HYDE – The Clearfield Area High School baseball team couldn\’t have picked a worse time to play much-improved Central Mountain than Thursday.
Trying to cage the Wildcats one day after they were no-hit by Philipsburg-Osceola sophomore standout Luke Curtis in a streak-ending 4-0 loss proved too tough of a task for the struggling Bisons.
\”I\’m sure they came here ready to prove something,\” Clearfield coach Sid Lansberry said after Central Mountain (8-2) departed the Bison Sports Complex with a 16-2 win in six innings and a 4-2 record in the Central Penn League.
The Wildcats did just that with a 13-hit attack against four Clearfield pitchers to back Anthony Houser\’s three-hit, eight-strikeout performance.
Colten Stover, who had a perfect day at the plate, and Scott Zuback ripped three hits apiece and combined for five runs batted in for Central Mountain, which had won seven games in a row before being silenced Wednesday at Philipsburg.
Matt McGhee, Cody Dolan and Ryan Worden each had two safeties.
The Wildcats exhibited their power with six extra base hits. Colton belted a double and triple, Zuback had two doubles, McGhee homered and Dolan tripled.
\”They hit the ball hard, and they had a lot of two-strike hits, which is a sign of a good team,\” Lansberry said. \”Our pitchers are having troubles finishing off hitters. We get two strikes and can\’t seem to get the out.\”
Stover tripled to the opposite-field gap in right center and No. 9 batter Larry Bechdel singled through the left side for RBIs in the second inning, both hits coming on two-strike counts. Starter and loser Michael Moyer walked Brett Heggenstaller but then picked him off. However, the Wildcat stayed alive in the five-throw rundown long enough for Bechdel to race home from second base.
After Zuback led off the third with a double just to the right of the 370-foot mark in dead center, McGhee belted a towering homer over the fence in left, ending Moyer\’s stint on the mound.
Reliever Aaron Sayers notched three quick outs, but the junior saw two walks and two wild pitches converted into a pair of Central Mountain runs and a 7-0 bulge in the fourth inning. The RBIs went to Heggenstaller on a sacrifice fly to center and Zuback on a fly ball double that fell near the right field line.
Houser, who had breezed the Clearfield lineup the first time with four strikeouts, a comebacker and a pickoff, lost a shutout in the lower fourth.
After he plunked Jarrin Campman, Parker Herrington broke up the no-hitter with a sharp single through the right side. They moved up a base when a pickoff attempt by Wildcat catcher McGee on Herrington backfired. Campman scored on Tanner St. Clair\’s groundout, and Herrington was safe when Sayers\’ roller to the left side was thrown away at the plate.
A walk and three Bison errors were instrumental in Central Mountain expanding its lead to 9-2 in the fifth. One run scored on a wild pitch before Stover and Ryan Worden bounced run-scoring singles into left field.
Six more runs in the top of the sixth set up the early finish. St. Clair, who relieved after Sayers walked Zuback, was touched up for five hits around a free pass. After Dolan rammed a triple to right center for two RBIS, James Gallagher, Stover and Worden singled for ribbies.
Zuback\’s single off Justin Hoffman knocked in the final run.
Clearfield\’s other hits were hard-hit singles by Herrington and St. Clair in the lower sixth.
\”We had been hitting fairly well until the last two games, when we ran into two buzzsaws,\” said Lansberry, whose team had only one hit off Punxsutawney ace Christian Muth in six innings Tuesday. \”Those are two outstandings pitchers.
\”I thought Houser mixed his pitches well. We were going fishing for that sweeping curve ball. Then he heated it up a few times. We didn\’t hit a lot of balls hard.\”
Lansberry wasn\’t happy with the Bisons missing signs and not making what should have been routine plays.
\”With an inexperienced team, when you get behind, there is a tendency to lose focus,\” he explained. \”And then you start making mental mistakes.\”
The winless Bisons, 0-5 in the CPL, will have one day to put their eighth loss behind them.
Clearfield athletic director Jon Mikesell announced the twice-postponed non-league game with Westmont Hilltop is set for Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Bison Sports Complex.
On Monday, the Bisons will travel to St. Marys.
CENTRAL MOUNTAIN — 16
Brett Heggenstaller 3 2001, Zach Rote ph-3b 2000, Scott Zuback cf 4232, Matt McGhee c 4222, Cody Dolan 1b 3112, Anthony Houser p 2200, James Gallagher lf 4311, Colten Stover rf 3333, Ryan Watkins dh 2100, Ryan Worden dh 2022, Curt Harpster ss 0000, Larry Bechdel 2b 1211, Seth Lowrey 2b 2000. TOTALS: 31 16 13 14.
CLEARFIELD — 2
Jarrin Campman 2b 2100, Parker Herrington ss 3120, Tanner St. Clair lf-p-lf 3011, Aaron Sayers dh-p, 2000, Corey Bookhamer 1b 1000, Derek Danver 3b 1000, David Welker rf 1000, Justin Hoffman ph-rf-lf-p 1000, Michael Moyer p-1b 1000, Ben Kline 1b 1000, Isaac Butler rf 0000, Matt Lonjin c 2000, David Ryan cf 1000, Chris Barr ph 1000. TOTALS: 20 2 3 1.
Score by Innings
Central Mountain 032 236 – 16 13 2
Clearfield 000 200 – 2 3 4
Errors – Heggenstaller, McGhee; Herrington, St. Clair, Kline, Lonjin. LOB – Central Mountain 4; Clearfield 2. 2B – Zuback 2, Stover. 3B – Dolan, Stover. HR – McGhee. SF – Heggenstaller. SB – Zuback, Houser, Gallagher, Stover, Lowrey.
Pitching
Central Mountain – Houser 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K.
Clearfield – Moyer 2+ IP (faced 2 batters in 3rd), 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K; Sayers 3+ (faced 1 batter in 6th), 3 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K; St. Clair 0+ (faced 6 batters in 6th), 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 K; Hoffman 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
HB – Houser 1 (Campman); Moyer – 1 (McGhee). WP – Sayers 3.
W – Houser (2-1). L – Moyer (0-5).
Umpires – Sam Bevak (home); Dale Shaw (bases).
