Brodey Acres of the Crosscutters celebrates with team mates after scoring in the 4th inning against West Virginia at Bowman Field. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

In their first road trip of the season, the Williamsport Crosscutters would find their footing. Coming off of a sluggish home opener which saw Williamsport drop two of their first three games of 2026, the Cutters replied with a 2-3 road trip slate that proved more positive than the record suggests.

The trip would prove tough at the start, with Williamsport taking on perennial contenders in the Trenton Thunder, who were unbeaten going into the weekend. That record would prove to hold true, as the Thunder stormed Williamsport with wins of 2-1 and 8-6, with Saturday’s game cancelled due to rain.

Even with the fruitless weekend, however, there were positives to come with the back to back defeats.

In last Friday’s fault, the Cutters would outhit the first-place team in the MLB Draft League, 5-3, in the opening loss, with a mark of 1-13 with runners in scoring position proving too much to overcome.

“We had another one of those games where we out hit the opponent, struck out more of their games, and we lost a one run game,” discussed Williamsport Crosscutter manager Kenny Thomas. “That’s hard to understand because that usually doesn’t happen.”

Sunday’s game, meanwhile, was the result of frustration and exhaustion. Following Saturday’s game cancellation that had Williamsport leading before the rain took over, the Cutters responded with five errors in Sunday’s 8-6 setback.

Despite that, Williamsport’s efforts would bear fruit in the midweek, as the Cutters took two out of three at Mahoning Valley 9-0, 4-8, and 11-5. Offense proved to be the facilitator, with the Cutters combining for 27 hits in the midweek series triumph.

“We were a little more selective at the plate,” echoed Thomas. “Guys are getting more adjusted to better pitching then they have seen. We’ve also shown a little more power in the last few games. So that was good too, in addition to keeping the run game going.”

The offensive production was top heavy, as Kyle Schupmann, Maddix Dalena and Chance Jennings stood out as the main contributors throughout the series.

Jennings and Dalena in particular dominated the headlines, as the duo combined for 12 hits, 11 runs batted in, and four home runs across the five game road trip. Heading into the weekend, Dalena ranks first in the Draft League in OPS (1.396) while being one of six in the League with multiple home runs. Included in that group is Jennings, who ranks third in the league in OPS with a 1.091 mark.

“Maddix has been a real plus to our roster because we needed him,” Thomas admitted. “We were short some guys, and we still only played with 12 position players for most of the trip in both series. So Maddix has been very,very, very important to our lineup. He swung the bat very well over the weekend.”

“It looked like he was struggling a little bit early, but [Jennings] is about to figure it out,” Thomas teased. “There is more in there with Chance. He’s got a lot of ability.”

Not to be outdone, Williamsport’s efforts on the hill have continued to be a cornerstone. Across the first two weeks of the season, the Cutters rank second in the Draft League in team ERA (3.39), with 37 total walks allowed ranked best in the League.

“That’s something we emphasized a lot,” said Thomas. “Throw strikes, throw strikes, throw strokes. So that’s been a big plus for us. I’m still toying with the lineup as far as pitching goes, and we are still getting some new guys in.”

“I say the same thing every day, ‘Bullpens win championships.’ So, we got to continue to be good out of the bullpen,” he continued.

This weekend’s homecoming will bring an air of mystery to Bowman Field. For the first time, the MLB Draft League has partnered with the Mexican Baseball League for the MLB Draft League International Series. As such, Williamsport will face off against amateurs in the LMB this weekend for a three-game slate.

“I tease them all the time and say ‘It’s just baseball, man,'” chuckled Thomas. “We’ve been playing it since the 1800’s, you know? They throw it in there, you hit it. Don’t make too much of it.”