HYDE – Clearfield prevented Curwensville from tightening the chase for third place in the Jefferson County Legion Baseball League Wednesday evening, but it wasn\’t easy.
After watching the Haymakers overcome a 5-0 deficit to grab a 9-8 lead in the top of the sixth inning, the Chiefs scratched out three runs to walk off the Bison Sports Complex diamond with a hard-earned 11-9 victory.
Tanner St. Clair led off with a single through the middle and Derek Danver followed with a hard smash past second baseman Brett Sutika. Andrew Redden beat out his sacrifice bunt for a hit, and St. Clair scored the tying run when the ball was thrown away at first base.
With runners at second and third, Aaron Sayers lofted a fly to center for the game-winning RBI.
Manager Sid Lansberry continued to play small-ball with a suicide squeeze for the insurance run, and Redden just did slide under pitcher Airik Hutton\’s flip to catcher Cory Bloom on Trevor Flanagan\’s bunt.
Flanagan picked up the win by halting Curwensville\’s go-ahead, four-run rally. He gave up a hit to Tyler Johns that loaded the bases but retired Ben McGary on a fly to center.
In the seventh, Flanagan issued a two-out walk to Brett McCracken before inducing Derek Dixon to ground into a game-ending forceout.
Dixon had put the Haymakers in front 9-8 by slamming a two-run homer off Corey Bookhamer, who had relieved Chad Zurat with two on and no outs. An error and McCracken\’s RBI-single cut the Chiefs\’ lead to 8-7 before Dixon stepped to the plate.
Clearfield out-hit Curwensville 18-13, with the Chiefs registering half of theirs in the first two innings.
Danver and Redden delivered run-scoring singles in the first. Justin Hoffman had an RBI-single and Bookhamer ripped a two-run single over first base in the second.
The Haymakers began their comeback against Zurat with a pair of runs in the third and posted three more in the fifth, when a two-run triple to deep right center by Mark Dell\’Antonio sliced the Chiefs\’ advantage to 6-5.
Four hits, three of them infield singles by Redden, Tyler Jacobson and Zurat, and a grounder by Kyle Timchak put Clearfield ahead 8-5 in the lower fifth, setting the stage for the wild sixth frame.
No less than 11 players had two or more hits.
Hoffman and Redden led Clearfield with three apiece. Timchak, St. Clair, Danver and Sayers each had a pair.
For Curwensville, which slid to 4-7, Sutika cracked a double and two singles, while McCracken, Dixon, Bloom and Dell\’Antonio chipped in two apiece.
Clearfield stands 6-4 in the JCL and 7-10 overall.
The two teams meet again Thursday evening on the Haymakers\’ home field at Hepburnia.
Clearfield also will be on the road Friday at Brookville in an 8 p.m. start and Sunday at Punxsutawney for a double-header.
CURWENSVILLE — 9
Ben McGary cf 5110, Ianniq Ecklund lf 4000, Brett Sutika 2b 5330, Brett McCracken ss 3322, Derek Dixon rf 5122, Airik Hutton p 4000, Cory Bloom c 3121, Mark Dell\’Antonio 1b 4022, Tyler Johns 3b 3010. TOTALS: 36 9 13 7.
CLEARFIELD — 11
Justin Hoffman rf 4331, Luke Peterson 2b 0000, Kyle Timchak dh 3021, Corey Bookhamer 1b-p-1b 5112, Tanner St. Clair lf 4121, Derek Danver ss 4121, Andrew Redden c 4231, Aaron Sayers cf 2121, Trevor Flanagan 3b-p 2111, Tyler Jacobson 3b 1110, Chad Zurat p-1b-3b 4011. TOTALS: 33 11 18 10.
Score by Innings
Curwensville 002 034 0 – 9 12 2
Clearfield 230 123 x – 11 18 5
Errors – Sutika, Hutton; Peterson, Danver, Redden, Flanagan 2. DP – Curwensville 1 (Sutika, McCracken and Dell\’Antonio). LOB – Curwensville 11; Clearfield 10. 2B – Sutika, McCracken; St. Clair, Sayers. 3B – Dell\’Antonio. HR – Dixon. Sac – Timchak, Flanagan. SF – Sayers.
Pitching
Curwensville – Hutton 6 IP, 18 H, 11 R, 9 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.
Clearfield – Zurat 5+ IP (faced 2 batters in 6th), 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 3 K; Bookhamer 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K; Flanagan 1-1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
HB – Hutton 2 (Hoffman, Timchak). WP – Zurat 1, Bookhamer 1.
W – Flanagan (2-2). L – Hutton.
Umpires – J.R. Rosselli (plate); Mike Skraba (bases).
