Troy, NY — The Williamsport offense continued to show signs of improvement, totaling 15 runs in the doubleheader sweep of the Tri-City Valley Cats Wednesday night on the road. The wins give the Cutters a three-game winnings streak and get their season record back over the .500 mark.
Game one was a bit of a roller coaster, with the lead being taken back and forth through the first four innings. Williamsport started the ride by taking a 2- lead in the top of the first, which was led off by a David Martinelli double. Enmanuel Garcia followed with a bunt single to put Cutters on the corners.
While attempting to field the Garcia bunt, Tri-City starting pitched Brett Adcock suffered a lower-body injury, ending his start after just two pitches, allowing the two hits.
Luke Williams welcomed the new Valley Cats pitcher, Kevin Hill, with an RBI single into right field that scored Martinelli and gave the Cutters a 1-0 lead. Garcia, who advanced to 3rd base on the Williams single, scored on a sacrifice fly by Henri Lartigue to give the Cutters a 2-0 lead.
Tri-City answered with two runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning against Cutters starter Ranger Suarez, tying the game a 2-2 after two innings of play and would add on another run in the 3rd inning, taking a 3-2 lead heading to the 4th.
The Cutters were able to tie the game in the top of the 4th inning on a Jose Antequera sacrifice fly that that score Henri Lartigue, tying the game at 3-3.
Tri-City again would answer in the bottom of the 4th, plating the go-ahead run on a Stephen Wrenn home run against Suarez, giving the Valley Cats a 4-3 lead entering the 5th. The home run was the first allowed by Suarez and the Cutters this season.
Williamsport responded by posting a three-spot in the top of the 5th inning. The scoring was capped by a two-run double by Henri Lartigue, scoring Luke Williams and Luis Encarnacion, giving the Cutters a 7-4 lead heading into the bottom half of the 5th.
The Cutters added a run in each of the 6th and 7th, getting an RBI single from Martinelli in the 6th and a RBI triple by Brett Barbier in the 7th to take a 8-4 lead into the 7th inning.
Tri-City would get run in the 7th, as Stephen Wrenn hit his 2nd home run of the game off of Cutters reliever Grant Dyer. The home run was the first allowed by Dyer and the Cutters bullpen.
Dyer would retire the side in the 7th, giving him his first professional save, going two innings in the effort.
Suarez picked up his first win in a Cutters uniform, finishing with a line of five innings, allowing four runs, all earned, on six hits and two walks while striking out five Valley Cats batters.
In game two the Crosscutters picked up right where they left off in game number one, jumping out to a 2-0 lead on a two-run home run off the bat of Darick Hall. For Hall it was his 2nd home run of the season, and gave him his 3rd RBI on the year.
In the top of the 2nd innings, the Cutters added two more runs, with the first coming on a RBI double by Williams Cuicas that score Luke Maglich, giving Williamsport a 3-0 lead. The second run came on a David Martinelli RBI single, scoring Cuicas to extend the Cutters lead to 4-0.
The scoring didn’t stop in the 3rd inning as they Crosscutters added two more, getting a two-run double from Aquimedez Gamboa that scored Darick Hall and Gregori Rivero making it a 6-0 lead heading to the bottom of the 3rd. Hall had reached, by connecting on his fourth double of the season to get on base.
Game two starter Seranthony Dominguez surrendered a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the 5th inning as the Valley Cats cut the Crosscutters to four at 6-2. Dominguez would be relieved after the 5th, allowing two runs, both unearned, on just one hit and two walks while striking out four.
The Crosscutters would get one of those two runs back in the top of the 6th when outfielder Luke Maglich launched his first professional over the right field wall. The home run gave Williamsport a 7-2 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th.
Alex Kline relieved Dominguez in the bottom of the 6th inning. Kline allowed a run, earned, on a base hit and two walks. The run plated off of Kline in the 6th inning cut the Williamsport lead to 7-3.
Will Hibbs entered in the bottom of the 7th inning, retiring all three batters that he faced to close out the Cutters game two win. Hibbs did not allow a ball to leave the infield in his lone inning of relief.
Williamsport closes out their six-game road trip, looking for a three-game sweep of the Tri-City Valley Cats. Felix Paulino is scheduled to start as he makes his third start of 2016 for the Williamsport Crosscutters. At this time, Tri-City has not yet announced their starter for tomorrow’s game. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Cutter Carvings – The Cutters return home on July 1st as they take on the Batavia Muckdogs at BB&T Ballpark…The Crosscutters bullpen allowed their first earned run since June 21st in game one and allowed an earned run in game two…Williamsport has hit two home runs in a game twice in their last three games…The 8 runs scored in game one is the most runs the Cutters have scored in a game this season…
