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Crosscutters get shut out against West Virginia 6-0

By NICOLAS SEVERINI 4 min read

The Williamsport Crosscutters dropped their series opener against the West Virginia Black Bears on Tuesday night, getting shut out 6-0 at Bowman Field.

West Virginia pitchers stole the show, with the in form Black Bear staff shutting out a Williamsport side that put just three men on base.

"Seven days ago, I had a team meeting and we talked about preparation. We won a game or two, finally got a day off, and it all went haywire," admitted Williamsport Crosscutter manager Kenny Thomas. "They cut the (batting) cage work short today, they all said they were done. I watched batting practice today, and it was 'let's see how many home runs we can hit.' I don’t need 3:30 hitters. Game starts at 6:30."

After two scoreless innings, it would be West Virginia that broke the dead lock in the third inning. Cole Kitchens and Cayden Gaskin would heat things up early, snagging back to back singles to start the frame. A double-play ball from Kevin Jones advanced Kitchens to third for Ben Barrett, who gave the Black Bears an early lead when he blooped a single to center field.

With Williamsport's offense being held to just one hit in the first four innings, the Black Bears would double their advantage in the top of the fifth. Just three pitches in the frame, and nine hole hitter Cole Kitchens would make it 2-0 when he laced a 359-foot long drive into the visitors bullpen. Kitchen's blast was his fourth home run of the season and second drive in his last four games.

With Williamsport starter David Case in his sixth inning of work, the left hander would concede the bases loaded off of three soft singles from Zack Thompson, Ian Collier, and Owen Petrich. With no outs, Alec DeMartino would get a run for an out, grounding to short allowing the force play at second while Thompson scored from third.

Case would force an inning ending double play from Jackson Trout, ending his outing on a high note. Across six innings, the left hander conceded three runs on 10 hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.

After Williamsport reliever Davin Pollard caused little drama in the seventh, he would concede two runners in scoring position from a Ben Barrett walk and Zack Thompson double. After a strikeout for the opening out of the frame, an intentional walk from Owen Petrich promptly loaded the bases. Another strikeout, this time on a full count, got Alec DeMartino down for out number two.

But the dam would break courtesy of Jackson Trout, with the eight-hole slugger watching a four-pitch walk to make it 4-0.

While West Virginia continued to edge ahead, Black Bear starter Tyler Kaltreider placed a career evening at the mound. Being relieved after the seventh, the right hander would shutout the Cutters across seven innings, conceding just one hit and a walk with eight strikeouts thrown.

West Virginia put the finishing touches on their performance in the ninth, getting two runs across from a Zach Thompson single to score Kevin Jones and an Owen Petrich single that brought in Ben Barrett.

In the bottom of the ninth, a one out double from Owen Prince, the second Crosscutter hit of the night, put a runner in scoring position. The momentum would be snuffed at the plate due to an injury, with Carson Bayne having to come out of the game on an 0-2 count in what appeared to be a hand injury. Jake Zitella would concede a strikeout as the pinch hitter, with James McCoy conceding strikeout No. 11 of night to give the game to West Virginia.

"I'm concerned about (Bayne,)" said Thomas. "The wrist, it just keeps getting worse. It is an old injury, and it popped back at him. … I guess I'm gonna have to sit him for a while."

The loss dropped Williamsport back to 11-11 on the second-half season, potentially dropping back to fourth in the MLB Draft League second half depending on other games Tuesday.

The Cutters will look for redemption Wednesday night with Williamsport hosting the Black Bears in game two of a three-game set at Bowman Field.

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