DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette The Williamsport Crosscutters’ Ventrel Reed drops his bat and prepares to run for first base during a game at Bowman Field this season.

There is an undeniable joy in watching Ventrel Reed play baseball.

Just one look at his play, and it quickly becomes apparent that he is a gamer. Whether it’s his inflections at the plate, the pop of the bat when he finds the barrel, or the speed at which he takes to the basepaths, when Reed plays baseball, it is simply appointment viewing.

And on Thursday night’s game, spectators got the Ventral Reed experience that anyone who has watched him previously can instantly tell. Three hits at the plate, two runs scored,

stolen bases sprinkled in, and a catch of the season contender in the middle of the outfield despite playing second base.

From Thursday night on it became apparent, there was a proper ballplayer at second base even if Reed was still getting used to his surroundings.

“I’ve been here since Sunday morning, since 2am,” said Reed. “I woke up, had to take a flight to North Carolina, then I got to Pennsylvania around 12, and flew into State College at 1:30am. It’s been cool and laid back.”

If you’ve never heard of Ventral Reed, you almost certainly have heard of the college that he played at.

Reed comes to the Cutters having spent the previous two years at LSU-Shreveport, a

program that won their first NAIA national championship in 2025. Not only were the Pilots

dominant, they were perfect, going 59-0 across the regular and postseason to win the national

title. The triumph was the first time a college baseball team had run the table all the way to the

national championship, with their 59 game winning streak the longest in the history of the sport.

“I’m not gonna lie,” Reed admitted with a grin. “We knew we were special before the

season.”

“We felt great from the fall because we knew we were an older group and knew we had

to play ball and not worry about anything else because the only thing that could beat us is us.

We knew we had to just stay focused, be consistent, and go day by day.” Reed added.

And in the greatest season in college baseball history, Reed was a cornerstone. The

Vicksburg native featured in 54 games for Shreveport this past season, batting a ridiculous .387

with 60 runs batted in. Across two years with the Pilots, Reed finished with a 1.071 OPS.

The infielder would start at second base for the program, and would ultimately record the

final out in the national championship to secure perfection. On the broadcast, Reed is seen

hesitating for a split second after the out, staring into the outfield crowd before joining his

teammates at the mound to celebrate.

“I can’t explain it because I didn’t want it to end with that group,” Reed admitted. ” We

were so close and we were such a brotherhood. It just felt like a real family, so it felt amazing to

win it with their group of guys.”

From Louisiana to Williamsport, Reed has brought high level talent to the plate for a

Cutters team that needs it. Going into Friday night, Vantrel has gone four for nine at the plate

while stealing a base, recording a double, and scoring twice as Williamsport’s leadoff man.

“My goal is to win the second half,” said Reed. “Pick up off of last season and try to pick

up that MLB contract.”

After concluding their first series of the second half against the Thunder Friday night,

Billown hosts the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in a two game set Saturday and Sunday.

Williamsport are back at home on Wednesday, when they take on the West Virginia Black Bears

in a three game set.