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Penn College grad Brittan Kittle glad to be playing with Cutters

By Mitch Rupert 4 min read

There's a pool job and a slow-pitch softball team waiting for Brittan Kittle when his time with the Williamsport Crosscutters is done, not that the Penn College graduate is rushing back.

He's enjoying his time playing more baseball way too much to want to rush back. And for a guy who thought his baseball career was over after Penn College's season ended this spring, the last two weeks have been more than he could have hoped for playing catcher for the Williamsport Crosscutters.

He wasn't expecting to play summer baseball. In fact, he had traded in his metal spikes and his catcher's gear for molded cleats and slow-pitch softball. But here he is, back at his old home of Bowman Field, playing more baseball.

"It's definitely crazy. I was playing slow-pitch softball, and the next thing I know I'm playing at Bowman Field again," Kittle said prior to Wednesday's game against the Frederick Keys. It's a surreal moment, even if it is just for seven days."

The Cutters were in need of a catcher after Rob Marinec went on the inactive list and Mitch Hundley was released. Kittle, a Millville graduate, was in the area working for Fagnano's Pools while he looks for a job as a plastics engineer. And after a successful career as a catcher at Penn College where he was a .357 career hitter and a three-time first-team All-North Eastern Athletic Conference selection, Wildcats coach Chris Howard got in touch with the Cutters to offer up Kittle's services to a team which had just one active catcher on the roster.

Kittle hadn't played a baseball game since Penn College lost its season finale to Penn State Abington on May 12. It made Kittle's first at-bat with the Cutters in State College as a little bit of a culture shock. By his account, he didn't face anyone throwing 90-plus mph during his time with Penn College. Everyone he faced in State College that night was throwing that hard.

Kittle went 1 for 5 that night with four strikeouts. In two games played before Wednesday's start against the Frederick Keys, Kittle is a combined 1 for 8 with six strikeouts. But he's progressively felt better about each at-bat, regardless of the outcome.

"If I were here for two or three weeks or so, I feel like I'd get the hang of it," Kittle said. "But I feel like every at-bat, something is getting better. I'm seeing the ball better, or I'm letting it travel, or I'm going the opposite way with it."

The only thing Kittle wanted out of his experience with the Crosscutters was to prove he could play on this level. He's surrounded by Division I players or junior college players who are committed to Division I schools, and players who are on Major League teams' radar for July's draft. So initially, coming into this environment after being away from baseball for nearly a month was a bit of a culture shock. But after getting his feet wet, Kittle has settled in to his role and his spot on the team.

Regardless of how long his time with the Cutters lasts, Kittle says he's enjoyed the experience. He's learned so much from pitching coach Jim Gott just from his time catching bullpen sessions about how to read pitchers, work with pitchers, and about catching.

And frankly, it's a lot better than going back to work every day.

"But if we're not making money, we can't pay back those student loans," Kittle said with a laugh. "I'll carry on everything I've learned for the past week and a half or two weeks and pass it on to the next generation if I'm able to coach down the road."

He's just happy to be back in the ballpark - Bowman Field - where he played so many games as a collegiate player. His first week with the team was spent on the road in State College and Trenton. But he's getting the opportunity to play in front of his family and friends this week.

"My family was stoked," Kittle said. "It makes my heart happy for my family to feel the same excitement that was generated through me when I got the call to come here."

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