HYDE – The Clearfield Area High School baseball team scored the majority of its runs in the late innings of its first six wins, but the Bisons changed the script Wednesday.
Coach Sid Lansberry’s team parlayed five hits with three walks, a hit batsman and a Bradford error for an eight-run outburst in the bottom of the first and went on to thump the Owls 17-5 in 4½ innings at the Bison Sports Complex.
The Bisons roughed up three Bradford pitchers for 13 hits to stay in the District 9 Northern Allegany League Big School Division hunt.
“Everybody up and down the order hit the ball,” Lansberry said. “(We had) a lot of hits scoring runs with two outs.”
Leading the hit parade were Justin Hoffman and Andrew Redden with three singles and two runs batted in apiece.
Right behind was Tyler Jacobson with two hits, one a double, and a career-high four RBIs.
Jarrett Fulmer singled twice and scored three times, while Garrett Samsel drove in three runs and scored three times.
The Bisons jumped on Bradford starter Connor Borowski for their biggest inning of the season.
The junior walked Fulmer, gave up a single to Redden and hit Derek Danver to load the bases. After Samsel drew a free pass to force in a run, Jacobson slashed a double to left center for two RBIs. Infield singles by Trevor Flanagan and Fulmer made it 5-0, and Hoffman bounced a hit through the box for two more runs. Fulmer scored on a dropped fly ball.
Staked to the uncharacteristic early cushion, Flanagan constantly worked from the stretch until closing out the Owls with two strikeouts in his only 1-2-3 inning.
“Trevor didn’t have his best stuff, but he hung in there and gave us a whole game, which we needed,” said Lansberry, who was happy he didn’t have to use another pitcher with the Bisons booked for their third game of the week in a D9NAL makeup Friday at Bradford.
Flanagan allowed five hits and four walks while striking out five.
Three of those hits came in the second inning, when Pat Pascarella hammered his fourth home run in as many games, a three-run shot to left, and Borowski doubled and scored on the third of Clearfield’s four errors.
The Bisons picked up a run without benefit of a hit to go up 9-5, and it took a circus catch by center fielder Chad Zurat to keep that lead intact in the third inning.
With two Owls aboard and two outs, Zurat robbed Pascarella of extra bases by racing into deep right center fully extending himself to making a diving grab of the towering fly ball.
“That was a very big catch,” Lansberry said. “That is at least two runs. Now it’s 9-7 and Trevor’s struggling.”
Then, Zurat came through with his bat in the lower third, following up Jacobson’s bases-loaded walk with a sharp grounder through the left side for two RBIs and to give Clearfield a 12-5 lead.
The Bisons made it a Mercy Rule victory in the fourth on two-run singles by Redden and Samsel and a run-scoring hit by Jacobson.
“It’s a much-needed win” Lansberry said. “Going back up there Friday is going to be a struggle.”
In the junior varsity game, Jordan Lancaster rapped three hits and drove in six runs as Clearfield (7-5) rolled to a 15-0 win in three innings.
Kyler Kephart and Levi Picard pounded two-run doubles.
Winner Curtis Frye pitched a one-hitter.
District 9 Northern Allegany League Big School Division – DuBois 6-1, Clearfield 4-2, St. Marys 4-3, Punxsutawney 4-3, Brookville 2-5, Bradford 0-6.
BRADFORD — 5
Kyle Yurkewicz 1b-2b 3000, Chris Salerno ph 1000, Connor Borowskip-1b 3110, Josh Scott 2b-lf 3011, Kyle Viola rf 2000, Steve Wilber 3b 2000, Garrett Newhouse c 3000, Tyler Borowski lf-p-cf 2110, Dan Rinfrette cf 2110, Jordan Harrington p 1000. TOTALS: 24 5 5 4.
CLEARFIELD — 17
Jarrett Fulmer 2b 3321, Justin Hoffman rf 4232, Andrew Redden 1b 4332, Derek Danver ss 2200, Luke Peterson 1b 0000, Garret Samsel dh 1313, Tyler Jacobson 3b 3124, Chad Zurat cf 3112, Trevor Flanagan p 3112, Wil Beauseigneur ph 1000, Shane Harper lf 3100. TOTALS: 27 17 13 16.
Score by Innings
Bradford 140 00 – 5 5 3
Clearfield 813 5x – 17 13 5
Errors – Pascarella 2, T. Borowski; Fulmer, Danver 3. PB – Newhouse 1. LOB – Bradford 6; Clearfield 8. 2B – C. Borowski; Jacobson. HR – Pascarella. SB – Harper.
Pitching
Bradford – C. Borowski 2 IP, 5 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 2 K; T. Borowski 1+ IP (faced 4 batters in 4th), 6 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K; Harrington 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
Clearfield – Flanagan 5 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K.
HB – C. Borowski 1 (Danver); Harrington 1 (Danver).
W – Flanagan (2-2). L – C. Borowski.
Umpires – Joe Shick (plate); Dave Neal (bases).
