Dallis Moran of the Crosscutters closes out a game against State College at Bowman Field. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

A bullpen is only as good as its closer. And bullpens win championships Especially in a competition like the first half of the MLB Draft League, where it is a rarity to see starting pitchers go beyond a three- or four-inning outing. A bullpen is leaned upon heavily to win games in what is just a 30-match campaign before the second half season begins.

And then, after watching a bullpen fight and claw through innings in order to preserve or secure a lead, all can become undone if the closing pitcher is unable to step up. Such issues have become particularly noticed in the MLB Draft League this season.

League wide, teams are a lowly 54% on converted save opportunities this season, a number that is only six percentage points better than last year’s overall number despite noticeably better pitching and 10 points lower than the MLB average.

All of this further emphasizes that what the Williamsport Crosscutters, and their standout closer Dallis Moran, have been doing has been special.

Moran, from a statistical perspective, had a rather innocuous collegiate career before coming to Williamsport. A native of St. Amant, Louisiana, Dallis spent the first three years of his college eligibility bouncing around three different programs with Nicholls State, Chipola, and Stetson sharing the home of the right-handed reliever.

After spending his underclassman years as a short arm reliever, Moran’s tenure most recently with Stetsoon elevated his responsibilities in the bullpen. Across a personal high 20 appearances, the Bayou wing would share closing duties with Andrew Lepine, with Moran securing three saves for the division one program while the latter netted four.

But with Lepine out of the picture and the ever-rotating carousel of pitchers in the MLB Draft League, Moran has long since become Williamsport’s number one throughout the summer.

What followed could only be described as near unassailable prowess. Heading into Thursday night’s contest against the State College Spikes, the closer has gone a perfect 4 for 4 on save opportunities this season, with only State College’s Cale Willson (6 for 6) netting more than three saves without a blown opportunity in the Draft League this season.

But unlike Willson, who’s 2.77 earned run average remains dominant, Moran has gone one better in his individual stats. In the twilight of the first half season, the Louisiana native has given up just one run across nine appearances with 11 total innings pitched, four hits, five walks, and a ridiculous 15 strikeouts for a 0.82 WHIP that ranks first in the Draft League among pitchers with five appearances or more.

Moran’s talents have been irreplaceable in the closing stages of the season. With the Crosscutters in the midst of a pennant race against the Trenton Thunder, Williamsport could not afford to lose a game in their midweek two game series against the West Virginia Black Bears, the same Black Bear team that took a two games to one series to start the year against the Cutters at home.

Tuesday’s game was a nail biter with an early 3-0 West Virginia lead equalized by Williamsport’s one run third and three run fifth. In what was a game of batter chicken, neither side produced a run through innings six-eight, prompting Moran to come into the game for his biggest save opportunity of the season.

The result, while few may have had the guts to say it at the time, was predictable. After a rare four-pitch walk, Williamsport’s closer forced a classic four-six-three double play before a four-pitch strikeout secured one of Williamsport’s biggest wins of the season.

That set the table for what surely was their biggest of the year the next day, when a dramatic 5-5 scoreline led to a sudden death win for Williamsport that placed them to within half a game of Trenton for first with just four games to go.

The dramatic ending of the first-half season will play out over the weekend, with the Crosscutters taking on the State College Spikes in a home-and-home while the Trenton Thunder end their first-half against the Aberdeen Ironbirds.

While things are sure to get tedious to end the year, expect Moran’s name to be called for the moments that matter most across the weekend.