The Williamsport Crosscutters clinched their third MLB Draft League Championship appearance Saturday afternoon, winning the MLB Draft League First Half Title with a 20-9 onslaught against the State College Spikes.

The win moves Williamsport to two games ahead of the Trenton Thunder with just a game to play, clinching the first half for the second time in the MLB Draft League era.

“We started the year 2-5, and guys were going ‘Oh no, it’s going to be bad.’ And you know, our guys just bought in,” said Williamsport Crosscutter manager Kenny Thomas. “They bought into what we were trying to tell them; that you come to the ballpark everyday, the same mentallity, commit to the same routine, play hard on every play, and they did.”

The Crosscutters would get busy early at the plate, loading the bases with one out in the first on a Kyle Schupmann single, Chris Stanfield walk, and Ben Tryon hit by pitch. Aided by a two strike pitch over the heart of the plate that was astonishingly called a ball, five hole hitter James McCoy would make good on his lifeline with a line drive base clearing double down the left field line. McCoy’s fourth hit increased his RBI total to six runners despite it being his second appearance as the Cutters jumped out in front.

The burst would continue a batter later with Chance Jennings. With McCoy at second, an opening day outfielder would drive a middle-middle breaking ball deep off the wall to right field to score the new Cutter. Kelly Robertson would complete the five run rally a batter later, blooping a single to right field to score Jennings for the early cushion the Cutters vied for.

The Cutters would continue their streak in the second, putting two in scoring position from a Kyle Schupmann single with Brodey Acres reaching via a fielder’s choice. With two away, cleanup batter Ben Tryon would extend his league leading hitting streak to 15 when he dropped a two run single to shallow right for a 7-0 lead.

When a James McCoy hit by pitch put runners on first and second, outfielder Chance Jennings would continue his brilliant afternoon, corking a two run double into the left field gap for a 9-0 advantage.

That would be the final action from State College starter Cal Culpepper, with the right hander going one and two-thirds of an inning allowing nine runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

An inning later, Williamsport would reach double digits for the third straight game. After a KJ White walk and Kyle Schupmann single and stolen base put the pair in scoring position, designated hitter Chris Stanfield’s time to shine came when he knocked a single up the middle. Schupmann and White would score easily, marking an 11-0 lead for the Cutters.

After a Brodey Acres single, two more runs would score off the bat of Ben Tryon, who laced a double that reached the right field wall. James McCoy would complete the rally a batter later, grounding out to short which prompted Acres to score and give Williamsport a 13 run lead a third of the way through the game.

Across the first three innings, All but two Cutter hitters had a plate appearance three times with eight out of nine reaching and seven out of nine scoring at least once.

After three shutout innings, Williamspoort starter Evan Grimes ran into trouble in the fourth, loading the bases on a Ty Hamilton hit by pitch, Camden Ross walk, and a CJ Richmond single. After back to back outs, State College would manage a pair of runs on back to back walks given to Luke Nomura and Trent Turner before back to back singles from Evan York and Jacob Croxford pulled Grimes with a 13-4 scoreline.

Grimes’ final stat line saw the left hander toss three and two thirds of an inning allowing four runs on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts.

Williamsport’s fifth inning response would be short and sweet. With one out and no one on, Ben Tryon would get his third hit of the night in style on a roper to right field that cleared the wall. Tryon’s second homer of the season made it 14-4 after five.

But the home run bug would catch the other side of the sixth inning. With no outs and a runner on, third baseman Luke Nomura would add to the fireworks, blasting a two run shot just under 400 feet into the visitors bullpen for a 14-6 scoreline.

After back to back singles, including a knock in single from Evan York for State College’s seventh run of the day, State College would snag a second home run of the frame courtesy of Ty Hamitlon. Batting .140 going into the day, the right fielder would demolish a ball over the left field wall for a two run blast to make it a 14-9 game.

If there was any speculation that warm weather makes the ball travel, it was further induced in the bottom of the frame. With a pair of runners on base, Chris Stanfield would reach for the fourth time of the game in dominant fashion, uncorking a line drive that just carried over the wall for a 339 blast to make it 17-9.

Not to be outdone, Kelly Robertson would continue his inspirational turnaround to his summer later in the inning. With two outs and the bases juiced, Robertson would slap a two run opposite field single to right field that brought in two and increased the lead to a 19-9 mark.

After a scoreless seventh, the only scoreless full frame of the game, Williamsport would put the finishing touches on their performance in the eighth. After back to back singles from pinch hitters Maddixx Dalena and Nick Barone put runners at the corners, the Cutters would get the former in on a Chance Jennings RBI groundout to complete the 20 piece.

That advantage would prove impregnable,, with the Spikes going down in order to complete Williamsport’s journey at the the top of the Draft League First Half.

“I talked to them two days ago about accomplishments in life,” echoed Thomas. “Yoou always want to think about years from now, you are gonna look back, and accomplishments will mean something to you. It’s a weird situation because most guys won’t be here for the championship game, but they can always look back and be proud of accomplishments and winning the first half was a great accomplishment.”

The win moves Williamsport to 20-7 on the season, clinching the first half and a home field advantage spot in the MLB Draft League Championship game later in September. The Cutters will look to put the cherry on top of a historic first half campaign Sunday, with Billtown travelling to take on the Spikes to conclude the first half season.