Keys account for half of Crosscutters losses, but third was better
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If you were to remove every Keys matchup from the Crosscutters' played schedule, it'd be hard to find a blemish on it.
A blown lead and hard-fought loss against the rival Spikes, a rout at the hands of Mahoning Valley amidst an already clinched, opening series and a rough 8-2 loss to West Virginia - a team Williamsport has since won four straight against - are all that would remain. Through 18 games against the rest of the league, it holds a 14-3 record (with one unfinished outing), the same number of losses it's had in three against Frederick.
With no championship game at the end of the season's first half and Saturday's game getting canceled, the Crosscutters have one more chance to defeat Frederick before the teams transform in mid-July.
A loss may not affect its standing in the standings initially. But bear in mind, the Keys have been keeping up with Williamsport through their hottest week of the season, are now 3.5 games behind Williamsport with the win and appear to be making a late push for the title, rocking a six-game win streak.
"Yeah, we're 0-3. These guys know it," said Crosscutter manager Ryan Hanigan when discussing the matchup. "The ball is in our court."
A different ball game
Abysmal. Gut-wrenching. Out of character.
Those are accurate descriptions of Williamsport's first two losses to the Keys two weekends ago. And while I've already discussed those in detail in a prior column, it's worth mentioning them in contrast to their third matchup.
The first two losses were notably similar. The Cutters kicked things off well defensively before getting in a hole and imploding while Frederick's defense kept them in check on the other end. It surrendered explosions of 21 and 12 runs, with 22 of those 33 runs coming in four innings, losing both contests by double digits.
Issues like that had flared up from time to time throughout the season, but this was the wakeup call. And rather than let those losses affect their momentum, they responded immediately and found a way to alleviate those issues.
Through the next nine contests, Williamsport never allowed more than three runs, with its bullpen stepping up to say the least. And that was no different on Friday, though that streak was technically snapped.
After surrendering two runs in the first, starting pitcher Rodney Shultz posted four straight scoreless innings to cap his day, posting four strikeouts to one walk and allowing his offense to tie it by the third.
When Dalton Robinson relieved him in the sixth, he allowed a home run but responded well, forcing a groundout and posting his second strikeout to close the half out two at-bats later. Then, he hit a batter and allowed a single to kick off the seventh.
These late-game holes crushed the Cutters in their previous matchups but here, Robinson responded by putting an out on the board, attributing his third strikeout.
Alex Clemons came in to relieve him after that and while Frederick was able to get another run on the board on the ensuing at-bat, Clemons responded by forcing a groundout on the next. Then, he shook off a scenario where two Keys were in scoring position and forced a flyout to get the Crosscutters out of the inning mostly unscathed.
He'd close things out with two scoreless innings, keeping Williamsport well within striking distance. On the day, Williamsport allowed just four runs on eight hits, a huge contrast from the previous matchups. In this case, the Keys just shut it down offensively.
"Totally different games. We had some errors, pitchers were trying to figure things out. It just wasn't competitive," said Hanigan, referring to the previous two matchups. "Losing a game like this, our guys played hard. It's just baseball. Got to get them next time."
"Good pitching from our guys, leaving guys on base when they're getting on and pitching out of jams. All the guys were in it the whole game," he added.
Frederick's run
Prior to its two-game sweep over the Crosscutters, Frederick had started the season slow. Though it won on opening night, it lost its next four and went into its first series against Williamsport with a 3-6 record near the bottom of the MLB Draft League Standings.
The Keys lost four in a row following the sweep, making it seem like even more of an anomaly as Williamsport picked itself up and won its next three of four. Then, Frederick regathered its footing.
After starting its four-game series against State College with two straight losses, losing by a combined score of 19-7, it outscored the Spikes 17-1 in the next two to split the series. Then, on the road against Mahoning Valley, it won three straight to sweep.
Though it still currently ranks lowest in the league overall in OPS, it's dominated most hitting categories since the midway point of the State College series. In the last week, it's led the league in batting average (.293) and slugging percentage (.443), hitting five home runs, 32 RBIs, 49 hits and ten doubles (all league-leading).
And while the Keys do lead the league overall in ERA (4.28) and are tied for first in opposing batting average (.238), they've kicked it up a notch pitching wise, attributing a combined ERA of 1.26 and WHIP of 1.02, striking out 44 batters to 17 walks and posting an opposing batting average of .179 over their last five contests.
The result has been a six-game winning streak, with the team turning a 5-10 record into a winning one in just over a week. The Crosscutters surrendered little ground with a streak of their own, winning six of seven with one unfinished outing heading into the Fredericks series.
With how well both teams have played in recent weeks, it'll be interesting to see who takes Sunday's game and who can keep the fiery play going the longest. With over two weeks left of play before the first half's conclusion, there's still plenty of time for things to change.