Cutters Silence West Virginia's Bats in 2-0 win
Morgantown, W.V. - The Williamsport Crosscutters snapped a three game losing streak with a 2-0 shutout win Friday night against the West Virginia Black Bears. The Cutters received a great effort from the pitching staff as they combined to toss the fourth shutout this season. Williamsport holds a six game lead over West Virginia for second place in the Pinckney Division with three games left in the regular season.
Williamsport kicked off the scoring in the top of the second inning, thanks to Venn Biter. Jose Pujols scored from third base on a ground-out to first base by Biter. Pujols picked up his first hit of the series with a single into left field to start the inning and would eventually make it to third as Jan Hernandez reached first on a dropped third strike. The Cutters would take their 1-0 lead into the bottom of the second inning with Mitch Gueller on the mound.
Gueller would work into and out of trouble on multiple occasions throughout the night, starting in the first inning. The Black Bears would pick up a pair of singles in the inning but Gueller picked up his first strikeout of the night to strand the runners on base. West Virginia mounted another rally in the second inning by picking up two more singles, but again would be unsuccessful against Gueller. The first clean inning for Gueller would come in the top of the third.
The game would turn into a pitcher's duel through the middle innings as the next run wouldn't be scored until the eighth inning. Williamsport would take a 2-0 lead on Josh Tobias' 19th double of the season as he drove in Zach Coppola from second base. Denton Keys, Anthony Sequeira and Rob Tasin combined to toss four scoreless innings and close out the game. With the win, Gueller improves to 10-1 on the season and Tasin sets a new Williamsport short season record for saves in a single season with his 16th. The Cutters close out the regular season with a three game series against State College.
Williamsport improves to 45-28 on the season with the win and clinch the best record in the New York Penn League. The is the first time that the Crosscutters have finished with the best record at the completion of the regular season in the NYPL. The Cutters open a three game series with the State College Spikes on Saturday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 P.M. Game 2 of the series will be in State College as well before the series finishes up in Williamsport at Susquehanna Bank Park at Historic Bowman Field.
As the Williamsport Crosscutters drive towards their first post-season since 2005 continues, the team has announced that Playoff-4-Packs are on sale NOW in anticipation of up to 4 possible playoff games that could take place at Susquehanna Bank Park. Fans can purchase Playoff-4-Packs at the Cutters Box Office or by calling the Cutters Hotline at (570) 326-3389. Playoff 4-Packs can only be reserved with a major credit card. Fans purchasing Playoff-4-Packs will only be charged for the number of games that are played at Susquehanna Bank Park.
Cutter Carvings - Venn Biter finished the night going 1 for 4 with a double and one RBI... Josh Tobias went 2 for 4 at the plate with a pair of doubles and one RBI... Jose Pujols finished the night 1 for 3 with a single and a run scored... Zach Coppola went 1 for 3 in the lead-off spot drawing a walk and scoring a run...