WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - The Crosscutters could not hold their 8-4, 9th inning lead, losing in Sudden Death to the Frederick Keys for the second-straight game on Sunday afternoon at Journey Bank Ballpark.
A.J. Campbell had a rough start to his outing, surrendering a three-run home run in the top of the 1st inning to Ethan Ott, giving the Keys a 3-0 lead early.
The Cutters offense backed their starter, plating four runs in the bottom of the 1st to take the their first lead of the afternoon.
Max Mandler opened the scoring for the Crosscutters with a two-run single to right field, scoring Vantrel Reed and Jackson Mayo, to draw Williamsport within one at 3-2. For Mandler, it gave him his 16th and 17th RBI of the season.
Rayth Petersen capped the scoring in the 1st with a two-out, two-run single to left, chasing home Mandler and Marcus Brodil to give the Cutters a 4-3 advantage. Petersen picked up his 8th and 9th RBI with the knock.
Marcus Brodil ripped a triple with one out in the bottom of the 3rd, his first of the campaign. Joey Parliment followed with an RBI double to give Williamsport a 5-3 lead. It was Parliment’s fifth double and 15th RBI of the year.
Campbell settled in, working three-up-three-down innings in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th frames, but ran into issues in the 5th inning. Bronson Rivera snapped a streak of 10-straight batters retired with a double off the wall to lead off the inning. Dylan Symonds followed with a RBI single, cutting the lead down to 5-4 in the top of the 5th.
Manager Kenny Thomas would have to remove Campbell with two outs in the inning, as the Keys had loaded the bases with a pair of two-out walks. Isaac Fix entered and retired the first batter he faced to get out of the inning with the lead intact.
Again, the Cutters offense backed Campbell, plating two more runs in the bottom of the 5th inning, doing so with a pair of two-out RBI singles from Jackson Mayo and Carlos Castillo to make it 7-4 Williamsport. Mayo picked up his 17th RBI and for Castillo it was his 18th RBI.
The Cutters added one more ruin in the 6th inning, utilizing a handful of wild pitches to take an 8-4 lead.
Isaac Fix, Jared Ure and Davis Blair combined to work 3-1/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing one base runner in that span.
Holland Townes entered in the top of the 9th inning, and hit the lead off man, setting the tone for the frame. Townes faced four batters, hitting one and walking two before getting lifted.
Leo Giannoni replaced Townes, but wasn’t successful in holding the lead. The Keys saw four-straight run producing at bats, including three-straight, two-out RBI singles that would lead to the tying of the game at 8-8.
In the bottom of the 9th, the Cutters got the winning run to 3rd base in Marquis Jackson. With two outs, Randy Reyes delivered a pitch in the dirt that caromed towards the Cutters dugout, but Jackson did not break for the plate to attempt to score the winning run.
Carlos Castillo would strikeout a few pitches later, bringing an end to the bottom of the 9th and sending the game to Sudden Death for the second-straight night.
In the extra session, the Cutters elected to play defense. Frederick was able to steal 2nd base with their placed runner and then moved the runner to 3rd with a sacrifice bunt.
With one out, catcher Matt Flaherty attempted to pick off the runner at 3rd, but threw the ball down the left field line, allowing Isaiah Greene to score the winning run.
With the loss, the Cutters have dropped four-straight games after moving into a first-place tie with West Virginia on Wednesday night. They finished the homestand with a 1-4 record.
Williamsport starts a eight-game-in-ten-day road trip Tuesday night in Trenton. First pitch scheduled for 7:00 P.M.
Cutters Carvings: Max Mandler raised his league-leading batting average to .382 with a 3-for-5 performance… Rayth Petersen picked up his third, three-hit game, going 3-for-5 and finished the series with five hits… The Cutters drop to 1-4 in Sudden Death and 0-3 against the Keys in the extra frame…
8/10 Sudden Death Play By Play
Williamsport selects defense for Sudden Death
Isaiah Greene is the placed runner at first base.
Pitching Change: Jed Boyle replaces Leo Giannoni.
Isaiah Green steals second.
Park Bouch bunt grounds out pitcher Jed Boyle to first baseman Max Mandler. Sacrifice bunt. Isaiah Green to third. One out.
Pick-off attempt at third base. Throwing error by catcher Matt Flaherty. Isaiah Green scores.
Frederick wins in Sudden Death.
1 runs, 0 hits, 1 errors, 0 left on base.
Final Pitching Totals Including Sudden Death:
Jed Boyle (WIL) – 0.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (4 pitches, 3 strikes)
