Batavia, N.Y. -Colby Fitch’s first professional home run gave the Cutters the lead for good, but was also special in another way, as the Cutters handed the Muckdogs a 5-4 loss.
Kyle Young entered his start against Batavia, not having allowed a run in 15.0 innings of work in the month of July, posting a 3-0 record in those starts.
Young’s streak was extended, to 15.2 innings before a Tyler Curtis RBI double scored Micah Brown to give the Muckdogs an early 1-0 lead and represent the first run that the young southpaw had surrendered since June 24th.
Adam Haseley answered back for the Crosscutters in the top of the 3rd inning, plating Malvin Matoswith a RBI single to right field, tying the game at 1-1 and giving Haseley his 9th RBI of the season.
The former UVA Cavalier has recorded a hit and a RBI in each of his last two games, as he continues to work through a rough patch of bad luck.
Colby Fitch, who got the Cutters first hit in the top of the 2nd inning, gave the Cutters their first lead of the night, sending a 1-0 Remey Reed offering over the wall in right for his 1st professional home run, giving Williamsport a 2-1 lead and giving him his 4th RBI.
As expressed before, Colby Fitch was roommates with Tampa Bay’s 1st rounder, Brendon McKay while at Louisville. McKay, who is with the Hudson Valley Renegades, connected on his 1st professional home run earlier in the evening against Staten Island.
Fitch’s home run was just the beginning for the Cutters in the 4th, as Cole Stobbe followed with a bullet single to left, Josh Stephen reached on a fielder’s choice and then Rodolfo Duran drew a walk to load the bases with no outs.
Austin Listi was called upon to pinch hit for Malvin Matos, who left the game with a lower-body injury, and Listi came through, doubling off the wall in left on the first pitch he saw. Stobbe and Stephen both scored on the play, giving the Cutters a 4-1 lead and giving Listi his 9th and 10th RBI of the year.
Nick Maton followed with a single through a drawn in infield to score Duran and give the Cutters a 5-1 lead, capping the scoring in the inning and what turned out to be the game. It was Maton’s 4th RBI of the season.
The last three batters of the 4th inning all struck out swinging against Vicenzo Aiello, starting a string of 12 straight Crosscutters batters to be retired. A streak that ended with a Colby Fitch walk to lead off the 8th. Fitch was subsequently retired as apart of a 1-4-3 double play four pitches later.
The Muckdogs would not go quietly, scratching back to get a run in the bottom of the 5th against Kyle Young, using a lead off double and a RBI fielder’s choice from Jhonny Santos to draw within three and 5-2.
Orestes Melendez replaced Young in the bottom of the 6th inning, and Batavia took advantage of a lead of walk, leading to back-to-back RBI singles from Thomas Jones and Lazaro Alanso to trim the Crosscutters lead to one at 5-4.
Kyle Dohy and Luis Ramirez combined to throw three scoreless frames of relief, with Ramirez earning his 3rd save of the season, to get the Crosscutters the win and run their current win streak against Batavia to 18 games.
Spencer Howard gets the nod for the Crosscutters as they look to take the middle game against Batavia. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Dwyer Stadium in Batavia, New York.
Cutter Carvings – The Crosscutters last loss to the Muckdogs came on August 28th, 2015 at Dywer Stadium… Colby Fitch has recorded a hit in every game he has played in Williamsport, with his 2nd inning single making it seven-straight games… The game was delayed 18 minutes due to field preparations after a severe early afternoon storm rolled through Batavia…
