ALTOONA – Clearfield Area High School’s Comeback Kids took their thrill show on the road Friday and proved that they are just as comfortable performing away from the Bison Sports Complex.
On the verge of being bounced into the consolation bracket of the eighth annual Curve Classic by Hollidaysburg with first place in the Central Penn Baseball League also at stake, coach Sid Lansberry’s Bisons brought out their exciting closing act in the bottom of the seventh inning to celebrate their fourth dramatic win in a row.
After Justin Hoffman and Andrew Redden walked, Derek Danver, Tyler Jacobson, Matt Lonjin and pinch-hitter Justyn Knepp strung together hits for four runs and a 6-5 finish to the latest chapter in what is rapidly becoming a fairy tale season.
The Bisons keep sharing the lead roles.
Knepp’s bases-loaded, two-run double into left center at the beautiful Blair County Ballpark was Clearfield’s third walk-off hit in the last four games, the others recorded by Danver and Jarrett Fulmer.
Trevor Flanagan turned in his most impressive start on the mound, going the distance on an eight-hitter to give the Bison pitching staff a big boost with two or, hopefully if they make the tourney finals, three games in the next three days.
Once again, the Bisons were outstanding in the field.
No errors. Highlight catches in the outfield by Chad Zurat and Shane Harper. Infielders taking turns making big plays. And Matt Lonjin corralling low pitches behind the plate.
Lansberry conceded he’s running out of words to describe the way his 39th season as Clearfield’s head coach is playing out.
“It’s just unbelievable, four games in a row that we could come back like that,” he said. “It’s a credit to the kids, who never give up.
“Sometimes you have kids with a lot of false bravado. They don’t have that. They don’t get too hyped up, but I think they are confident now that they can come back against anybody.”
Hollidaysburg joined a growing list of opponents who have learned that lesson first-hand, and it’s an impressive one with State College, DuBois and Punxsutawney the previous victims. That’s three very good Class AAAA teams and the perennial District 9 Class AAA champion (Punxsy) in recent years.
Lansberry elevated Hollidaysburg’s status after his Bisons became the CPL’s lone team without a blemish.
“That’s a great team,” he proclaimed. “I thought Trevor did an outstanding job against an outstanding lineup.
“He wasn’t striking ’em out. They were hitting the ball, and we made some plays.
“Bear (Stewart) said he threw 84 pitches. That’s pretty good for seven innings against that crew.”
Flanagan set down the Golden Tigers in order in four innings, as all but one of their hits came in the two frames they scored.
The start of the game was a little rough for the Bisons.
Flanagan and Lonjin bumped into each other on a very high foul pop fly by Jake Weibley.
Then, Weibley drilled a single into left field, raced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Nathan Pope’s single to center.
After Sidd Amernini singled, Luke Rhodes ripped a drive to deep left that had extra bases written all over it, but Harper was able to run it down on the track in front of the fence
“That could have opened it up right there,” Lansberry said after labeling the catch as a great one.
Flanagan immediately settled down, getting out of the jam via a forceout and the first of his three strikeouts.
He retired the next nine Golden Tigers, too, thanks to first baseman Andrew Redden hustling for a diving catch of a pop-up behind the mound in the second inning and Jacobson making two dandy plays at the hot corner in the fourth, robbing Rhodes of a double by backhanding his hooking, sinking liner and then turning Brandon Simpson’s smash into an out.
Clearfield took a 2-1 lead in the fourth without benefit of a hit.
Simpson walked Lonjin and designated hitter Garrett Samsel, who scored on a wild pitch and an error, respectively, after they advanced on Zurat’s sacrifice bunt.
The Golden Tigers responded with four runs in the fifth.
Damian Lascoli led off with a single to left and Flanagan plunked Jordan Baum in the back, but he was one pitch away from escaping without any damage when Pope walloped a home run two-thirds of the way up the bleachers in left field.
A walk and singles by Rhodes and Simpson produced an insurance run the Golden Tigers didn’t appear to need the way Simpson was handling every Bison except Redden, who had Clearfield’s only three hits through six innings.
In the seventh, though, Simpson was relieved by Pope after issuing his seventh walk.
“Simpson was tough,” Lansberry said. “He was throwing some type of slider that made us look really bad at times. He must have got tired. And Pope is a good pitcher, too.”
