From opening weekend to the dying embers of the campaign, the Cutters have been handicapped by injuries like few teams have ever seen. The result is a roster constantly in rotation, pitchers stretched beyond their means, and a team that had so much potential forcing them to be relegated to a middle of the pack ballclub in their title defending year.

“It’s kind of tough,” admitted Williamsport Crosscutter manager Kenny Thomas when asked about the selection headache. “We’ve lost, what, four guys? And you know, we are sitting here with a position player roster of 11, and four are catchers. So it is very challenging.”

But like the guard of the Baltimore Colts, the band continues to play until its conclusion.

And with that, two newcomers have joined Williamsport as the Cutters look to close out 2025 on the right foot.

DeMarcus Smiley of the Williamsport Crosscutters singles against the Scrappers at Bowman Field. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

When Williamsport returned from a stretch of 14 road games across three weeks on Friday, they did so with newcomers Braylon Bishop and DeMarkus Smiley. Despite both already featuring multiple games for Williamsport, it was the first time that they saw Bowman Field in Cutters colors.

The stadium, however, is not new to Smiley, who comes to the Cutters following a stint in the MLB Draft League first half with the West Virginia Black Bears. The 14-game showing with the Mountain State ballclub was fruitful for the 23-year-old, with Smiley batting .372 with 10 runs batted in and four doubles with West Virginia.

But despite being listed as a catcher, Smiley has taken the role as a first baseman for the Cutters. This is due to Williamsport’s two second half catchers, Michael Zarillo and Safea Villaruz-Mauai, leaving the ballclub for law school and injury respectively. Stretching thin, outfielder Max Mandler took the reins in the soft corner only for a torn muscle in his lower stomach to knock him out for the year.

The end result is Smiley, who never played first base in his college or summer ball career, stepping in.

“Smiley has gone over and played first for us,” discussed Thomas. “He’s never played there before, but he has been getting better each day. The first couple of days I was worried, but he’s better each day.”

“It’s not hard to make a lineup out because you’ve only got 11 choices,” chuckled Thomas. “But you know, we are scrapping the best we can.”

Playing his more natural position, Braylon Bishop has only had to focus on his game as an outfielder for the Cutters. A former youth phenom at the high school level, Bishop was drafted straight out of class in the 14th round of the 2021 Amateur Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Unfortunately for Bishop, his journey to the bigs would only reach the A level in Pittsburgh’s minor league system. Platooning between rookie and A ball, Bishop was released this summer after batting .195 for the Bradenton Marauders of the Florida State League.

Now 22 years old, the Arkansas native is in Williamsport to resurrect his career. Leading the line at centerfield for the Crosscutters, Bishop has batted .206 with a double and a triple in 11 games this season.

The additions come as Williamsport closes out the season looking to improve their overall record. With the Cutters potentially finishing as high as second or as low as last, the final four games of the season will be played for pride rather than hardware.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a lineup chart on the wall in the dugout with only two extra players,” explained Thomas. “But that is what we got, and we are going to have that the rest of the year.”