (the TV) is not as big.”

McCann was born in Oil City and moved to the State College area in 1990. She attended her first Spikes game 20 years ago. Although she works full-time, she still makes it to most home games to support her players and the home team.

“I work, so I don’t see them a whole lot,” McCann said. “After the game, they stay and eat. So, by the time they are here, I’m ready for bed. I go to my own little abode in my bedroom. They’ve just always been very well-behaved and appreciate that you give them a room. If their families come in, a lot of times you get to meet their families. It’s always nice to do that.”

Making a home away from home

Host families welcome two sets of players each summer. From early June to the middle of July, draft-eligible players from the college and high school ranks compete in the MLB Draft League.

From mid-July to early September, professional players no longer eligible to compete in the amateur ranks fill the Spikes’ roster.

For nine months out of the year, Frank Kachurak and his 7-year-old Corgi, Moose, have a two-story Brush Valley home to themselves. Kachurak, 46, hosted his first set of players when the Spikes arrived in the mid-2000s. After a hiatus, he again opened his doors to the team’s young talent a few years ago.

Kachurak grew up in Wilkes-Barre. Like many others who now call the Centre Region home, he arrived at State College as a Penn State student and hasn’t left. With each group of new players, Kachurak establishes a rule that he expects them all to follow.

“I tell them to make themselves at home,” he said. “On any given day, you’ll find a couple of them watching a movie in the living room. One of them will sit on the back porch and play with Moose ... I tell them that Corgis are herding dogs, and since I don’t have herds of animals, they become who she tries to keep in line.”

Spikes outfielder Jakobi Davis joined the team two weeks ago. The Sarasota, Florida, native graduated from Cornell University in May with a degree in civil engineering with a focus on renewable energy systems.

“The connection that Frank and I have made, and that Frank has made with all of the guys, just really makes it feel like home,” Davis said.

This summer marks the third that Davis has stayed with a host family. The four-year starter and two-time captain for Cornell said that although he’s only been with Kachurak for a couple of weeks, the level of hospitality he’s experienced during that time has been memorable.

“(Frank) has a notepad and a pen that he puts out on the dining room table in his kitchen area,” he said. “Any time we come home, we write down any kind of supplies we can think of that we need, from a phone tripod to sourdough bread for breakfast or raw milk from the farm down the road. And it will be there the next day with no questions asked.”

During Spikes’ homestands, Kachurak tries to cook almost every night once he returns home from games. Those meals typically consist of standard Crock-Pot fare such as roast beef. Chicken and beef tacos are also in the rotation.

On days when the players are off, Kachurak will cook a steak dinner or take them out for a home-style meal.

“He’s just excited to do those things for us because he considers us family,” Davis said. “Just the dynamic that he’s created in his home, I can tell that he’s going to be someone I consider family for the rest of my life.”

Home-cooked meals and movies are just part of the Kachurak experience.

The Penn State employee does his part to make his players feel comfortable. That often comes in the form of light-hearted prank wars that produce tons of laughter and accompanying memories. Kachurak eagerly recalled one such episode with one of his players who enjoyed golfing.

“One of the guys from two years ago liked to golf,” Kachurak said. “They call them exploding golf balls. Basically, when you hit it, it just makes a loud noise. I slipped it in his golf bag so he had a surprise at the golf course.”

The players don’t have a problem reciprocating the fun.

Kachurak, who they affectionately call “Grandpa,” recalled once coming home to two of his players unconventionally utilizing his lawnmower.

“Another couple of guys, we were on a tour on campus, and they got home before I did,” he said. “I pulled into the driveway to find them racing the lawnmower like a riding tractor. They were racing it around.”

Becoming part of a family

State College residents Mike and Chrissy Marusa attended Spikes games for years before opening their home as a host family. A neighbor hosted players and spoke highly of the experience, prompting the Marusas to explore doing the same.

“Things were changing in our household a little bit, and we were going to have space in the basement and couldn’t decide what to do with it,” Mike Marusa, 44, said. “The one thing our family could agree on was that it would be fun to host a Spikes player.”

The process of hosting a Spikes player is straightforward. Potential hosts fill out an application that requests languages spoken, vacation plans, room availability, and other questions to provide the organization with information to best match its players with a home.

“They do a great job of vetting any allergies to pets, (available) cars, and the ability to help to make sure expectations align both for the players and families,” Mike Marusa said. “They’re pretty tireless in trying to find the right fit for the right families and spaces.”

Unlike Kachurak and McCann, who live by themselves, hosting players for the Marusas involves a different component as they have 12- and 15-year-old children. With the limited space available, they host one player.

Dylan LaPointe stayed with the Marusas during the first half of the season before returning to his Tampa, Florida, home just over a week ago. LaPointe recently transferred to Mercer University after spending his first two collegiate seasons at Florida Atlantic University. When he wasn’t playing catcher for the Spikes this summer, LaPointe logged plenty of hours on the golf course with the Marusa boys.

“Every Monday we had off, and the kids and I would go golfing on one of those days and play a round of 18 holes,” LaPointe said. “On another off day, I’d invite (their friends) over to go swimming and we’d have a pool party at their house.”

Mike Marusa said one of the greatest joys of hosting is observing the interactions between the players and his children.

“(The kids) have loved it,” he said. “I think they get lessons and role models out of it. I think they’ll get older and realize how much it meant to them.”

Currently, 26 players on the Spikes’ roster are housed by the area’s network of host families. While the system gives players the stability of a home base and a welcoming environment, the experience is just as meaningful to each family.

“It is such a blessing to have this in our community,” Mike Marusa said. “The Spikes kids ultimately go to say ‘thank you’ to Chrissy and me, but we get more out of it than they do. We’re happy to have them around. They’re wonderful and respectful, and you get to learn about their journey.”