Colson Lawrence of the Crosscutters breaks towards third base and scores in the first inning against the Black Bears at Muncy Bank Ballpark June 14, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

After nine frames of baseball that saw 22 runs, 21 hits, 16 walks, and 11 pitchers, The Williamsport Crosscutters defeated the West Virginia Black Bears,12-10, at Historic Bowman Field Wednesday night. The Cutters obtained an eight-run lead after one that was ultimately blown by the fifth inning, but the late batting heroics of Jacob Harper spared blushes in the sixth with a two out single that ultimately scored the winning run in the ballgame.

“These fans just keep coming and keep loving us. It’s an honor to put on the show for them,” said Harper, who’s two-run RBI single was a turning point.

“It’s definitely one of those things [where] in the game it’s possible,” said Williamsport manager Jesse Litsch when asked if this was the start of something to build off of. “But when you’re walking guys, you’re giving up runs… when you get an eight spot in the first you gotta be able to hold that. We didn’t, but we battled to the end and came out on top which is a positive.”

Williamsport would break through early on against West Virginia starter Evan Brandt (0-1). Lead-off batter Stanley Tucker and two-hitter Ryan Vogel both got on base, slapping singles to right field. The two base hits put runners at the corners with nobody out. The two would execute a successful double steal, with Vogel taking second and Tucker scoring after the throw giving Williamsport a 1-0 lead.

Sean Smith followed it up with a walk to get runners on first and second for cleanup hitter Ryan Ignoffo. The Crystal Lake native would come through, driving a deep shot off the wall at left field to score Vogel and put two in scoring position with still no outs.

Ryan Ignoffo crosses the plate followed by Daunte Stuart (background) of the Crosscutters score in the sixth inning against the Black Bears at Muncy Bank Ballpark June 14, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Five spot hitter Colson Lawrence would empty the base paths, cracking a line drive to right field, scoring Smith and Ignoffo. Lawrence deepened the wound by stealing second, the third stolen base by a Cutter in the inning.

The newfound runner in scoring position poised Reed Chumley in prime real estate, with the hot corner bat hitting one up the middle into center field for the fifth run of the inning.

The inning went from bad to worse when Chumley attempted to steal second. When Black Bear catcher Kirk Liebert attempted the throw over, he incidentally tagged the back of his pitcher Evan Brandt, giving Chumley the base. Crosscutter catcher Harper continued the carousel, advancing on a walk to put two runners on. First baseman Gage Gundy would do one better, hitting a shallow single to right field loading the bases up.

On the ninth bite of the cherry, Evan Brandt would get his first out whilst sacrificing a run after designated hitter Nate Larue grounded out to short, scoring Chumley and keeping runners at second and third.

Brandt would do the same against lead-off man Stanley Tucker, who scored Harper while grounding out to second. The groundout was the last pitch he would throw, finishing with eight earned runs on six hits in two thirds of an inning.

Ryan Ignoffo, left, and Daunte Stuart of the Crosscutters score in the sixth inning against the Black Bears at Muncy Bank Ballpark June 14, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

His eighth run earned came with Chase Becker on the hill, with Vogel recording his second hit of the inning to right field, sending home Gundy. Sean Smith kept the deja vu going after drawing his second walk of the inning getting runners on first and second. The rally finally ended there, after Sean Smith grounded out to third base.

“We weren’t chasing,” said Harper. “We were seeing the ball up, making good at bats, putting good swings on the ball.”

In total, the Cutters scored eight runs on seven hits and three walks with twelve total plate appearances in an inning that lasted 34 minutes. The eight runs converted by Williamsport in the first were the most they have scored in any inning of a game this season.

In the top of the second, walks would rear their ugly heads at Crosscutter pitching once again, with Cutters starter Jack Wenninger issuing three straight to start the frame. Seven spot hitter RJ Johnson would play cleanup duties, unloading one into the gap at right center scoring two and putting himself and Tahir Meulens in scoring position.

Wenninger then allowed a hit by pitch to Kirk Leibert, loading up the bases for nine-hole hitter Cade Verdusco. The Center fielder would fly out to left, scoring a tagging Meulens to make it 8-3.

Jacob Harper of the Crosscutters hits a 2 RBI double in the sixth inning against the Black Bears at Muncy Bank Ballpark June 14, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Another run came across with leadoff man Tevin Tucker in the box. Tucker would single on a broken bat groundball to short, with Stanley Tucker firing to first baseman Gage Gundy. Gundy had it hit off his glove and towards the wall, scoring Johnson from second while putting runners at second and third.

Wenninger would rally the troops after that, forcing a lineout and a strikeout to end the rally, but not before the Black Bears halved the deficit to 8-4.

It was an early call to the bullpen for Williamsport as well, with Fighting illini Riley Gowens making his Cutters debut in the third. The 23-year-old allowed a leadoff runner on via an error from Ryan Ignoffo. Gowens spared blushes in the end, drawing a strikeout, groundout and popout to strand the runner.

