The Williamsport Crosscutters pushed three runs across the plate before most fans were in their seats, and then continued to pour it in later in the game, scoring four runs in the seventh as they defeated the Lowell Spinners 8-1 in front of 5,039 fans on Cartoon Day, sponsored by Six Flags New England.

 

For a team that has become quite streaky, it was the Spinners' second loss in a row.

 

Williamsport (17-13) jumped all over Spinner starter Ryan Pressly (3-2, 2.70) in the first inning, as the first three batters reached on a single, double, and a wild pitch after a swinging third strike. One run came across on the wild pitch, and the Crosscutters' got two more on a RBI single by third baseman Anthony Hewitt.

 

Pressly faced eight batters in the only inning that he pitched.

 

Lowell (15-14) answered in the home half of the first, as with one out, Joantoni Garcia and Ryan Westmoreland walked and Chris McGuiness singled through the right side to score the Spinners' only run.

The

score stayed unchanged until the seventh, when Williamsport blew the doors off by sending nine men to the plate, scoring four runs on just two hits and four Spinner errors, with three of the errors made by the Lowell infield.

 

Williamsport tacked on a run in the ninth on a triple by Hewitt.

 

McGuiness was the lone highlight for the Lowell offense, going 2 for 4 in the cleanup spot with a double and the team's lone RBI. Westmoreland extended his consecutive game on-base streak to 24 games with a first-inning walk.

 

Wilkerson, with his multi-hit night, reached base safely in his seventh straight game at home while Gibson, who had been in a slump, knocked in three while reaching base three times. Almanzar also had three RBI while Joantoni Garcia picked up two safeties.

Anatanaer Batista shined in long relief for the Spinners, firing blanks for four innings, giving up one hit and striking out four. Wil Latimer allowed all four runs in the seventh, but none of them were earned, and Richie Lentz closed out the game with two innings of one-run relief.