Tribune Chronicle / Dave Dermer Mahoning Valley Scrappers shortstop Kyle Smith stretchs at second base to get out Williamsport’s Carl Uhl during Thursday’s game at Eastwood Field. The Scrappers lost to the Crosscutters, 4-3.

NILES — Opportunities were scarce for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers’ offense Thursday night. They managed three runs on five hits and dropped their second straight game to the Williamsport Crosscutters, 4-3. The Scrappers managed to rally in the ninth for two runs to cut the deficit to one, but Jordan Henry’s ground out stranded the tying run. “We got going there finally,” Scrappers manager Travis Fryman said of the ninth inning. “Opportunities were few and far between tonight. It’s tough to win ball games when you don’t give yourself chances to score and that makes it tough on your pitching staff because they feel like they have to be perfect. You have to find a way to score some runs to take the pressure off.” One constant the Scrappers had to deal with was a questionable strike zone. In the bottom of the ninth Kyle Smith struck out looking on a curveball that appeared to be low with no outs and a runner on thir.