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Crosscutters rally back from four down, defeat Black Bears at home

By NICOLAS SEVERINI 6 min read

The Williamsport Crosscutters snagged a win in comeback fashion Wednesday night, defeating the West Virginia Black Bears, 9-7, at Historic Bowman Field.

After conceding the first four runs of the game, a stable bullpen parlayed with a five run seventh inning catapulted the Cutters to a dramatic win at home.

"We talk a lot of times about contagious. We never figured out why baseball is contagious but it is," said Williamsport Crosscutter manager Kenny Thomas. "(Stanfield) got us started, and then boom, two or three more… it felt good because we hadn't done much lately, and I've ever given up 17 hits and won."

West Virginia bats would show their pragmatism in the first inning, loading the bases to start the game with no outs on a Cayden Gaskin hit by pitch and singles to Kevin Jones and Ben Barrett. Showing resolve, Williamsport starter Ryker Walton drew a 5-2-3 double play without conceding a run, only for a two run single in the next at-bat from Cole Kitchens to snuff the resolve.

West Virginia kept their pace into the second, getting the first two runners on first and third from two more singles out of Jackson Trout and Noah Jouras. With the order going back to the top, Cayden Gaskin would show off his speed when he legged an infield single that hit off the foot of Walton. Trout would score in the process.

West Virginia would make it 4-0 three batters later. After a Kevin Jones single loaded the bases, Thoompson would make amends for his double play by drawing a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Jouras.

Walton would be pulled after getting through the third inning, finishing four runs conceded on nine hits with two strikeouts.

West Virginia's starter on the night, Aydan Decker-Petty, was a late addition to start after scheduled ace Cameron Padgett was signed earlier in the afternoon by the Boston Red Sox. After two clean innings, Decker-Petty's first start of the summer began to show damage in the third inning. With two outs and Joey DeMucci at first from a walk, an Owen Prince base on balls himself put two on base. Requiring a big hit, James McCoy would do just that when he ripped a double to left field to score DeMucci for Williamsport's opening run.

Decker-Petty would recover, getting out of the third with limited damage before throwing a clean fourth inning. By the time he was pulled to start the fifth, the right hander would give up just one run on two hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts.

With Decker-Petty relieved, Williamsport bats would open up. With one out, Joey DeMucci would notch his second straight hit from the nine hole spot. The catcher would steal second for Owen Prince, who scored DeMucci and cut the lead to two on a slicing single to right field.

In a sequence of deja vu, Prince would steal second for James McCoy, who moved to two for three at the plate when he slapped a single to center field. McCoy's slap scored Prince to make it a one run game.

The run took place while reliever Matthew Mariano was on the hill, shutting out the Black Bears through innings four, five, and six while the Cutters crept back.

"We've used him as a middle to long reliever," admitted Thomas. "But I've been thinking maybe I need to flip that and try to use him short, where I can use him often."

With Mariano relieved, West Virginia would produce in the seventh. Following a leadoff single from Kevin Jones, the two hole hitter would steal second before tagging to third on a flyout. With two away, the Black Bears would make it 5-3 when Cole Kitchens reached safely on a bloop single to centerfield.

But Williamsport wouldn't lay down. In the bottom of the seventh, the Cutters put the tying run on base after a Chris Stanfield single and Owen Prince walk. With the majority of the 1,308 in attendance leaning in, James McCoy would send them standing when he cleared the bases on an uncorked double to right-center field. McCoy's game tying knock was his second extra base hit of the night.

West Virginia would load the bases soon after, with an intentional walk to Jack Kail backfiring as Nick Barone would also see ball four in the next at-bat.

With the bases juiced, shortstop Nicholas Romano would take advantage, cranking a two run single to right field for Williamsport's first lead of the night. Jake Zitella would back his infield compatriot up, slicing a single to left field that brought in Barone for an 8-5 scoreline.

West Virginia would secure a consolation run in the eighth with Cayden Gaskin, whose drive to center field scored Alec DeMartino from second.

The close contest would revert to the Owen Prince show in the eighth inning. After reaching on a walk, the speedster would secure his 20th and 21st stolen base of the season to move to third. What happened after a Jack Kail hit by pitch could only be described as audacious. After reliever Ryan Ure checked the runner at first, Prince would successfully steal home to make it 9-6 Williamsport.

"You don't see that very often do you," chuckled Thomas. "And golly, how important that was."

In the ninth, closer Joel Tornero would show struggles after allowing the bases loaded through the first three plate appearances with a Ben Barrett walk, Zack Thompson single, and Cole Kitchen single.

Trading an out for a run, Owen Petrich reached on a fielder's choice from a grounder that prompted a play at third that scored Barrett for a two run game. Tornero would recover from there, snagging a flyout and a groundout for a memorable Cutters win.

The win moved Williamsport to 12-11 on the second half season, moving Williamsport to third place in the MLB Draft League standings after Trenton's 8-10 loss against Aberdeen earlier in the day. Williamsport will approach the rubber match on Thursday, with the Cutters hosting the Black Bears at 6:35pm at Historic Bowman Field.

Starting at /week.