Williamsport steals game

The Crosscutters stole five bases and collected 16 hits to top Mahoning Valley, 9-2.
By BILL SULLIVAN
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NILES -- Williamsport showed why they're in first place in the Pinckney-Stedler Division.
Mahoning Valley suffered through the setbacks that have doomed it to last place.
The result was a 9-2 win by the Crosscutters over the Scrappers on Thursday at Cafaro Field.
"It's a good club," Mahoning Valley manager Dave Turgeon said of Williamsport (33-15).
"They put the ball in play. They don't punch [strike] out much. Clearly they are playing with confidence."
Five players had multi-hit games, and the Crosscutters collected 16 hits, including a pair of home runs. They also stole five bases, including a pair each by Chris Duffy and Domingo Cuello.
"They run the bases aggressively," Turgeon said. "They throw strikes and play catch. Pretty good ingredients for a good club right there."
The leadoff hitter, Duffy, scored four times, including a run in the second to make it 3-0.
Aggressive: The Scrappers must be wary of Williamsport's speed, Turgeon said.
"We must keep the little scooters off the bases; speed kills," Turgeon said.
"It's a good learning experience for our young pitchers. We must control the running game."
The Scrappers (14-35) cut the deficit to 3-2 in the last of the third when they collected three of their six hits.
Dennis Malave singled and Josh Bard, in his first game for the Scrappers, followed with a single to left.
Miguel Quintana, who had a 400-foot triple off the wall in the first inning, doubled in Malave, and Bard scored on a ground ball by Brian Kirby.
Twice, Quintana was stranded on third base in the first three innings.
"It's a positive note we got him swinging the bat again," Turgeon said. "It started in Auburn.
"He hit a couple of absolute rockets tonight," Turgeon said. "I don't know how that first ball stayed in the park. It's good to see him swinging the bat with confidence again."
Bard, a catcher, was obtained from the Colorado Rockies in the Jacob Cruz trade in May.
Rough ending: The Scrappers had only two singles in the final six innings, a spell of 25 batters.
Three of the first five Williamsport runs were unearned.
Williamsport starter Roberto Novoa (5-2) held the Scrappers to five hits in six innings, and two relief pitchers gave up just one harmless single the rest of the way.
"He did well, and we're rookie hitters," Turgeon said of Novoa.
"In the big leagues, good hitting is overcome by good pitching every day."
Cuello, who had three hits, ended the affair when he blasted a three-run homer to the right field bullpen in the seventh to make it 8-2.
Walter Young had his third hit, a homer to straight away center to lead off the eighth, to wrap up the scoring.
There was a 48-minute rain delay prior to the start of the game, which finished at 10:52 p.m.
WILLIAMSPORTMAHONING VALLEY
abrhbiabrhbi
Duffy cf5420Malave cf5110
Cuello 2b6233Bard dh4110
Shelton c5233Quintana rf4021
VanBensch dh4001Morton 1b3000
Aliendo dh1000Kirby rf4001
Young 1b5132Peshke 3b2000
Bautista 3b5030Guglielmelli c3000
Cortes lf5010Lillash 2b4010
Meath rf4110Uegawachi ss4010
Asprilla ss5110
Totals459168Totals33262
Williamsport210200310--9
Mahoning Valley002000000--2
E--Peshke, Lillash. LOB--Williamsport 12, Mahoning Valley 8. 2B--Quintana, 3B--Quintana, HR--Young, Cuello. SB--Duffy 2, Cuello 2, Meath, Peshke. SF--Shelton, VanBenschoten.
IPHRERBBSO
Williamsport
Novoa, W (5-2)652237
Burruezo100000
Clark, S210011
Mahoning Valley
Moran, L (3-2)4105204
Sturkie2 1-343321
Martin2 2-321113
Umpires--Plate, Jason Day; bases, Steve Bretz. T--2:59.
FIRST INNING
WILLIAMSPORT 2, MAHONING VALLEY 0
Crosscutters: Chris Duffy singled to center. Duffy stole second. Domingo Cuello reached on an infield single, Duffy to third. Cuello stole second. Duffy scored, Cuello to third on a wild pitch. Chris Shelton struck out. John VanBenschoten struck out. Walter Young singled to center, Cuello scored. Jose Bautista singled to center, Young to second. Jorge Cortes grounded out. 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 left.
SECOND INNING
WILLIAMSPORT 3, MAHONING VALLEY 0
Crosscutters: Matt Meath struck out. Avelino Asprilla struck out. Duffy singled. Duffy stole second. Cuello reached on a throwing error, Duffy to third. Shelton singled to right, Duffy scored, Cuello to third, VanBenschoten flew out. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 left.
THIRD INNING
WILLIAMSPORT 3, MAHONING VALLEY 2
Scrappers: Dennis Malave bunt single, Josh Bard singled to left, Malave to second. Miguel Quintana doubled to right, Malave scored, Bard to third. Rickie Morton grounded out. Brian Kirby grounded out, Bard scored, Quintana to third. Chad Peshke struck out. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left.
FOURTH INNING
WILLIAMSPORT 5, MAHONING VALLEY 2
Crosscutters: Asprilla reached on a throwing error. Duffy reached on a fielder's choice, Asprilla to second. Cuello infield single, Asprilla to third, Duffy to second. Shelton flew out, Asprilla scored, Duffy to third. VanBenschoten flew out, Duffy scored. Cuello stole second. Young flew out. 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 left.
SEVENTH INNING
WILLIAMSPORT 8, MAHONING VALLEY 2
Crosscutters: Meath walked. Meath stole second. Asprilla flew out. Duffy walked. Cuello homered to right, Meath, Duffy scored. Kevin Martin in to pitch for Sturkie. Shelton flew out. VanBenschoten struck out. 3 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left.
EIGHTH INNING
WILLIAMSPORT 9, MAHONING VALLEY 2
Crosscutters: Young homered to center. Bautista grounded out. Cortes flew out. Meath singled. Asprilla struck out. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left.