Williamsport’s bats came back in the third after a 1-2-3 second, with Gage Gundy drawing a walk to start. Black Bear reliever Brady Coban would toss two straight strikeouts before allowing a base hit to Ryan Vogel, scoring Gundy in the process to make it 9-4 after three innings.

West Virginia responded in angst a half inning later. Facing Parker Burgess, The Black Bears reached base five consecutive times after grounding out to start the fourth frame. A Cade Verdusco single, Tevin Tucker walk, back-to-back singles from Brody Fahr and Caleb McNeely, and another walk to Fogel trimmed the lead to three with the bases loaded. A fielder’s choice force out to second from Logan Kohler made it 9-7 before Burgess was pulled with two outs and runners at the corners.

Manny Dooley (2-0) came in to limit the damage, allowing a bloop single to Tahir Meulens to score Caleb McNeely. Kohler tried to take an extra bag to land at third, only to be thrown out by center fielder Ryan Vogel to end the four-run rally.

With the lead down to one, Williamsport once again looked to provide a response at the plate, knocking out reliever Brady Coben with two walks. A wild pitch by new reliever John Bakke (0-2) placed Ryan Ignoffo and Reed Chumley at second and third with one out. Bakke was equal to the challenge, however, striking out Harper and Gundy to escape the jam.

The follies continued on the field with West Virginia at the plate. With one out and no one on, Liebert hit one down the left field line, with both short stop Daunte Stuart and left fielder Sean Smith overrunning the ball, it fell just inside of fair territory for a double. Liebert advanced to third just two pitches later on a wild pitch to put the tying run at third with one away.

After drawing a shallow flyout, Dooley would allow a walk to Tucker, with the leadoff man stealing second to put the go-ahead run in scoring position.

Brody Fahr would drive them in on the next at bat, hitting a shallow fly ball that fell for a base hit, clearing the bases and giving West Virginia a 10-9 lead. Fahr would be tagged out attempting to steal second, but the damage had already been done. The eight-run lead was vanquished in just four innings after the Black Bears scored four in the second, four in the fourth, and a pair in the fifth.

“When you look at the numbers, we got the most strikeouts, the most walks, the lowest batting average against. We are doing well in the zone, but we suck out of the zone. That should tell them what to do.”

With the Muncy Bank Ballpark atmosphere at a low point, the Cutter bats once again sparked life, starting with a one out single from Ryan Ignaffo. With two away and a runner on, pinch hitter Duante Stuart came up big with a two-out single. Stuart then stole second to get the go-ahead run in scoring position and the tying run at third.

With two outs and two on facing a pitcher’s count, Valdosta State’s Harper smashed a sharp grounder that hopped beyond the glove of short stop Tevin Tucker for a base hit, scoring Ignoffo and Stuart to retake the lead. The normally relaxed Harper slammed his fist twice on the second base bag, symbolizing the release of frustration in the ballpark.

“I had already seen [Bakke] once, and he had already beaten me once,” reminisced Harper postgame. “Got into the same count with him, and he came with the same pitch. I just tried to see it up again and get a barrel up again.”

Williamsport found a much-needed insurance run in the bottom of the seventh. After a Nate Larue strikeout, Stanley Tucker would reach base once more with a walk. The speedster made short use of his time as he would easily steal second. With two away, Sean Smith notched his sixth RBI on the season hitting a grounder to center that would score Tucker, making it a 12-10 lead for the Crosscutters.

In a frenzy of a match, Ethan O’Neil became a sight for the Cutters faithful’s sore eyes. The Vegas native came in during the seventh and pitched two scoreless innings, giving up just one hit in the process. The righty capped off his two inning showcase by striking out Justin Fogel, who advanced in every plate appearance at the time.

Jack Crowder (1 S) got the nod to close things out in the ninth inning. In a ball game that saw just about everything, the 1-2-3 ninth that gave Williamsport the win stuck out as bizarre.

“I came in knowing we had a two-run lead and had to close it out,” said Crowder in the clubhouse afterwards. “Coming into a late-night game, close game. Coming in to close it out, giving us the win, is always fun.”

“A win right now? I’m ecstatic,” echoed Litsch postgame. “It’s not the win we wanted probably, but at this point a w is a w. We ended the game in good fashion, and we played ’till the end. That’s what I’m happy about.”

Williamsport remains bottom of the table in the Draft League despite the victory, improving their record to 4-8 on the season. They dropped the gap to the first place Trenton Thunder by a game to four back, whilst inching closer to two games back from their closest neighbors in the standings in Mahoning Valley.

The Cutters receive a much-needed day off on Thursday, before traveling to Mahoning Valley for a three game set this week. Williamsport’s next home fixture is Tuesday, where they’ll play host to the Frederick Keys in a three-game set.