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Crosscutters defeat State College at Bowman Field on Fourth of July

By NICOLAS SEVERINI 4 min read

The Williamsport Crosscutters made it two in a row Thursday afternoon by defeating the second-place State College Spikes, 6-2, at Bowman Field.Both teams brought the fireworks to the Fourth of July game, with each side getting a pitch out of the park. But ultimately, it would be the combined pitching effort of Williamsport headlined by a terrific six innings from Gavin Perry (2-0) that solidified a league high 16th victory for Williamsport.

"He was fantastic," said Williamsport Crosscutter manager Ryan Hanigan. "You can't say enough about these guys and how they've come along since they got here. We attribute that to the work we put in."

WIlliamsport came into the game first in the MLB Draft League in batting average, and quickly showed why when Hughesville graduate Jacob Corson singled and Mark Shallenbeger double put two Cutters in scoring position with one out.

McGwire Holbrook would come to the plate next. The cleanup batter would draw first blood, grounding out to short which scored Corson from third and gave Williamsport an early advantage.

It could've easily been two for Williamsport when Erik Rataczak slammed a grounder to the left side. Playing first base for the first time in his career, State College's Hayden Moore would make a phenomenal diving snag to his right and would make a clutch throw from the ground to pitcher Dayne Pengelly (1-2) to get the force out and end the inning with minimal damage.

But Rataczak, robbed in the first, would bring the calvary back in the fourth inning. With one out and the bases empty, the Minnesota native launched a high flier to left-center that easily cleared the wall. The second homerun of the season for Rataczak would double the Williamsport advantage.

Those would be the only blemishes for Pengelly, who would go four innings giving up five hits and two runs in what was a decent outing in Williamsport.

But it would pale in comparison to Williamsport starter Gavin Perry, who gave up just one hit and two walks in what was a magnum opus performance for the Caliornian. Charlie Hurley would come in for relief, and after a smooth fifth, ran into trouble in the sixth when Porter Brown drew a one out walk. That would allow Douglas Bauer to come in and keep it at 2-0.

But that would not be the case, with Bauer quickly loading the bases on a Cole Russo single and a hit by pitch to Dalton Robinson. Nine-hole hitter JM Long would come to the plate next, and quickly put WIlliamsport in the driver seat on a two run single that scored Brown and Russo. Carter Dorighi would then ground one to short, where Carson Luna would get out Robinson at home. Still with runners at the corners and two outs, Jacob Corson would apply the knockout blow, lacing one down the right field line that cleared the bases and made it 6-0 after six.

"Really big inning for us," added Hanigan. "I'm proud of (Long.) He has had a little bit of the short end of the stick in terms of getting consistent at bats. But when it mattered most today, he came through. For me, that was the highlight of the game."

Now facing reliever Zack Tukis, State College would get their bats going in the top of the seventh. After an initial strikeout, a Robert Hipwell walk would bring on the dangerous Samuel Benjamin. Leading all of the Draft League with five home runs, Benjamin would make it six on a deep drive to left center that made it 6-2.

That would be the score going into the ninth, where the bottom of the Spikes order would take on Williamsport's Brett Thomas. Things looked to get interesting when back-to-back singles from Brock Willis and AJ Salgado put two runners on to start the inning. But Thomas would quickly lock in, striking out Carson Luna before drawing a 4-6-3 double play that ended the game and gave the win to Williamsport.

The win moves Williamsport to 16-7 on the season, firmly maintaining their top spot in the MLB Draft League standings. The Cutters will look for the series win Friday night, when they take on the Spikes in the series finale.

Starting at /week.