HYDE – In one of the most bizarre schoolboy baseball games ever played at the Bison Sports Complex, Clearfield and Central combined for 53 hits, including 10 home runs and 10 other extra base blows, in a wild Mountain League Allegheny Division affair Friday afternoon.
The outcome wasn’t pretty for the Bisons, though, despite Drew Browns’ two home runs and four runs batted in, Andrew Redden’s home run and single good for six RBIs, Derek Danver’s home run and single for four RBIs and Tyler Jacobson’s three singles and three RBIs.
That’s because every Scarlet Dragon starter had at least three safeties and scored three runs as the visitors mounted a 37-hit attack that soared their batting average 67 points and prevailed by the football-like score of 36-22.
Central (8-3) entered the game hitting .290 with 18 extra base hits, only four more than they registered against six Clearfield pitchers. The Scarlet Dragons had been averaging seven hits and 6.3 runs.
After flying out to end top of the first inning, designated hitter Luke Blattenberger powered Central by slugging four home runs, all with teammates aboard, for nine RBIs. He also had two singles and scored six runs. In the first 10 games, he had eight hits and five RBIs.
Lucas Runk hit for the cycle, cracking two homers, and driving in six runs, while Mason Longenecker knocked in seven runs with five hits, two of them doubles.
Kasey Hamm also had five hits, Jared Baird had four and Pat Schon, Austin Cunningham, Cole Kreider and Jarron Knisley added three apiece.
Even with all that thunder, Central led only 24-22 before salting away its third ML-AD win in four games with 12 runs, nine unearned, in the sixth inning.
Clearfield (4-4) kept battling from behind in striving to extend a three-game winning streak.
Coach Sid Lansberry’s club, which faced deficits of 7-1, 14-6, 21-16 and 24-19, actually led 16-14 after rallying for 10 runs in the third frame and was very much in the game until the sixth.
Taking no chances that the Bisons might answer their biggest inning, the Scarlet Dragons turned to one of their two aces, Tyler Ferguson, and he ended it with three strikeouts.
Clearfield, now 1-3 in the division, got three hits from Steve Miller, two from Trevor Flanagan and a three-run triple from Christian Lezzer. Miller and Flanagan had doubles.
Brown’s homers were his first varsity circuit blows. Redden leads the Bisons with three and Danver has two.
Clearfield hurlers issued six walks and hit one batter. Kurtis Krise took the loss.
CENTRAL — 36
Pat Schon rf 5433, Austin Cunningham ss-p-ss 7334, Lucas Runk cf-ss-cf 7356, Kasey Hamm c-p-c 6652, Adam Kreider lf 0000, Brandon Nicewonger c 0000, Tyler Ferguson p, Luke Blattenberger 7669, Cole Kreider 3b 6331, Shaffer Johnson ph 1000, Jared Baird 1b 6341, Wes Smith ph 1000, Mason Longenecker p-cf-lf 5457, Nick Long lf 0000, Jarron Knisley 2b 5431. TOTALS: 56 36 37 34.
CLEARFIELD — 22
Jarrett Fulmer 3410, Derek Danver ss-p-2b 3424, Redden c 4226, Tyler Jacobson p-rf-3b 4233, Trevor Flanagan 3b-1b 4120, Kurtis Krise rf-p-lf 0000, Ronny Ogden p 0000, Tanner Ogden 2b-rf 0000, Steve Miller dh 5231, Coleman Kubala 1b 1000, Christian Lezzer rf-p 4113, Drew Brown lf-p-lf 5324, Shane Harper cf 1300, Jordan Lancaster ph 1000. TOTALS: 35 22 16 21.
Score by Innings
Central 07 7 73(12) – 36 37 3
Clearfield 15(10) 33 0 – 22 16 6
Errors – Cunningham, Runk, Hamm; Fulmer 3, Danver, Redden, Flanagan. PB – Hamm 2; Redden 1. LOB – Central 9; Clearfield 6. 2B – Schon 2, Runk, C. Kreider, Longenecker, Knisley; Redden, Flanagan, Miller. 3B – Runk; Lezzer. HR – Runk 2 (2), Blattenberger 4 (5); Danver (2), Redden (3), Brown 2 (2). SF – Jacobson. SB – Schon, Cunningham. CS – Runk, Longenecker (by Redden).
Pitching
Central – Longenecker 2 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 3 K; Cunningham 1 IP, 5 H, 10 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K; Hamm 2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K; Ferguson 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.
Clearfield – Jacobson 1-2/3 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; R. Ogden 2/3 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 0 K; Krise 1-2/3 IP 9 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K; Brown 1/3 IP 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K; Danver 1 IP, 4 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K; Lezzer 2/3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
HB – Cunningham 2 (Fulmer, Flanagan); Krise 1 (Longenecker). WP – Longenecker 2, Cunningham, Hamm; R. Ogden 2, Krise, Danver.
W – Hamm (1-0). L – Krise (0-1).
