CLEARFIELD – Four-Leaf Clover struck for eight runs in the first two innings and knocked the Clearfield Little League 10-11 All-Stars out of the District 5 Tournament with an 11-5 victory at McNamee Field Monday evening.
Both teams had 10 hits in the elimination bracket quarterfinal, but Clearfield stranded 10 runners in bowing out of the tourney with a 1-2 record.
The winners were led by Brandon Zwick with a double, two singles and two runs batted in.
Vince McDowell had two hits, one a double, and two RBIs, and Josh Lannen contributed three RBIs.
Dan Collins, who had a pair of RBIs, and Travis Ogden each had a double and a single for Clearfield. Brandon Orsich and Thomas Summers joined them in the two-hit column.
Trailing 8-1 in the fourth inning, Clearfield missed a great opportunity to cut into Four-Leaf Clover\’s lead by loading the bases on an error, a single by Marcus Luzier and a walk, but starter and winner Zwick turned Jake Wingate\’s sharp one-hopper into a forceout at the plate and second baseman Dakota Weitoish grabbed Noah Cline\’s line drive for an unassisted double play.
Clearfield did make it 9-4 in the fifth on run-scoring hits by Summers, Collins and Ogden against reliever Mark Glace, only to watch Four-Leaf Clover respond with two runs when McDowell doubled to left center for an RBI and then scored on a single to left by Zwick.
Curtis Shimel relieved Glace in the fifth and ended Clearfield\’s threat with two strikeouts. McDowell went to the mound in the sixth and also had two strikeouts while giving up a run on two hits and a wild pitch.
After Collins singled home Orsich in the top of the first, Four-Leaf Clover jumped in front 3-1 when Zwick singled to tie the score and Lannen drilled a hard liner that glance off Orsich\’s glove and left wrist into short right field for a two-run single.
The visitors ballooned the spread with five runs in the second. Glace walked with the bases loaded for one run and later dashed to the plate on a wild pitch, Isaac Guenot singled for an RBI, and two runs scored on groundouts by McDowell and Lannen.
Four-Leaf Clover (2-1) advances to the elimination bracket semifinal and a Wednesday home game against Mifflin County (2-1), which eked out a 6-5 win over Curwensville (1-2) in seven innings.
CLEARFIELD — 5
Noah Cline ss-p 4000, Evan Brown 2b 4110, Brandon Orsich p-ss 3220, Thomas Summers 1b 2121, Dan Collins cf-c-cf 4122, Travis Ogden rf-cf-rf 4021, Logan Lykens 3b 0000, Marcus Luzier 3b 1010, Jake Lansberry c 2000, Haley Rothrock lf 0000, Caleb Strouse lf 2000, Jake Wingate rf 1000. TOTALS: 27 5 10 4.
FOUR-LEAF CLOVER — 11
Jonathan Trimpey cf 2110, Cole Rougeux cf 2000, Mark Glace 3b-p-1b-rf 3311, Vince McDowell c-1b-p 3222, Clayton Green rf 1000, Brandon Zwick p-3b 4332, Isaac Guenot ss 3011, Josh Lannen rf-c 3013, Josh Kerlin lf 3000, Tom Hazel 2b 0100, Dakota Weitoish 2b 2000, Cody Spaid 1b 2110, Curtis Shimel 1b-p-1b 1000. TOTALS: 29 11 10 9.
Score by Innings
Clearfield 100 031 – 5 10 5
Four-Leaf Clover 350 12x – 11 10 4
Errors – Cline, Brown, Orsich, Luzier, Strouse; Rougeux, Glace, Guenot 2. PB – Lannen 1. DP – Four-Leaf Clover 1 (Weitoish unassisted). LOB – Clearfield 10; Four-Leaf Clover 6. 2B – Collins, Ogden; Glace, McDowell, Zwick.
Pitching
Clearfield – Orsich 3-1/3 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; Cline 1-2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.
Four-Leaf Clover – Zwick 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K; Glace 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K; Shimel 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K; McDowell 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.
WP – Orsich 2, Cline 1; Zwick 2, Glace 1, Shimel 1, McDowell 2.
W – Zwick. L – Orsich (1-1).
Umpires – Bill Guenot (plate); Jeff Aveni (first base); Al Fricke (third base).
