Cutters Sean Ross catches a ball hit to deep center field by Trenton's Andrew Cossetti in the top of the fourth against Trenton at Bowman Field. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Sean Ross admitted the drive from Terre Haute, Indiana, to Williamsport was a little boring. The scenery didn’t change a whole lot from the driver’s seat of his 1998 Toyota Tundra.

But that pickup truck has taken Ross to sights he never imagined he would have seen because of baseball. His truck has more than 430,000 miles on it. It has taken him from his home in San Diego to Pensacola State College in Florida to play junior college baseball. It’s taken him to St. Cloud and Mankato, Minnesota, to play summer ball. Coming to Williamsport to play for the Crosscutters in the inaugural season of the MLB Draft League was just the next step of his journey.

Seeing so much of the country, Ross believes, is only going to help him in the future. He’s experienced different ways of life and it’s going to help him relate to people better when he eventually becomes a coach.

“Recruiting kids from all over the country is the best thing, and if I can relate to them when they say they’re from here and I can say I’ve been there, I can relate to their situation now,” Ross said prior to Thursday’s game at Bowman Field. “I’m getting their point of view as a person by seeing new things. This has all opened my mind so much that America is a big country and there are a lot of different opinions and views. Getting to see the rest of America instead of just California has been great.”

Ross’ next step in his baseball journey won’t require him to put any more miles on his truck. Instead he’ll just have to walk down the right-field line at Bowman Field from the dugout to the bullpen.

The Crosscutters’ starting center fielder is hoping to help the pitching staff in the bullpen come this weekend. He spent most of his pre-game Thursday working out in the bullpen with pitching coach Jim Gott on some basic mechanical thoughts to keep in mind going into his weekend appearance on the mound.

It’s not as if Ross has never pitched before. In fact, he has one other appearance for the Crosscutters this summer. But prior to that, he hadn’t pitched consistently since playing in the Northwoods Summer League in 2019. He was a pitcher in high school and even appeared in a game on the mound as a freshman at San Diego State three years ago.

But he didn’t do any pitching at Pensacola State College, nor this spring at Indiana State University. Ross is confident he can handle the new challenge, and he’s excited to take it on.

“I told (Gott) that I used to pitch, I used to be a two-way player and I was a straight pitcher in high school,” Ross said. “So I said you need someone to take down any innings, I’d be happy to do it. He was like, ‘oh my gosh, yes.’ He was all for it. So he said let’s get in a bullpen and see what you got.”

Don’t expect the 23-year-old right-hander to come out trying to blow fastballs past hitters. He knows that’s not his game. Instead, he just wants to get as many outs as possible as quickly as possible.

“I like to have quick innings,” Ross said. “If I can have a three-pitch inning, I’ll take it any time. I don’t care if you hit it hard or soft. Outs are outs. It should be fun.”

Ross called this summer the best one of his college baseball career. But the success of the summer has absolutely nothing to do with the numbers he’s put up as a consistent figure in the Cutters’ lineup. In fact, he came into Thursday’s series finale against Trenton hitting .193 with a .261 on-base percentage.

But the knowledge Ross has gained throughout the summer, he believes, is going to set him up to maximize his potential when he gets back to Indiana State. Hitting against consistent velocity and better understanding his own strengths and weaknesses are far more important than just what the statistics next to his name say.

“This is the best summer I’ve had in terms of my mindset and everything else. I’m very confident,” Ross said. “This is really setting me up to be better next year.”

Cutters manager Billy Horton said following Wednesday night’s loss, where Ross drove in the Cutters’ lone run, that production goes beyond just what the statistics say next to a player’s name. He and hitting coach Anthony Manuel could see Ross had been hitting the ball hard lately even if it hadn’t been falling for hits. That’s why Horton had the speedy outfielder hitting clean-up in the first two games of the Trenton series.

He didn’t need Ross to step in and suddenly be a player who was driving the baseball and trying to hit home runs. He just needed Ross to be the same guy he always is, putting the ball in play hard on a consistent basis. It was something the two of them talked about at the gym the other day. Horton told Ross not to change his approach to the game based on where he was hitting in the lineup. Instead, stay true to who Ross is as a player.

“That’s easier to say than do,” Ross said. “This game is 90% mental, and keeping yourself in the same mindset day in and day out is a difficult thing. But the coaches telling me they have confidence in me helps.”