Williamsport, Pa. – Using a seven-run fourth inning, the Crosscutters earned a 12-5 win over West Virginia on Thursday night at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field.
It was an auspicious start for the Crosscutters, seeing six of their first seven batters go down on strikes against West Virginia starter, Collin McKinney.
The bats started to come around against McKinney in the bottom of the 3rd inning as an Addison Smith lead off single gave the Cutters their first ball in play on the night. Smith came in on a Amari Allen sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1.
West Virginia responded against reliever Colton Kennedy in the top of the 4th, plating three runs, retaking the lead at 4-1. It would be a short-lived lead.
Ben Tryon greeted Black Bears reliver, Clinton Harris, with a lead off triple into the right field corner, the first triple for Williamsport this season and the second extra base hit for Tryon.
Following a Chance Jennings strike out and a walk to Steele Burd, Kyle Schupmann singled home Tryon to open the scoring in the 4th. Addison Smith followed with a RBI double which was then succeeded by a two-run single from Slaide Burd, which gave the Cutters a 6-4 lead.
Brodey Acres and Tryon capped the frame with an RBI each, as the Cutters plated seven runs in the inning to take a 8-4 advantage.
Jackson Nash took over for Williamsport in the top of the 5th inning, surrendering one run on two hits in his first inning of work. Nash would settle in and give the Crosscutters four big innings of relief, striking out three.
The Cutters offense put the final touches on the victory with a four-run seventh inning. Addison Smith provided a two-run single, Kyle Shupmann stole home as a part of a double steal and KJ White also singled in a run, giving the Cutters a 12-5 advantage.
Myles Meyer closed the door with a clean 9th inning, giving Williamsport their first win of the 2026 season.
The Crosscutters will head out on their first road trip of the season, starting with a three-game swing in Trenton against the Thunder on Friday night. First pitch from Trenton Thunder Ballpark is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Cutters Carvings - The Crosscutters finished the night 8-21 with runners in scoring position after starting the season 0-18… Williamsport stole a season-high 13 bases in the win and have now stolen 22 bases on the season… This series was the lone opening series to not feature a home run…
