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Crosscutters suffer 3-2 loss at Bowman Field on Sunday to Aberdeen

By NICOLAS SEVERINI 4 min read

The Williamsport Crosscutters had their five-game winning streak come to an end Sunday afternoon, dropping their series finale against the Aberdeen IronBirds, 3-2, at Bowman Field.

It would be a frustrating afternoon at the park for the Cutters with multiple umpire interventions and an ejected manager highlighting a tough Crosscutter defeat.

"I think the game was going a little too fast for this crew here," said Williamsport's interim manager Sean Miller after the loss. "The whole weekend has been kind of rough."

The game would have a controversial beginning. Leading off the bottom of the second for Aberdeen, Bishop Quarles would uncork a ball that slammed off the right field wall. Fancying a triple, the two-hole batter looked to have been out when the rally from centerfield landed right in the mitt of third baseman Maddix Dalena, who applied the tag well before Quarles slid to the bag.

Third base umpire Wade Parker would have other ideas, however, ruling Quarles safe to the astonishment of the home crowd and manager Kenny Thomas. Thomas would exit the dugout and argue with Parker, with the umpire waiting until Thomas was walking back to the dugout to throw him out of the game.

It was Thomas's first ejection in three years with the Cutters.

The safe call would prove consequential with an Owen Clyne groundout bringing Quarles home for Aberdeen's first lead of the series.

Williamsport starter Chris Guillory would make it through the third before getting relieved. The right hander would concede just the solo run across three innings with four hits, one walk and four strikeouts.

Williamsport's first-half star Kyle Schupmann would find a quick response however in the bottom of the frame. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Schupmann would take a top half of the zone slider long on a rocket to left field that cleared the ballpark in a hurry. Schupmann's second homer of the season tied the game at one.

The Crosscutters would find themselves in front an inning later, starting with a one out Chris Stanfield single. The designated hitter would swipe second and, a batter later, tag to third from Owen Prince flyout. After tough running, Stanfield would only need to trot home courtesy of Nick Barone, who laces a single to left field for a 2-1 ballgame.

But an Aberdeen run would switch the lead in the top of the seventh, starting with a Chase Williams single. A Quarles single and Owen Clyne fielder's choice put runners at the corners for Anthony Quigley, who would tie the game on a ground out to first.

A Collin Priest walk and pitching change later, and the Ironbirds would retake the lead on a single from Brian Heckelman single that scored Clyne to make it 3-2 Aberdeen.

Another close call would go against the Cutters in the bottom of eighth. With Ben Tryon on third after a walk and Chris Stanfield reaching second on an error, Owen Prince would chop a grounder to first base. On a bang-bang play, first baseman Colin Priest would field and step on first near instantly as Prince dove head first to the bag.

First base umpire Peter Jones would rule Prince out, drawing a chorus of boos and an intervention from pitching coach Happy Macon, with interim manager Miller giving shouts as well.

With Jacob Crews coming in for a save opportunity in the ninth inning, he would concede a walk to leadoff man Barone. The outfielder would take second on a strikeout, with the tying run going to third on a sacrifice flyout from pinch hitter Kelly Robertson. But the tying run wouldn't find its way home as a Schupmann deep flyout prevented a late comeback.

"Kelly has been hitting the ball well," echoed Miller. "We tried to let him build off of that and have another positive at-bat which he did … it worked out in our favor (getting Shupmann on.)"

The loss drops Williamsport to 15-7 on the season, conceding a game to the Trenton Thunder who sit a game and a half in front of the MLB Draft League standings. After an off day Monday, the Cutters will travel to West Virginia for a two-game road stint before a four game home-and-home series against State College concludes the firsf-half season.

"I wanna see the guys stay aggressive," concluded Miller. "Keep hitting hard and not let the umpires or other things that are involved distract from what we are trying to do."

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