Young Stout As Cutters Fall

Niles, O.H. - Kyle Young delivered yet another strong performance on the mound, but the Crosscutters bats could not back their starter in a 2-1 loss Thursday night to the Scrappers.

In what had the looks of being a pitchers duel, neither pitcher failed to deliver in the series opener between the Williamsport Crosscutters and the Mahoning Valley Scrappers at Eastwood Field.
Scrappers starter, and nephew of former Major League pitcher Dan Plesac, Zach Plesac did not give the Crosscutters a lot to work with and what he did, he quickly took it away during his three and a third innings of work.
Josh Stephen was the lone Crosscutter to record a hit off of Plesac, but Williamsport was able to work three walks against the right-hander, the most he has allowed in a single outing this season. Plesac struck out four Cutters and even worked around a bases loaded jam in the top of the 2nd inning, standing five Cutters runners in total.
Not to be out done, Kyle Young picked up where he left off the last time he faced the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, striking out six batters over five scoreless frames. Young allowed just three hits in the night, of which, one left the infield. 
The southpaw worked a pair of clean innings in each of the 3rd and 4th, picking up three of his six strikeouts in those innings.
Young extinguished the lone threat against him, getting Gianpaul Gonzalez to line out to Jake Scheiner at 2nd with runners on the corners in the 2nd inning. 
Neither starter would factor into the decision, but both did manage to lower their ERA on the year, with Young lowering his to 1.35 over seven starts and more than 33 innings of work.
Both bullpens worked to keep the opponent offenses at bay, including Cutters reliever David Parkinson, tossing a pair of scoreless innings. Parkinson tallied three punch outs, allowing just one base runner, on a single in the 6th inning.
Mahoning Valley would be the first to break the silence on the scoreboard, plating a pair of runs against Cutters reliever Damon Jones in the bottom of the 8th, taking advantage of a lead off walk and hit batter to do so.
Ernie Clement, who extended his hitting-streak to 12 games, singled home Gianpaul Gonzalez and Jesse Berardi followed with a single to score Clark Scolamiero to give the Scrappers a 2-0 lead,
Austin Listi led off the top of the 9th inning, sending a Jonathan Teaney offering over the wall in left, his 3rd home run of the season, to get the Crosscutters on the board. The home run gave Listi his 16th RBI of the season, which is good for a three-way tie for 2nd most on the club.
Teaney retired the next three Cutters batters in order to close down the win for the Scrappers, handing the Cutters their second straight loss.  
Williamsport will try to even the series against Mahoning Valley tomorrow night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. At Eastwood Field.
Cutter Carvings - Austin Listi replaced Colby Fitch in the top of the 6th inning, after Fitch sustained an injury in the bottom of the 5th while catching...The Crosscutters had a pair of runners tagged out between 3rd and home in the loss...Kyle Young has worked 10 scoreless innings with 17 strikeouts in two starts against Mahoning Valley...