Late Sports

Amidst court ruling, numerous Thunder players refused to play vs. Cutters

It is impossible to separate real life issues and sports.

With both factions so heavily intertwined into day to day life the two categories, while seeming far apart at first, can collide in the most unexpected and harshest of ways.

For the Williamsport Crosscutters and, in a sense, the entire MLB Draft League, that intersection was met harshly on Saturday.

The first indication that something was awry came roughly an hour before Williamsport's contest against the Trenton Thunder. With the grounds crew placing the finishing touches on the ground, athletes from both teams could be seen having an extended conversation aroun

d centerfield. While such an occurrence is normal, having roughly a dozen total athletes in conversation sparked an intriguing eye. And while the first instinct would be it due to an argument or a pre-match scuffle, there didn't seem to be any animosity between the two groups of players.

But when the game was announced to be delayed and Trenton's lineup updated with no designated hitter and two pitchers in the batting order, the reality of the situation became clear.

21 hours earlier, US District Judge Charlotte Sweeney ruled against the NCAA's updated eligibility plan that allowed a five year, age based set up that granted five seasons of eligibility over five years.

Due to Judge Sweeney's ruling, athletes from the high school class of 2022 who used up four years of college entitlement this spring are eligible for a fifth season this upcoming year.

Cue the chaos.

Roughly 20 minutes before first pitch, it was announced that the game was delayed for unknown reasons.

As it would turn out, numerous members of Trenton's roster, including starting right fielder Jake Koonin and designated hitter Julian Swift, pulled themselves from the game with the prospect of another year of eligibility ahead of them.

They wouldn't be alone. By the 6:35 first pitch time, Trenton would have just seven position players available, with college two way player Billy Morris and starting pitcher John Higgins occupying the nine and eight spot in the batting order.

Trenton Thunder manager Shaun Chacon refused to comment after the game.

"We started hearing this stuff around 3 in the afternoon," said Williamsport Crosscutter manager Kenny Thomas, who did not have any leavers from their starting lineup. "We started hearing this stuff from other places, but nothing from our field until 6:00."

That 'other place' would most likely refer to what happened in Aberdeen. Ahead of a crucial matchup between the first place Ironbirds and the top seeded State College Spikes, the game was ultimately cancelled "Due to circumstances outside the teams' control."

With the game now starting 20 minutes late back in Williamsport, it became a battle to see just how depleted Trenton's roster was. Of the 26 athletes on the roster, only 20 looked to be in uniform with nobody in the dugout when the visitors took the field. While it can be confirmed that Swift and Koonin were most certainly scratched, the current availability of catcher Dean O'Neill, infielder Ty Stecko, and outfielder JuJu Stevens is still up for debate. It should be noted, all five scratch names mentioned used their fourth year of eligibility this past season.

What can be reported was a last ditch effort by the league to get the game going. Sources say that there was an attempt before the game to get members of Williamsport's bench to swap jerseys and play for Trenton on the night.

"There was the talk of trades," joked Thomas. "But I tell ya, my three position players that were not in the lineup, they all came to me and said 'We are a Crosscutter. That is why we came here. We came here to play for y'all.' So at that point my focus was that my guys are here to play for this team. They are here because they want to be a part of this."

The events that occurred at Bowman and throughout the MLB Draft League are just another step in what has been a long standing battle between student-athlete eligibility, their ability to transfer, and the number of years they are allowed to play. Whether or not the apex of this battle that’s decades in length remains to be seen.

What is more clear is that, in terms of the MLB Draft League, there is an expectation that the teams affected will have a much different roster in the coming days.

Updates to this article will be made when new information is presented.