Williamsport Crosscutters secure series win over State College on Friday in Bowman | News, Sports, Jobs

For the first time since the first game of the series, State College took a lead early in the game against Williamsport star Zachary Murray. State College’s leadoff batter Brock Wills opened the game with a single and quickly stole second base to get into favorable scoring position.

A groundout by Tyson Bass allowed Wills to reach third base with two outs. With the score tied 2-2, Murray threw a curveball that bounced off catcher Zane Becker’s chest protector and sent the ball into the air. Becker lost sight of it, and by the time Becker got the ball back behind him, Wills had already slid safely, giving State College a 1-0 lead.

One became two in the second when leadoff batter Robert Hipwell hit a sinker high in the air and over the wall in left-center field. Hipwell’s first home run of the season for the Spikes made it 2-0 after two innings.

Williamsport’s first game against State College starter Jaxon Dalena came in the third inning on a leadoff single by Anthony Stephan. Stephan’s careful baserunning got him to second base on a flyout with no one covering the base. With two outs and Stephen in scoring position, Riley Nelson hit a single just past the diving glove of second baseman Brock Wills, scoring Stephan and cutting the lead in half.

Zachary Murray of the Crosscutters tries to catch a comeback hit by State College’s Brock Wells in the first inning at Journey Bank Ballpark. Wells was safe at first base on the play. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Dalena finished the third inning before being relieved in the fourth. Overall, the Montoursville graduate finished the game with one strikeout while allowing one run, three hits and three walks.

Williamsport quickly attacked reliever Jalen Warwick, with a single and stolen base by Jackson Mayo putting the tying run in scoring position. Mayo advanced to third base after a controversial groundout, followed by a full count walk to Cole Russo that put runners on the corners for Anthony Stephen.

The ninth-place batter proved his worth once again, hitting a single into right field that scored Mayo, put runners back on the corners, and tied the game at 2-2.

A walk by Carter Dorighi loaded the bases for Max Mandler, who came back from an 0-2 count and hit a single up the middle. Mandler’s base hit scored two runs and gave the Cutters a 4-2 lead. The Cutters’ lead continued to grow when Riley Nelson was next to the plate. Nelson hit a nagging grounder to the right side and past the infield for an RBI single that scored Dorighi.

Two pitches later, Williamsport had another run after a wild pitch by Warwick Mandler scored and moved Nelson to third base. With Erik Rataczak at bat, it soon became a cacophony of errors for State College. Jacob Corson hit base to shortstop, prompting the opportunistic Jake Mummau to throw to first base to get rid of Eric Rataczak, who had just gotten in on a walk in the previous at-bat.

Zachary Murray of the Crosscutters pitches in the first inning against State College at Journey Bank Ballpark. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Instead, the ball sailed out of bounds and into the stands, allowing Nelson to score from third base. Jackson Mayo helped him win the game by hitting his second hit of the inning up the middle, scoring Rataczak and giving the Cutters an 8-2 lead.

When the spikes collapsed, Williamsport starter Zachary Murray remained quiet for five innings, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk and throwing seven strikeouts. Murray’s fifth win of the season also leads the MLB Draft League, as only one other pitcher has recorded four wins.

State College would face reliever Nate Ward in the seventh inning, with the last in order being Manny Jackson, AJ Salgado and Knox Preston with one out.

In an at-bat that was emblematic of the evening, Brock Wills hit what seemed like a borderline fair ball that would have scored two runs. Instead, the ball was ruled a foul. Two pitches later, Wills hit a ball straight to first baseman Riley Nelson, who caught the ball and stepped to first base, making it a double play to end the inning.

State College got some consolation against Gray Thomas in the eighth inning when Hayden Moore was hit by a pitch. Moore reached second, third and home base on three separate wild pitches under these unique circumstances to make the score 8-3.

Jacob Corson of the Crosscutters is caught stealing second base by Brock Wills of State College at Journey Bank Ballpark. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

The Spikes made it exciting in the ninth inning against Jimmy Romano, with two walks and a single loading the bases for Brock Wills. The leadoff man provided a spark by hitting a two-run single to right field to make it 8-5. Two force outs at second base and a run later, and the score was 8-6 with Tyson Bass on first base and the tying run by Cam Bufford at the plate.

But Romano had the last laugh, throwing out Bufford on five pitches and allowing the Cutters to win.

With the win, Williamsport improves its season record to a remarkable 17-7 and increases its lead at the top of the standings by four and a half games with seven games remaining in the first half of the season.

Williamsport will take a short road trip this weekend, traveling to Mahoning Valley for two games on Saturday.

First baseman Riley Nelson of the Crosscutters catches a pop fly from State College’s Tyson Bass in the second inning at Journey Bank Ballpark. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Zachary Murray of the Crosscutters clenches his fist after being struck out in the second inning against State College at Journey Bank Ballpark. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Riley Nelson of the Crosscutters hits a double in the 6th inning against State College at Journey Bank Ballpark. The Cutters won 8-6. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette