The Crosscutters’ Will Binder, left, and Jacob Harper celebrate their team’s 12-5 win over State College at Journey Bank Ballpark. Dave Kennedy/Sun-Gazette The Crosscutters’ Mitch McCabe celebrates his home run in the eighth inning against State College at Journey Bank Ballpark. Dave Kennedy/Sun-Gazette The Crosscutters’ pitcher Brent Francisco makes a diving stop on a hit by State College’s Cam Bufford in the second inning at Journey Bank Ballpark. Dave Kennedy/Sun-Gazette
The Crosscutters’ Porter Brown singles in the sixth inning against State College at Journey Bank Ballpark. Dave Kennedy/Sun-Gazette
Crosscutters’ Will Binder, left, and Jacob Harper celebrate following the team’s 12-5 win over State College at Journey Bank Ballpark. Dave Kennedy/Sun-Gazette
WILLIAMSPORT – On a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon at Bowman Field, the Williamsport Crosscutters started strong and never looked back, cruising to their biggest win of the second half.
The Cutters scored multiple runs through four innings, Porter Brown and Mitch McCabe each hit multi-run home runs late in the game to help lead the team to victory, Brent Francisco shone in his Williamsport debut, and the Crosscutters cruised to a commanding 12-5 victory in a crucial Game 3 that decided the series against the rival Spikes.
The win was Billtown’s first series victory in the second half of the season, which began with a 2-5 record. With less than four games in the season, the team is starting to gain momentum at the perfect time, with two wins in their last three games.
“Overall, a lot of our guys were good and we played good defense today,” Crosscutters coach Ryan Hannigan said of the win. “It’s just a team win.”
The Cutters started scoring early, taking advantage of three consecutive walks in the first inning and then doing the same in the second.
Crosscutters’ Mitch McCabe celebrates after hitting a home run in the eighth inning against State College at Journey Bank Ballpark. Dave Kennedy/Sun-Gazette
Right fielder Mitch McCabe grounded out deep to score the team, and Porter Brown and Mark Shallenberger easily scored. With the bases loaded again in the second inning, McGuire Holbrook and Brown hit consecutive singles to extend the lead to three runs.
“I think we’re starting to feel more relaxed as hitters and we’re going at the good balls,” Hannigan said of the offense. “We’re going at it aggressively across the board and we’re going to make it tough for them when they make mistakes.”
Francisco made an immediate impression, striking out three batters in the first and second innings, not allowing a hit until the third inning, then striking out four batters in the third inning. Francisco had five strikeouts by that point, a number that rose to nine by the time he was replaced in the sixth inning.
“It’s good for my morale and the morale of the team,” Francisco said of the match. “I was just trying to play the way I always play. I’m a strike pitcher and I did a good job of that.”
He played a big role in helping the team maintain their early momentum, and after such a great performance, this probably won’t be the last we see of him.
Crosscutters pitcher Brent Francisco makes a diving stop on a ball hit by State College’s Cam Bufford in the second inning at Journey Bank Ballpark. Dave Kennedy/Sun-Gazette
“Francisco came in and got us off to a dominant start,” Hannigan said of Francisco’s performance and early impact on the team. “He kept hitters off balance and looked really powerful. We’re counting on him.”
Williamsport added another run in the fifth inning, when catchers Jacob Harper and McCabe each got a hit before Josh Lopez brought Harper home with a sacrifice fly to center field.
State College got within three in the next inning, but Porter Brown hit a well-timed grand slam over the top of the left field fence to extend the lead to 10-3, before McCabe belted a two-run homer in the eighth to put an end to an already solid victory.
With Jacob James and Drew Clark holding Spikes down on the mound in relief, Spikes had plenty of time to finish the job.
Brown finished 2-for-3 with a team-high 5 RBI, 2 runs scored (tied with Florides and Corey Taylor) and reached base four times, including a home run. McCabe recorded his second multi-hit game of the series with 3-for-5 hits, 4 RBI and 1 run scored.
The Crosscutters’ Porter Brown singles in the sixth inning against State College at Journey Bank Ballpark. Dave Kennedy/Sun-Gazette
Every player who came to bat for the Crosscutters scored, finishing with 10 hits.
“These guys are starting to get better. They’re doing well,” Hannigan said of the batting. “They’re getting hits, hitting the ball hard every at-bat and they’re starting to get more confident. That’s what we want and we got that tonight.”
With this win, the Crosscutters improved to 4-6 on the season, just two wins away from a .500 winning percentage after just two wins in their first seven games. Their first series win of the season has given them a lot of confidence going forward.
Following its first series win of the second half, Williamsport heads into a three-game series against league leader Trenton on Monday with a chance to continue climbing up the standings if it can ride that momentum.
“It’s a whole new series, a whole new team. We’re ready to go,” Hannigan said of the upcoming series against Trenton. “We’ll see what happens.”
The first game is scheduled to start at 6:35 p.m. at Bowman Field.
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