PUNXSUTAWNEY – Punxsutawney took advantage of the generosity of two Clearfield Area High School pitchers to hand the Bisons a 13-8 defeat at Rich Kuntz Memorial Field Thursday afternoon.
The Chucks received 10 walks and had one batter hit by a pitch.
Eight of those runners scored in the non-league game between District 9 Class AAA rivals that originally was a home game for Clearfield but had to be switched because of the soggy outfield at the Bison Sports Complex.
The Bisons never led, though getting close twice, 5-4 on Derek Danver’s grand slam home run in the second inning and 8-6 on Andrew Redden’s run-scoring double and Tyler Jacobson’s sacrifice fly in the fourth.
Drew Brown singled across Clearfield’s final two runs in the seventh.
Punxsy (6-4) roughed up starter and loser Ronny Ogden for four hits and five runs in the first, the big blow a bases-loaded homer by Taylor Neal.
Then, the Chucks increased their lead in every inning except the fifth, and all but one of the eight runs were scored by runners who got free tickets to first base.
Tyler Zimmerman drove in four runs with a single and two double while Jordan Mesoraco and Tyler Skerkavich had two hits apiece.
One of Mesoraco’s was a two-run double in the sixth off Kyler Kephart, who last pitched in 2010 and came on to get the final two outs in his first week of action after missing most of the season because of an emergency appendectomy.
Brown worked 4-1/3 innings in relief of Ogden and just couldn’t find the plate, six of his eight walks converted into runs by the Chucks.
Danver, Jacobson and Brown each had two hits for the Bisons.
Danver is working on a 10-game hitting streak and Trevor Flanagan singled to extend his hitting streak to eight.
Redden has hit in nine of the last 10 games and Jacobson has hit in eight of the last nine.
Clearfield (5-7) will go on the road again Friday to play Juniata at Mifflintown before returning to the Bison Sports Complex Saturday for a 2 p.m. Mountain League Allegheny Division make-up with Philipsburg-Osceola.
CLEARFIELD — 8
Jarrett Fulmer 2b 2200, Derek Danver ss 3224, Andrew Redden c 4111, Tyler Jacobson 3b 3021, Ronny Ogden p 0000, Tanner Ogden lf 0000, Kyler Kephart p 0000, Trevor Flanagan dh 4010, Christian Lezzer rf 4100, Coleman Kubala 1b 2000, Drew Brown lf-p-lf 4122, Shane Harper cf 3100, Steve Millerr ph 1000. TOTALS: 30 8 8 8.
PUNXSUTAWNEY — 13
Zak Dickey ss 2410, Tyler Zimmerman 2b 4134, Jordan Mesoraco c 4022, Tyler Skerkavich 1b 4121, Dane Baker p 0000, Jamie Bush p 0000, Joe Pisano dh 2211, Luke Janocha lf 2100, Mickey DeChurch lf 2000, Taylor Neal 3b 3114, Brodi Lowmaster rf 2111, Garrett Zimmerman rf 1000, Devon Neal cf 2200. TOTALS: 28 13 11 13.
Score by Innings
Clearfield 040 200 2 – 8 8 1
Punxsutawney 521 302 x – 13 11 3
Errors – Kubala; Dickey, T. Neal 2. PB – Redden 1. DP – Punxsutawney 1 (Dickey, T. Zimmerman and Skerkavich). LOB – Clearfield 7; Punxsutawney 9. 2B – Redden; Dickey, T. Zimmerman. HR – Danver (2). SB – Dickey 2, T. Zimmerman, Skerkavich.
Pitching
Clearfield – Ogden 1+ IP (faced 1 batter in 2nd), 3 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K; Brown 4-1/2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 8 BB, 0 K; Kephart 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
Punxsutawney – Baker 4 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K; Bush 3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.
HB – Ogden 1 (Dickey); Baker 1 (Kubala).
W – Baker (1-1). L – Ogden (0-1). Save – Bush (1).
