The Williamsport Crosscutters were brushed away in their series finale, losing to the State College Spikes, 6-4, at Bowman Field. Williamsport would fall behind early in the contest, getting down 5-1 after an inning and a half of play.

“It’s been very frustrating,” echoed Williamsport Crosscutter manager Kenny Thomas on the result. “The rotation of the roster, the injured players, tt has been very frustrating for me.”

State College would save their early malice for the baseball, loading the bases on a Chenar Brown single and hit by pitches to TJ Salvaggio and Conor Higgs. With one swing of the bat, all three would come in to score thanks to a Cole Caruso triple that one hopped off the right field wall.

But Williamsport’s plate discipline would strike back in the bottom of the first, loading the bases on walks from Jackson Mayo, Marcus Brodil and TJ Racherbaumer. The Cutters would manage just one run out of the opportunity courtesy of Joey Parliment, who would net a flyout to center that brought in Mayo from third to make it 3-1 after one.

The Spikes would find a quick response in the top of the second, getting runners at the corners with one out on singles from Trotter Boston and Chenar Brown. Jaden Collura would apply the decisive blow in the next at-bat, slapping a single that scored Boston to make it 4-1.

The hit would be the final straw for Williamsport starter AJ Campbell, who was pulled after just one and a third of an inning as the starter. Campbell would finish conceding five runs on five hits with a pair of strikeouts.

Campell’s fifth run came as Josh Leerson took the hill, with the reliever allowed a TJ Salvaggio fielder’s choice that brought in Brown.

After a scoreless third, the Cutters got their second run of the day in the bottom of the fourth starting with a lead off Matt Flaherty double. DJ Smiley would come to the plate next, slapping a ball to the right of first baseman Jade Collura. On the throw back, Collura would sail the ball wide allowing Smiley to go to second and Flaherty to come home unmarked.

Another run came with runners at the corners, when Braylon Bishop executed a suicide steal that allowed Smily to score from third.

Williamsport would load the bases for the second time in the bottom of the fifth against State College starter Carlos Anziani, occupying the bags on a Jackson Mayo walk, Marcus Brodil reach-by-error, and TJ Racherbaumer single. The three straight batters conceded knocked Anziani out of the game.

Joey Parliment would again step up to get a run in, but at the cost of two outs when he grounded into a 6-4-3 double play that scored Mayo. Matt Flaherty would strike out swinging to preserve State College’s 5-4 lead.

State College would score a run back in the seventh when Adonis Forte reached on a single. The pinch hitter would get to second on a wild pitch with Caruso at the plate and, with Forte on quick heels, tag all the way to home on a flyout to the centerfield wall.

The double base tag would prove the dagger on the night, with Williamsport being blanked the rest of the way on route to securing a three game sweep for State College.

Due to the fight in Tuesday’s game, State College would be without assistant coaches Jared Brown and Lastings Milledge. For the Cutters, hitting coach Sean Miller and infielder Carlos Castillo were unavailable for the season finale.

The loss drops Williamsport to 19-25-1 on the second-half season, dropping them down to last place in the second-half standings. It marks the second time in three years that Williamsport were the basement dwellers of both halves.

“I love this place and the fans are fabulous,” concluded Thomas. “Fifteen, 20 fans out there asked me if I could come back. I said ‘it’s not my decision right now.’ But I love being on the field, and I love being around the players. I hope they learned something. I hope they become better people and better ballplayers.”