CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield Legion proved to be a rather rude host for its annual Independence Day Wood Bat Invitational at the Lawrence Township Recreation Park Field as superb pitching, including complete games by Ronny Ogden and Chad Zurat, and solid defense carried the Chiefs to the championship for the fifth time in six years.
Ogden twirled a two-hitter for a 5-1 win over the defending champion Bradford Legion Saturday, while Zurat toiled eight innings to tame the hard-hitting Philipsburg Legion on six hits for a 5-3 victory Sunday.
Then, Derrick Snyder and Jarrett Fulmer teamed up to shut out the Clearfield Babe Ruth League All-Stars 12-0 in a finale that was only 1-0 as late as the fifth inning.
The All-Stars also lost 10-2 to Bradford and 20-1 to Philipsburg in 4-1/2 innings on Saturday.
In Sunday’s other game, Bradford defeated Philipsburg 5-1.
The Clearfield Legion supplied Ogden with all of its runs against Bradford in the first two innings.
Andrew Redden slammed a two-run homer in the first frame, and Shane Harper and Corey Bookhamer came through with RBI-singles in the second.
Tyler Jacobson had a pair of singles for the Chiefs.
Ogden, who struck out two and walked two in his first legion win, held Bradford hitless and scoreless until the fifth, when two errors around Garrett Newhouse’s single produced an unearned run.
Zurat cruised through the Philipsburg lineup in every inning except the second, when Gavin Luzier belted a two-run homer, and the fourth, when Tom Cheskey singled for the second time and scored on Luzier’s second hit.
Ryan Wesesky also singled in the fourth, but Zurat recorded two of his eight strikeouts and went on to retire 13 of the last 14 batters he faced. Cheskey reached base on Clearfield’s lone error in the sixth but was erased on a doubleplay started by Zurat.
Down 3-1 against Phils’ starter Paul Hahn, manager Sid Lansberry’s Chiefs tied the game on Troy Danver’s hit, a walk and Corey Bookhamer’s two-run single.
Reliever Adam Gallaher logged two scoreless frames before Clearfield got the deciding runs in the top of the eighth.
Jacobson had the game-winning hit after Zurat walked and stole second. Three more walks provided the insurance run.
Bookhamer accounted for half of Clearfield’s six hits and drove in three runs.
In the all-Clearfield game, Snyder and BRL All-Star Nate Bumbarger hooked up in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel through four innings, singles by Derek Danver and Bookhamer around an error resulting in the lone run.
Snyder departed after fanning two and giving up four hits and two walks.
After Fulmer struck out the side in the fifth, the Chiefs made it 3-0 on hits by Zurat, Steve Miller and Troy Danver and an RBI-groundout by Harper.
They made it a Mercy Rule win with nine runs on two walks, two hit batsmen and seven hits in the sixth. Bookhamer singled twice and Jacobson had two RBIs in the rally.
Bookhamer, who was 7-for-12 with six RBIs in the tourney, topped a 13-hit attack with three singles. Zurat and Troy Danver chipped in with two apiece.
Fulmer whiffed four and walked one in two hitless innings of relief.
For the BRL All-Stars, Christian Lezzer drove in the two runs against Bradford and Mason Root had the lone hit against Philipsburg.
Locked into third place in the Jefferson County League at 10-7, the Clearfield Legion (15-10) ends the regular season with a home game against Brookville at the Bison Sports Complex Monday at 6 p.m. and a trip to DuBois Wednesday.
If the chase between DuBois and Punxsutawney for first place hasn’t been decided by Wednesday, the Chiefs would have to go to DuBois again Thursday for a makeup of a June 3 postponement.
The JCL Playoffs begin Thursday with the regular-season champ hosting Brookville and the runner-up entertaining Clearfield.
CLEARFIELD LEGION — 5
Jarrett Fulmer ss 4000, Derek Danver 2b 3001, Corey Bookhamer 1b-lf 4111, Andrew Redden c-1b 3112, Kyle Timchak rf 4010, Tyler Jacobson 3b 4120, Ronny Ogden p 0000, Derrick Snyder dh 2110, Troy Danver lf-c 3100, Steve Miller ph 1000, Shane Harper cf 2011. TOTALS: 30 5 7 5.
BRADFORD LEGION — 1
Cory Viola c 3000, Mike Pascarella 1b 2000, Noah Corbert ss 2000, Connor Borowski eh 3000, Kyle Yurkewicz p 0000, Josh Scott dh 3110, Garrett Newhouse cf 3010, Kyle Viola 3b 2000, Tyler Borowski rf 2000, Jordan Herrigton 2b 2000, Logan Kellog lf 2000. TOTALS: 24 1 2 0.
