BRADFORD – The four batters at the top of the lineup combined for 10 hits and 14 runs batted in and Chad Zurat turned in another strong relief performance as Clearfield pounded out a 22-8 win over Bradford in scholastic baseball action Friday afternoon.
The Owls came into the District 9 Northern Allegany League Big School Division makeup having played four games in six days.
By the time the Bison hit parade ended after six innings due to the Mercy Rule, Bradford had sent four pitchers to the mound, including the eighth and ninth different hurlers called on in the seven-day stretch.
Justin Hoffman led the 15-hit Bison attack with four singles and four RBIs.
Jarrett Fulmer banged out a pair of two-run singles, Andrew Redden doubled and tripled and Garrett Samsel singled and doubled, the latter two driving in three runs apiece.
The quartet scored nine runs.
Trevor Flanagan didn’t get to the plate in the first inning, but he wound up scoring five times after reaching base on two hits, two errors and a walk.
Zurat, making his seventh relief appearance, allowed only two hits and three runs, one earned, over the last five innings for his fourth victory to go with one save. The senior right-hander struck out five and walked one.
Kurtis Krise started for the Bisons, but three errors gave the Owls four unearned runs in the first, and he was pulled after issuing his second walk and giving up a single to Connor Borowski in the second frame.
Josh Scott greeted Zurat with a sacrifice fly, but the Owls were down eight runs before their got another run.
Clearfield (8-6) went in front to stay in the third inning when Fulmer’s two-run single snapped a 5-5 tie.
The Bisons, who were aided by 13 walks and four hit batsmen, then exploded for six runs in the fourth, three in the fifth and six in the sixth to hike their second-place D9NAL record to 5-2.
Jordan Harrington, who worked the final inning in Bradford’s 17-5 loss at Clearfield Wednesday, was tagged with the loss. The start was his fourth trip to the bump in seven days.
Only one of the six runs he surrendered was earned. All six charged to Steve Wilber in the third were unearned as the Owls (3-10) paid heavily for their five miscues.
Eight Clearfield starters had hits and seven scored at least two runs.
Next week, the Bisons go to Punxsutawney Monday and host St. Marys Wednesday in D9NAL games and entertain Huntingdon Friday in a non-league tussle.
Jordan Lancaster socked a three-run homer and added a fourth RBI while Levi Picard added two hits and two RBIs as the Clearfield junior varsity improved to 8-5 with a 13-3 victory.
Winning pitcher Ronny Ogden had eight strikeouts.
District 9 Northern Allegany League Big School Division – DuBois 6-1, Clearfield 5-2, St. Marys 4-3, Punxsutawney 4-3, Brookville 2-5, Bradford 0-7.
CLEARFIELD — 22
Jarrett Fulmer ss 4324, Justin Hoffman rf 6344, Drew Brown rf 0000, Andrew Redden c 4123, Kurtis Krise p 0000, Justyn Knepp cf 0000, Garret Samsel dh 2223, Tyler Jacobson 3b 6111, Chad Zurat cf-p 3211, Wil Beauseigneur ph 0000, Trevor Flanagan 1b 4521, Isaac Butler ph 0001, Shane Harper lf 3211, Steve Miller ph 0100, Curtis Frye 2b 3201, Vanderburgh ph-2b 1000. TOTALS: 36 22 15 20.
Errors – Fulmer 2, Jacobson 4; Pascarella, C. Borowski, Newhouse, Harrington, Viola. PB – Redden 3. DP – Clearfield 2 (Fulmer, Frye and Flanagan, Fulmer, Vanderburgh and Flanagan). LOB – Clearfield 13, Bradford 5. 2B – Redden, Samsel; C. Borowski, Yurkewicz. 3B – Redden. SF – Scott, Wilber.
Pitching
Clearfield – Krise 1+ IP (faced 2 batters in 2nd), 3 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K; Zurat 5 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K.
W – Zurat (4-0). L – Harrington.
Bradford – Harrington 2-2/3 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K; Wilber 2/3 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 0 K; Rinfrette 1-1/3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, Viola 1-1/3 IP, 2 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 0 K.
HB – Rinfrette 1 (Miller); Viola 3 (Fulmer, Samsel, Zurat). WP – Krise 1, Zurat 1; Harrington 1, Viola 1.
BRADFORD — 8
Pat Pascarella ss 2300, Connor Borowski 1b 4130, Josh Scott 3b-rf-cf-3b 3110, Steve Wilber rf-p-rf 3000, Chris Salerno rf 1000, Tyler Borowski lf 3200, Garrett Newhouse c 3000, Dan Rinfrette cf-p-cf 2000, Jordan Harrington p-2b 3101, Kyle Yurkewicz 2b-3b 3011, Kyle Viola p-3b 3011. TOTALS: 24 5 5 4.