CLEARFIELD — The Clearfield Little League 11-and-12 All-Stars banged out 10 hits, six of them doubles, and took advantage of several Tri-County misplays for an 8-3 victory at William McNamee Memorial Field Thursday evening in the opening round of the District 5 Northern Tier Tournament.
Derek Hryn, who drove in three runs, Wyatt Weston and Trey Jordan paced the winners with a single and a double apiece.
That was plenty of support for Christian Lezzer, who scattered five singles and struck out nine before reaching the Little League pitch-count limit (85) with one out and one on in the sixth inning. The lanky right-hander walked three. The trio of runs he allowed were unearned.
\”Christian pitched a good game,\” Clearfield manager Chuck Robison said. \”He took the pitch-count right to that last inning. We\’ve got all our (other) pitchers for the next game now.\”
Wyatt Weston relieved and picked up the save, but not before giving up a two-out walk and losing hurler Jared Karas\’ second hit that loaded the bases.
A running grab by center fielder Curtis Collins on Keith LeBarron\’s sinking fly ball prevented what might have been a ticklish situation.
Two innings earlier, Collins made the defensive play of the game when he sprinted into short left center to make a tumbling, back-handed catch, robbing LeBarron of a hit with two Tri-County runners circling the bases. Clearfield led 6-3 at the time.
\”I’ve got to commend Curtis,\” Robison said. \”He probably saved us three or four runs by being a very aggressive center fielder.\”
Tri-County, the home team via a coin flip, got a run in the first inning when LeBarron stole two bases and scored on a wild pitch after reaching base on a forceout.
Doubles by Jordan and Kelton Rishel and the first of Tri-County\’s eight errors put Clearfield on top 2-1 in the second frame.
Both teams scored in the third, Clearfield on Hryn\’s infield hit and two errors and Tri-County on Karas\’ single, a walk and two of Clearfield\’s four miscues.
The 3-3 tie didn\’t last long.
After Hunter Keith punched a single to right, two errors on Christian Gidney\’s bunt put Clearfield ahead for good. Later, doubles to the fence by Weston and Lezzer made it 5-3, and Hryn followed with a sacrifice fly to left.
Clearfield expanded the margin against LeBarron, the third Tri-County pitcher, in the sixth.
Weston\’s single through the middle and two errors put two runners in scoring position for Hryn, and he rammed a double to the right center gap.
\”We forced the issue a little bit to make them throw the ball,\” Robison said. \”That’s how we got a couple runs. But we definitely out-hit them.
\”We wanted to give Wyatt some work, and he came in and did a fine job.
\”All in all, I\’m proud of the kids. They all contributed.\”
Clearfield will go on the road Saturday for a winner\’s bracket semifinal against Philipsburg-Osceola, which beat Curwensville 11-1 in four innings Thursday.
CLEARFIELD — 8
Matt Kushner ss-2b 3110, Wyatt Weston 2b-p 4220, Christian Lezzer p-ss 4111, Derek Hryn 1b-3b-1b 3123, Trey Jordan rf-cf-rf 4120, Seth Ford 3b-lf-3b 2000, Kelton Rishel c 3111, Curtis Collins cf 2100, Hunter Keith 1b 1010, Jack Soult lf 1000, Christian Gidney rf 1000. TOTALS: 28 8 10 5.
TRI-COUNTY — 3
Jared Karas p-ss 3120, Keith LeBarron rf-p 4100, Derek Horner 2b 1110, Cole Carolus 1b 1000, Strawser 1b 2000, Matt Hample c 3000, Alec Lose lf 2000, Jared Beckwith lf 1000, Ryan Kling ss 2010, Tyler Mondock p-rf 1010, Jake Dorminy 3b 3010, Tony Pagano cf 2000. TOTALS: 25 3 6 0.
Score by Innings
Clearfield 021 302 – 8 10 4
Tri-County 102 000 – 3 6 8
Errors – Kushner, Rishel, Keith, Gidney; Karas, Horner 3, Kling, Mondock, Dorminy, Pagano. LOB – Clearfield 6; Tri-County 8. 2B – Kushner, Weston, Lezzer, Hryn, Jordan, Rishel. Sac – Ford. SF – Hryn. SB – Karas, LeBarron 2, Horner, Kling, Pagano.
Pitching
Clearfield – Lezzer 5-1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K; Weston 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
Tri-County – Karas 4 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K; Mondock 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K; LeBarron 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
HB – Karas 1 WP – Mondock 1.
W – Lezzer (1-0). L – Karas (0-1).
Umpires – Galen Corl (home plate); Mike Norris (bases).
