With first-round draft pick Jesse Biddle fighting his command Thursday night, the Williamsport Crosscutters turned to one of their most reliable pitchers throughout the season.
After watching Biddle surrender three runs and walking six of the 11 batters he faced, Eric Pettis entered the game and kept Mahoning Valley at bay until the Cutters offense rescued Biddle and the wild card lead.
Williamsport scored eight runs in the second inning and went on to defeat Mahoning Valley 9-5 and remain a 1/2 game ahead of Jamestown for the wild card berth in the New York-Penn League.
"I mean the guys came back, they had put together good at-bats," Williamsport manager Chris Truby said. "That's just one of those innings where everything kind of went our way. It was nice to see being down 3-0 coming off of last night, just show the energy and the fight and everything else. I mean, it was fun to watch."
The Crosscutters went through 11 batters and strung together six consecutive hits in the second inning, including three doubles. After Jordan Cooper loaded the bases by walking Miguel Alvarez, Kirk Wetmore came in to relieve the starter.
Ryne White, who had just one home run this season, took the first pitch he saw and drove a deep shot into right field near the scoreboard for a grand slam and give Williamsport its eighth run of the inning.
Once Pettis relieved Biddle, the Scrappers bats just about fell silent. Pettis stayed on the mound until the fifth inning and only gave up one hit and struck out four. Julian Sampson and Chase Johnson came out from the bullpen and closed the door. The duo combined to allow just two more runs and six hits.
"With Pettis, he throws strikes, he changes speed, he kind of gets guys thinking a little bit and that's his game," Truby said. "He works fast and our defense plays good behind him because he works fast and he throws strikes. And Johnson comes in there and pounds the zone, so the guys we brought in out of the pen did a great job of giving up the innings we needed."
The Williamsport defense played solid behind Pettis, Sampson and Johnson. Mahoning Valley only had one extra-base hit when Trent Baker hit a double into left field in the ninth inning.
The Crosscutters have just three games left against State College and Williamsport knows they now control their own fate for the 2010 NYPL playoffs.
"They got the fight, they got the energy, they got the want to," Truby said. "They feel the energy of being in a race and getting a chance to get to a postseason and they want it."
