HYDE – Power hitting was the big difference as DuBois clinched its first winning season since 2002 by breaking an 8-8 tie in the sixth inning and adding six insurance runs in the seventh to down Clearfield 16-8 in Central Penn League baseball action Tuesday afternoon.
The cross-county rivals sprayed 27 hits around and out of the Bison Sports Complex, but seven of the Beavers\’ 16 went for extra bases, including a pair of two-run home runs by Kasey Clinton and two solo homers and a double by Nate Sabados, who also was the winner in relief.
Jordan LaBue and Matt Zimmerman chimed in with two singles and a double apiece.
\”They hit the ball hard,\” Bison coach Sid Lansberry said. \”They launched some shots, and there wasn\’t much wind today, either. They were legitimate hits.\”
Meantime, all 11 Bison hits were singles, with Jarrin Campman, Derek Danver and David Welker each rapping two.
Campman, who was hit by LaBue pitches his first two trips to the plate, also had a sacrifice fly and drove in three runs. He stole two bases to raise his junior season total to 22 in as many attempts.
DuBois, 4-7 in the CPL but 11-8 overall to assure ex-Bison Todd Stiner his first winning record in five seasons as head coach, led 4-0 after two innings.
LaBue doubled with two outs in the first inning and scored on the first of Andy Malmgren\’s two RBI-singles.
In the second, Clinton whacked an opposite-field homer to right center and Sabados\’ towering fly to deep right wound up a homer when the ball popped out of Welker\’s glove and over the fence as he crashed into the barrier.
Clearfield got back into the game in the lower third. Michael Moyer\’s hard grounder to the right side took a bad hop for a single, David Ryan punched a single to right and Campman was hit by a pitch to load the sacks. Parker Herrington and Tanner St. Clair followed with sacrifice flies, and Campman also scored when St. Clair\’s drive to deep center was dropped.
A misplayed pop-up proved costly for the Bisons in the fourth. Zimmerman doubled for an RBI and Clinton blasted his second homer over the left center fence to end Corey Bookhamer\’s stay on the mound.
The Beavers increased their advantage to 8-3 when Sabados greeted Justin Hoffman with a double to deep center and LaBue delivered a two-out single.
The Bisons drew even in their next two at-bats.
Singles by Welker and Hoffman and walks to Moyer and Ryan produce one run off LaBue, and Campman pounded a fly to center off Sabados for another in the fourth.
Clearfield took advantage of three walks by Sabados in the fifth, pinch-hitter Isaac Butler\’s free pass good for an RBI. Then, Campman shot a single to right for two ribbies to tie the game.
It didn\’t remain 8-8 very long.
Sabados made himself a winner by hammering Hoffman\’s first pitch in the sixth inning deep over the right field fence. Wayland singled and raced all the way around the bases when LaBue\’s single was misplayed in the outfield.
Herrington, who relieved Hoffman in the sixth, couldn\’t get out of the seventh. Wayland cracked a two-run single and Sabados scored on a wild pitch before Hoffman returned to the mound. He gave up a run-scoring single by Malmgren and a two-run single by pinch-hitter John Hartzfeld.
Garrett Marsh saved the win for Sabados with two scoreless innings, though surrendering four hits.
The Bisons stranded nine runners over the last four innings, 11 in all.
\”We\’ve been averaging 10 men left on,\” Lansberry noted.
He added, \”We made a good comeback. We hit the ball well. We just let it slip away there. That last inning turned a tight, close ball game into a debacle.
\”But that team\’s been coming on. They\’ve been playing better and better. They go up to District 10 to play, and they can make a run up there.\”
While DuBois is headed for the Districts 9-10 Class AAAA Playoffs, Clearfield has been entered in the District 9 Class AAA tourney.
First, the Bisons will play their CPL and regular season finale Thursday at home against Altoona in the 4 p.m. makeup of Monday\’s postponement.
They are 5-14 with a 1-9 CPL log.
DUBOIS — 16
Nate Sabados lf-p-lf 4432, Jon Wayland cf 5222, Jordan LaBue p-3b 4231, Andy Malmgren 2b 4122, Mario Gregorio c 3000, Josh Means ph 1000, Billy Mumma ss 3100, John Hartzfeld ph 1012, Matt Zimmerman rf-lf-rf 4331, Kasey Clinton dh 4224, Richie Pruzinsky 1b 0000, Garrett Marsh 3b-p 2100, Mike Gralla rf 1000. TOTALS: 26 16 16 14.
CLEARFIELD — 8
Jarrin Campman 2b 2123, Parker Herrington ss-p-ss 2011, Chris Barr ph 1000, Tanner St. Clair lf 4011, Derek Danver 3b-ss-3b 5121, Aaron Sayers dh 3100, Matt Lonjin c 0000, David Welker rf 4120, Corey Bookhamer p 1000, Justin Hoffman p-3b-p 3110, Michael Moyer 1b 2210, David Ryan cf 1111, Isaac Butler ph 0001, Ben Kline ph 1000. TOTALS: 29 8 11 8.
Score by Innings
DuBois 130 402 6 – 16 16 1
Clearfield 003 230 0 – 8 11 4
Errors – Wayland; Herrington 2, Lonjin, Ryan. LOB – DuBois 6; Clearfield 11. 2B – Sabados, LaBue, Zimmerman. HR – Sabados 2, Clinton 2. Sac – Zimmerman. SF – Campman, Herrington, St. Clair. SB – Wayland, Malmgren; Campman 2.
Pitching
DuBois – LaBue 3+ IP (faced 4 batters in 4th), 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; Sabados 2 IP, 12 AB, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 1 K; Marsh 2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
Clearfield – Bookhamer 3+ IP (faced 3 batters in 4th), 6 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K; Hoffman 3 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 1 K; Herrington 1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 2 K.
HB – LaBue 2 (Campman 2). WP – Herrington 2.
W – Sabados. L – Hoffman (0-1). Save – Marsh.
Umpires – Scott Viehdorfer (home); Al Fricke (bases).
