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WILLIAMSPORT – For the second night in a row, a big inning led to the downfall for Williamsport in its New York-Penn League battle with arch-rival State College.
With the Crosscutters holding on to a 2-0 lead, the Spikes hung around by scoring single runs in the third and fourth innings.
Extending their unanswered scoring to five runs with three in the seventh, the Spikes outlasted the Cutters 5-4 at Historic Bowman Field.
Spikes manager Johnny Rodriguez handed the ball to Dewin Perez for the start and the lefty gave him everything he wanted and possibly more. Perez won the game, his third in six decisions. The lefty scattered five hits and two runs, walking two and striking out six.
“When he has his stuff, he is tough,” Rodriguez said. “I was hoping to get four or five from him and if he can do that, he can be a big lift to us going down the stretch.”
After a slow start in a 5-3 loss the night before, the Cutters got off to a quick start when they scored a pair of runs in the first inning.
David Martinelli reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to third on a single by Darick Hall. Luke Williams made the most of the opportunity as he chased both Martinelli and Hall across the plate with a two-run double to right-center field.
The Cutter lead was short-lived as the Spikes scored single runs in the third and fourth innings.
In the third, they did it with two outs. Andy Young, who made two outstanding plays in the field, lined a single to center and Vince Jackson followed with an RBI double to left-center.
With one out in the fourth, Ricardo Bautista singled and scored on an RBI double by Bladimil Franco to deadlock the game at 2-all.
The Cutters squandered a couple of opportunities early by having two runners gunned down at third on ground balls to short plus having another runner picked off first base.
“We had a couple of baserunning miscues early in the game that I thought might come back to hurt us a little bit later,” Williamsport manager Pat Borders said. “If we wouldn’t have those, it would have taken a little more pressure off our pitcher and put some on theirs. Those were two outstanding plays by their shortstop. If they learn from those mistakes, that is what you want.”
With the 2-2 tie holding after six innings, the Spikes became offensive as they put together four hits and a walk for a crooked number.
Tommy Edman set the table for the Spikes’ uprising when he worked his way on first with a base on balls.
Young and Vince Jackson followed with singles, Edman scoring on Jackson’s bloop single to left-center and Young scampering home with the fourth State College run on Jeremy Martinez’s RBI single to right-center.
Bladimil Franco made it 5-2 State College when he kept things rolling as he literally stumbled to first base to complete his single to right.
After scoring their only two runs of the game in the first inning, the Cutters didn’t add on until the seventh inning when they cut the State College lead to 5-4.
Chandler Hall walked and scored on a high and deep single to right by Juan Luis. Luis was replaced on the base paths by Luke Maglich who advanced to second on a passed ball and scored when Emmanuel Garcia grounded a sharp RBI single up the middle.
The Cutters had a last-ditch opportunity to at least tie the game when with two outs and pinch-runner Jesus Alastre on second, Juan Luis ripped a shot down the first-base line but Elier Rodriguez made a game-saving catch before outracing Luis to the base for the final out of the game.
“That was a championship play by (Elier) Rodriguez on that final out,” Johnny Rodriguez said. “Last night it was (Mick) Fennell and tonight it was Rodriguez. Those are the plays you have to make if you are going to win a championship. That is what I mean by grinders. If you play hard and play like that you win games.”
“That was a nice swing by the kid (Juan Luis). He has been swinging the bat real well all year,” Borders said. “But that was a super play by the first baseman just as the one (by Fennell) last night. Kudos to them for making the plays to win the game.”
The same two teams will wrap up the three-game series tonight with a single game beginning at 7:05.
The Cutters will send Cole Irvin to the bump while the Spikes will counter with a “pitcher by committee” sequence.