HYDE – A stirring comeback against DuBois Sunday evening enabled the resurgent Clearfield Legion Post 6 baseball team to lock up second place in the Jefferson County League and home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs that begin Thursday.
The Chiefs averted defeat with a five-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning, and Justin Hoffman ended the game in the first extra frame by bouncing a two-out single through the left side to plate Jarrin Campman for a 9-8 win at the Bison Sports Complex.
Earlier in the day, the Chiefs scored in every inning at Brookville for a 15-9 victory, pulling away in the late innings after having an 8-2 lead evaporate when the Laurel Eye Clinic team posted six runs in the fourth.
The sweep on the heels of Saturday\’s forfeit against Reynoldsville padded Clearfield\’s record to 12-7 with one game remaining, Tuesday against Curwensville at Hepburnia.
DuBois slipped to 10-9 but is assured of third place and will return to Clearfield Thursday for the 5:30 p.m. opener of the JCL\’s double-elimination playoffs. Brookville and Curwensville are battling for the fourth playoff berth, which means a first-round date with regular-season champion Punxsutawney.
Halfway through the JCL season, Clearfield was 4-6. Since June 28, manager Sid Lansberry\’s club has gone 8-1 in the league and 11-1 overall for a 19-8-1 record.
At Brookville, Clearfield rocked three pitchers for 16 hits, with Chris Barr and Brandon Evans rapping a double and two singles apiece and Campman banging out three singles.
Barr drove in four runs and Campman had three ribbies.
Adam Jury and James Zimmermann had two hits each, and Kyle Kline added a triple and two RBIs.
Corey Bookhamer relieved starter Aaron Sayers in Brookville\’s six-run fourth inning and earned his sixth win of the season. He worked 3-2/3 innings, surrendering two runs on four hits while striking out two and walking one.
Clearfield went ahead to stay with a run in the fifth on singles by Zimmerman and Evans and a wild pitch. Two walks and an error gave the Chiefs two runs in the sixth and two walks, an error, a fielder\’s choice and Barr\’s two-run single added up to four runs in the seventh.
In the nightcap, DuBois appeared headed for a win that would have left the two teams tied for second place until Clearfield fought back in the seventh.
Sean Zimmerman clouted a three-run home run to deep left field in the third, and Dom Varacallo and T.J. Anderson knocked in two runs apiece as the visitors built an 8-3 lead against four Chiefs\’ hurlers.
Leadoff batter Varacallo had an outstanding game with five hits, two of them doubles, and three runs scored in addition to his pair of RBIs.
Lansberry, with an eye on the playoffs, sent Zimmermann, Evans, Bookhamer and Jury to the mound, with the latter two holding DuBois to three hits and two unearned runs over the last four innings.
Jury, who struck out two and gave up two hits in two innings, got the win with the help of his defense. Varacallo was thrown out trying to stretch his RBI-double into a triple in the seventh on two good relay throws by Barr and Zimmermann. And middle infielders Zimmermann and Kline turned a double play in the eighth.
DuBois starter Garrett Marsh took a six-hitter into the seventh, but he retired only one of seven batters.
After Kline lined a single to left and Campman walked, Barr hit what appeared to be a DP grounder to second. However, T.J. Anderson\’s tag attempt backfired when Campman knocked the ball out of his glove.
Bookhamer then rifled a single to left center for two RBIs. One out later, Hoffman singled up the middle and Jury walked to force in a run. Southpaw Jeremy Smith relieved Marsh, and the Chiefs quickly tied the score on Zimmermann\’s infield single and Evans\’ sharp grounder into left.
Lansberry waved Jury around third on Evans\’ hit, but he was thrown out at the plate by left fielder Josh Means, a play which only served to delay the Chiefs\’ celebration.
In the eighth, Campman led off with a single to left and stole second base. He moved to third on Bookhamer\’s groundout and, after Derek Danver walked, trotted home when Hoffman came through in the clutch after fouling off a pair of 0-2 pitches.
CLEARFIELD – 15
Adam Jury ss 5121, James Zimmermann 2b 5220, Brandon Evans c 3331, Kyle Kline 3b 4112, Jarrin Campman lf-1b 5133, David Welker cf 2311, Corey Bookhamer 1b-p 3201, Michael Moyer 1b 0000, Derek Danver rf 4110, Aaron Sayers p-lf 0000, Chris Barr dh 5134. TOTALS: 36 15 16 13.
BROOKVILLE – 9
Gabe Wonderling cf 4101, Ethan Harmon ph 0001, Tyler Ross 3b 2110, Matt Brush ss-2b 2000, Michael Lindemuth lf-c 2000, Joe Galbraith dh 3122, Jeremy Aharrah 1b-rf 4120, Jacob Means c-lf 4112, Greg Sobol p-1b 3321, Nick Bishop ss-p-ss 4031, Jess McCullough rf-3b 4120, Dan Hetrick 2b-ss 1000, Justin Harmon p 0000. TOTALS: 34 9 13 8.
Score by Innings:
Clearfield 231 212 4 – 15 16 0
Brookville 011 600 1 – 9 13 2
Errors – Sobol, Hetrick. 2B – Evans, Danver, Barr; Means, Sobol. 3B – Kline. Sac – Danver. SF – Jury; E. Harmon.
Pitching
Clearfield – Sayers 3-1/3 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 2 K; Bookhamer 3-2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.
Brookville – Sobol 3 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 2 K; Bishop 3 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 1 K; J. Harmon 1 IP, 2 H, 4 R 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K.
HB – Bishop 1 (Evans).
W – Bookhamer (6-4). L – Bishop.
* * * * * * * * * *
DUBOIS – 8
Dom Varacallo ss 5352, T.J. Anders 2b 5122, Sean Zimmerman cf 3113, Phil Smith 3b 4021, Garret Marsh p-1b 0000, Kasey Clinton dh 4000, John Hartzfeld c 4010, Richie Pruzinsky 1b-rf 4100, Mike Gralla rf 2110, Jeremy Smith ph-rf-p 1000, Mike Hassan lf 2000, Josh Means lf 1100. TOTALS: 35 8 12 8.
CLEARFIELD – 9
Jury ss-p 30222, Zimmermann p-2b 4011, Evans c-p-1b-3b-c 4010, Kline 3b-ss 5020, Campman 2b-lf-cf 4210, Welker cf-ph 3121, Barr rf 1200, Moyer 1b 1100, Bookhamer p-1b 3112, Danver rf-c-3b 4000, Sayers lf-rf 1000, Justin Hoffman rf-lf 2121. TOTALS: 36 9 13 9.
Score by Innings:
DuBois 030 310 10 – 8 12 1
Clearfield 020 001 51 – 9 13 3
Errors – Anderson; Jury, Evans, Kline. DP – Clearfield 1 (Zimmermann, Kline and Evans). LOB – DuBois 10; Clearfield 13 2B – Varacallo 2, Anderson; Jury, Kline. HR – Zimmerman; Welker. Sac – Hassan. SF – Smith. SB – Anderson, Means; Campman.
Pitching
DuBois – Marsh 6-1/3 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 7 BB, 5 K; Smith 1-1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
Clearfield – Zimmermann 1-1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K; Evans 2-2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K; Bookhamer 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K; Jury 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
HB – Marsh 1 (Hoffman). WP – Marsh 1; Bookhamer 2.
W – Jury (2-0). L – Smith.