Score by Innings
Clearfield Legion 230 000 0 – 5 7 2
Bradford Legion 000 010 0 – 1 2 4
Errors – Fulmer, Harper; Corbert, Yurkewicz, K. Viola, Herrington. DP – Bradford Legion 1 (Herrington and Pascarella). LOB – Clearfield Legion 9; Bradford Legion 4. HR – Redden.
Pitching
Clearfield Legion – Ogden 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
Bradford Legion – Yurkewicz 7 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
HB – Yurkewicz 2 (D. Danver, Snyder.)
W – Ogden (1-1). L – Yurkewicz.
* * * * *
CLEARFIELD LEGION — 5
Fulmer ss 2200, D. Danver 2b 4001, Bookhamer 1b 033, Redden c 4000, Timchak rf 3000, Zurat p 2100, Jacobson 3b 3111, T. Danver lf 3110, Harper cf 3010, Snyder ph 0000. TOTALS: 28 5 6 5.
PHILIPSBURG LEGION — 3
Dylan Corl ss 4000, Hayden Hayward 3b-2b 3010, Paul Hahn p-3b 3000, Tom Cheskey cf 3120, Todd Rees 2b 110, Adam Gallaher p-rf 2000, Gavin Luzier c 3123, Ryan Wesesky rf-p 3010, Alan Mills lf 3000, Bobby Gallagher eh 3000, Brett Hutton 1b 0000, Craig Callovini 1b 2000. TOTALS: 30 3 6 3.
Score by Innings
Clearfield Legion 100 020 02 – 5 6 1
Philipsburg Legion 020 100 00 – 3 6 0
Errors – D. Danver. DP – Clearfield Legion 1 (Zurat, Fulmer and Bookhamer). LOB – Clearfield Legion 11; Philipsburg Legion 4. HR – Luzier. Sac – Snyder. SB – Bookhamer 3, Redden, Zurat; Cheskey.
Pitching
Clearfield Legion – Zurat 8 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K.
Philipsburg Legion – Hahn 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 5 K; A. Gallaher 2-1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K; Wesesky 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
HB – Hahn 1 (Redden). WP – Hahn 3, Gallaher 4.
W – Zurat (4-0). L – A. Gallaher.
* * * * *
CLEARFIELD BABE RUTH LEAGUE ALL-STARS — 0
Christian Stone 2b 3000, Nat Bumbarger p-1b 2000, Christian Lezzer cf 3011, Mason Rood 1b 2010, Devin Jones 1b-p 0000, Matt Kushner ss 0000, Dale Confer 3b 2010, Christian Flood eh 2000, Benny Panebianco c 2000, Matt Josephson lf 2010, Seth Ford rf 1000, Jonas Kohan ph-rf 1000. TOTALS: 20 0 4 0.
CLEARFIELD LEGION — 12
Fulmer ss-p 4112, D. Danver 2b 3210, Bookhamer 1b 4132, Redden lf 2100, Timchak rf 3111, Zurat eh 3221, Jacobson 3b-ss 3112, Snyder p 1000, Miller 3b 1210, T. Danver c 2121, Harper cf 3012. TOTALS: 28 12 13 11.
Score by Innings
Clearfield BRL All-Stars 000 000 – 0 4 2
Clearfield Legion 100 029 – 12 13 0
Errors – Bumbarger, Josephson. LOB – Clearfield BRL All-Stars 5; Clearfield Legion x. 2B – Fulmer, Josephson; Lezzer. SB – Lezzer; D. Danver 2, Zurat. CS – Bumbarger (by T. Danver).
Pitching
Clearfield BRL All-Stars – Bumbarger 5+ IP (faced 5 batters in 6th), 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 0 BB, 1 K; Jones 0 IP (faced 2 batters in 7th), 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K; Confer 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K.
Clearfield Legion – Snyder 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; Fulmer 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.
HB – Bumbarger 2 (D. Danver, Redden). W – Snyder (2-2). L – Bumbarger.
* * * * *
Clearfield BRL All-Stars 101 000 0 – 2 3 2
Bradford Legion 200 611 x – 10 12 0
W – Logan Kellog. L – Mason Root.
BRL All-Stars – Christian Lezzer 2 RBIs. Bradford Legion – C. Borowski 3 hits; Corbert 3 hits.
* * * * *
Clearfield BRL All-Stars 000 10 – 1 1 4
Philipsburg Legion 309 8x – 20 13 0
W – A. Gallaher. L – Lezzer.
Philipsburg – Hahn S, D, HR (grand slam); Gallaher D, T.