Perhaps because he had not warmed up between innings, Pope wasn’t sharp.
And the Bisons made him pay.
After Redden walked, Danver ignited the offense by bouncing a 1-2 pitch into right field to load the bases.
Jacobson lined a single to right center and Lonjin sliced a hit to right for RBIs, cutting the margin to 5-4 and setting the stage for Knepp.
The junior outfielder came through with a liner that hooked away from center fielder Weibley, sending Danver and Jacobson to the plate with the tying and winning runs and bringing the all of the screaming Bisons out of the dugout to join the celebration.
“Again, clutch hits in a row, every one,” Lansberry described the do-or-die rally. “(We) put Kneppy in there cold off the bench. Big hit.
“These games are sweet when you hit the ball to come back. They didn’t help us out in that last inning. We just had good, solid hitting and good base running. When you’re own late in the game, you’ve gotta play station to station with nobody out.
“Sometimes things fall in place, and sometimes they don’t.”
It’s more of the former than the latter for almost every decision Lansberry and his staff have made in the once-beaten Bisons’ mind-boggling streak, from starting lineups to pitching changes to defensive alignments to selecting pinch-hitters.
And they’ll need to make all the right moves if the Bisons are to enjoy more success in their third Curve Classic appearance.
Clearfield is paired against undefeated Bishop Carroll, ranked No. 1 in Class A in the state by MaxPreps, in one of Saturday’s semifinals. The Huskies (8-0) opened the eight-team tourney with an 11-4 victory over Bishop Guilfoyle (2-4).
That game originally was booked for 3 p.m., but the entire schedule had to be revised because Friday afternoon rains forced the suspension of Game 3 with Central (6-2) leading defending champion Lewistown (3-4) 10-4 in the top of the fourth inning and the postponement of Game 4 between Altoona (1-1) and Hampshire County (4-4), W.Va.
Saturday action now shows Game 4 at 9 a.m. and completion of Game 3 at 11:30. Two consolation games will be played before Clearfield and Bishop Carroll take the field, probably very late in the afternoon or early evening.
The championship game is set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
EXTRA INNINGS – Clearfield, 4-1 overall, is the lone unbeaten team in the CPL at 4-0 with Hollidaysburg, now 4-2, falling to 2-1… Should Clearfield and Altoona meet in the finals, that game also would count in the CPL… Golden Tiger third baseman Jordan Baum, a sophomore, is the son of 1985 Clearfield Area High School graduates Ron and Wendy (Wisor) Baum… The 2008 Bisons won the Curve Classic title in their first appoearance… Altoona (2006 and 2007) is the only two-time champion.
HOLLIDAYSBURG — 5
Jake Weibley cf 4220, Nathan Pope ss-p 4124, Sidd Amernini 1b 2110, Luke Rhodes rf 4010, Brandon Simpson p-3b 4011, Corey Barr lf 3000, Damian Lascoli c 3010, Jordan Baum 3b-ss 2000, Brett Hileman 2b 3100. TOTALS: 29 5 8 5.
CLEARFIELD — 6
Jarrett Fulmer ss 3000, Justin Hoffman 4f 3100, Andrew Redden 1b 3130, Derek Danver 2b 4110, Tyler Jacobson 3b 3111, Matt Lonjin c 3111, Trevor Flanagan p 0000, Garrett Samsel dh 1100, Luke Peterson pr 1100, Justyn Knepp ph 1012, Chad Zurat cf 1000, Shane Harper lf 2000, Wil Beauseigneur ph 1000. TOTALS: 25 6 7 4.
Score by Innings
Hollidaysburg 100 040 0 – 5 8 2
Clearfield 000 200 4 – 6 7 0
Errors – Baum 2. LOB – Hollidaysburg 6; Clearfield 10. 2B – Weibley; Redden, Knepp. HR – Pope. Sac – Zurat. CS – Fulmer (by Lascoli).
Pitching
Hollidaysburg – Simpson 6+ IP (faced 1 batter in 6th), 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 7 BB, 4 K; Pope 0+ IP (faced 5 batters in 7th), 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K.
Clearfield – Flanagan 7 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.
HB – Flanagan 1 (Baum). WP – Simpson 1; Flanagan 1.
W – Flanagan (1-1). L – Pope (1-1).
Umpires – Mike Bryja (plate), Dave Adams (bases).