State College got busy early on, putting up seven runs in the first three frames to place themselves in a driver’s seat they never relinquished.

“Early on we made some errors that put us behind quickly and we never recovered,” said Williamsport manager Jesse Litsch. “It’s just kind of the moral of the story. Jake (Norris) threw the ball pretty well. (He) just didn’t have the guys behind him in a timely manner. The rest was kind of history at that point.”

The visitors would make early customers in the first, starting with a leadoff walk from Cutters starter Jake Norris to Payton Harden. Norris would get a Zac Vooletich chopper right back to him for a potential double play ball, only for the pitcher to misplace the throw which sailed into the outfield. Harden would take advantage of the blunder by beating the tag home to make it 1-0.

One became two after Vooletich advanced to third on a wild pitch, and an at bat later, would score off a Brennen Dorighi groundout to double the advantage without recording a hit. A cacophony of mistakes continued for the Cutters after Josh Leslie slapped a two out single. Another wild pitch advanced Leslie into scoring position, with a third error of the inning by Williamsport on a Braedon Blackford grounder scoring Leslie to make it 3-0 after one.

Brayland Skinner of the Crosscutters breaks towards home and scores in the sixth inning against the State College Spikes at Muncy Bank Ballpark Aug. 30, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

The Spikes would continue the surge in the second, with Payton Harden reaching for the second time on a single with two away. State College would earn their keep this time around, with Zac Vooletich corking a double into the left center gap to score Harden.

The onslaught continued into the third, with the pair of Carlos Contreras and Brennen Dorighi reaching on a single and error respectively. Braedon Blackford stepped to the plate with one out, and cleared the bases on a double down the right field line to make out 6-0. Blackford would soon swipe third, and with Marques Paige at the plate, brought home on a Norris balk.

Noah Robinson would come in to pitch the fourth for the Cutters, and had to get busy on the hill after allowing the bases to be loaded with two away. The reliever would pull through against Braedon Blackford, with the latter flying out deep to right stranding the runners.

Williamsport utilized that momentum to get on the board in the bottom half. Tyler Lasch got it started with a walk, and after an Adam Becker flyout, would come all the way home on an RBI triple by Jose Gonzalez.

Freddy Rojas Jr. would continue the run, flying out to deep center on a spectacular diving grab from Payton Harden allowing Gonzalez to tag home from third for a 7-2 scoreline.

Isaiah Byars of the Crosscutters is safe at first base as Logan Matthieu of the State College Spikes tries to make the tag at Muncy Bank Ballpark Aug. 30, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

But the visitors would find a response in the sixth beginning with a Zac Vooletich single. Reliever Enrico Peele would force a pair of outs, but conceded a run when Josh Leslie smacked a single which scored Vooletich. The aforementioned would score one at bat later on a Brasedon Blackford single to make it 9-2.

Brayland Skinner looked to improve matters for the home side by beating out a double to start the bottom half. The Cutters would pull through courtesy of Tyler Lasch, who blooped a single down the left field line for an RBI single.

Lasch would try to play the spark in the bottom of the eighth, reaching base with a one out single. But reliever Ty Pohlmann pulled through, getting a pair of outs to strand the runners.

State College took the momentum to the top of the ninth, loading up the bases despite not recording a hit. Logan Mathieu would begin with a walk, followed by Payton Harden reaching on the Cutters fifth error of the game and a Zac Vooletich hit by pitch loading the bases with one away. A wild pitch allowed the tenth run of the ballgame to come across heading into the bottom of the ninth.

The insurance run was welcomed but not needed, with the Cutters going 1-2-3 down in the ninth for a 10-3 defeat.

Tyler Lasch of the Crosscutters scores in the fourth inning against the State College Spikes at Muncy Bank Ballpark Aug. 30, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“The vibes are ‘it’ll be nice to win a series,'” added Litsch. “These guys are on their own. It’s kinda ‘let’s put the same lineup out there.’ We have 10 position players so everyone’s playing. It’s just a matter of going out there and playing the game. We got three games left, so it’s up to them to decide if they wanna be on the winning side or the losing side.”

Will Feunning of the Crosscutters pulls in a fly ball hit by Braedon Dorighi of the State College Spikes in the fourth inning at Muncy Bank Ballpark Aug. 30, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette