CLEARFIELD – Derek Danver and Andrew Redden drove in two runs apiece as the Clearfield Chiefs salvaged their final game of the 2011 Pennsylvania Wood Bat 19-and-Under Division Championships by slipping past Brushtown 4-3 at the Lawrence Township Recreation Park Field Saturday evening.
The American Legion Post 6 team, which had only five singles in 18 previous innings, broke out with a 10-hit attack.
Leading the way were Redden with three safeties, one a double, and Kyle Mann and Steve Miller with a single and a double apiece.
Kurtis Krise was the beneficiary, picking up the ‘W’ for 5-1/3 innings on the mound. He allowed all three runs, but only one was earned.
Wes McGarry recorded the save after getting out of a jam in the sixth on a double play started by Krise in right field.
“It was nice to get a win,” manager Sid Lansberry said after the Chiefs rebounded from a tough 2-1, nine-inning loss to Towanda MR Dirt to finish 1-2-1 for the two-day event. “The whole tournament is a good experience for these kids. It’s four extra games against good competition with many college-level players.
“We didn’t hit well, but I think we played well in all of the games.”
Thanks to a strong outing by Dom Kriner of DuBois, the Chiefs made the veteran MR Dirt team sweat out the second of its three wins in the tourney.
The Dirtbags, featuring several college players from four legion squads in the Bradford-Tioga Counties League, were held to four hits and one run over eight innings by Kriner, who struck out seven and walked two after working two innings Friday.
They tied the game 1-1 in the fourth frame when Graeme Zaparzynski walked, stole second, moved up on a wild pitch and prompted a balk call by prematurely breaking down the third base line.
Clearfield’s tally also was a gift.
With two outs in the second, McGarry drew a four-pitch walk from Zack Ripic, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored when Kyler Kephart’s swinging bunt was thrown away at first base.
That was the lone hit off Ripic, who lasted seven innings in his duel with Kriner, fanning five and walking five.
Two innings of one-hit relief netted Nate Bennett the win as the Dirtbags got an unearned run off Krise in the lower ninth.
Bennett’s single to right center, Evan Perry’s bunt single and an error on Dakota Roof’s grounder loaded the bases.
Ripic ran into his suicide squeeze bunt for an out, but Zaparzynski slapped a hit through the right side to end the entertaining game that Clearfield kept tight with four outstanding defensive plays.
After Kriner hit Zaparzynski leading off the second inning, center fielder Nate Bumbarger ran down Pete Champluvier’s high drive to deep right center and held on to the ball after colliding with right fielder Cole Kephart.
With two down in the third, third baseman Tyler Jacobson dove to flag down Roof’s sharp grounder with Perry racing to steam around third and nailed the Dirtbag center fielder at first on a bang-bang call.
McGarry turned in two dandies near the left field line in the fifth.
First, he corralled D.J. Kelleher’s liner headed toward the corner and fired to Derek Danver, whose relay throw to Mann nailed the Dirtbag catcher for the second out.
Moments later, McGarry sprinted into the corner for a sliding, basket catch that robbed Joey Champluvier of a double.
Clearfield (6-9-1) overcame four misplays against Brushtown (2-5-1) in the nightcap of the tripleheader.
Two miscues resulted in runs that enabled the Bulldogs to wipe out early deficits.
Doubles by Mann and Redden put the Chiefs on top in the first inning, but a throwing error on Josh Noel’s steal of third base gave the visitors the equalizer.
Danver whacked a towering two-run homer to left in the third, but an off-target throw on Corey Smith’s infield hit enabled Austin Noel to chase home two teammates with a single up the middle in the fourth.
Clearfield manufactured the winning run in the fifth as Bumbarger singled to right, Mann sacrificed and Redden bounced a two-out single into left.
The Bulldogs, mostly players from Delone Catholic High School in McSherrytown, near Hanover, threatened to pull it out in the sixth when Krise’s pitch count approached 100.
They were denied by two more Clearfield defensive gems.
Redden gunned down Ayres attempted to steal second after being walked, and that loomed large when Krise issued another free pass to Tyler Kime and gave up his seventh hit, a single to right by Tommy Fisher.
Lansberry made the pitching change, only to see McGarry walk Smith on four low pitches to fill the sacks.
Kime tried to score on Mark Fagnani’s fly to right but was an easy out on a perfect relay from Krise to cutoff man Coleman Kubala to Redden.
Brushtown had the tying run at second in the seventh when Tanner Orndorff’s infield single was thrown away at first.
McGarry put the potential winning run on base with his second walk before slamming the door on the pesky Bulldogs with his second strikeout.
MR Dirt (4-3-1) beat Brushtown 9-2 in the middle game for a 3-1 record that the Dirtbags hoped put them in contention for the tourney semifinals Sunday morning at Bellefonte. The title game is booked for 3 p.m. at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on the Penn State campus.
With last Monday’s postponement by Punxsuawney now declared a forfeit, Clearfield will take a 5-3 Jefferson County League record into Sunday’s crucial 6 p.m. game at Rich Kuntz Memorial Field in Punxsy.
GAME ONE
CLEARFIELD — 1
Kyle Mann 2b 3000, Derek Danver ss 1000, Jonas Kochan c 0000, Andrew Redden dh-c 4000, Dom Kriner p-rf 3000, Tyler Jacobson 3b 2000, Wes McGarry lf 2100, Kyler Kephart 1b 2010, Kurtis Krise rf-p 1000, Cole Kephart rf 1000, Coleman Kubala 1b 2000, Steve Miller eh 3000, Nate Bumbarger cf 2010. TOTALS: 26 1 2 0.
TOWANDA MR DIRT — 2
Nate Bennett ss-p 4110, Evan Perry 2b 4030, Dakota Roof cf 4000, Zack Ripic p-ss 4010, Graeme Zaparzynski 1b 2111, Pete Champluvier eh 3000, Christian Carr 3b 3000, Kurtis Mallow lf 2000, D.J. Kelleher c 3010, Joey Champluvier rf 3000. TOTALS: 32 2 7 1.
Score by Innings
Clearfield 010 000 000 – 1 2 1
MR Dirt 000 100 001 – 2 7 2
Errors – Mann; Bennett, Carr. PB – Kochan 1. DP – MR Dirt 2 (Bennett, Perry and Zaparzynski 2). LOB – Clearfield 5; MR Dirt 8. Sac – Mann. SB – Perry, Ripic, Zaparzynski. CS – Mann (by Kelleher).
Pitching
Clearfield – Kriner 8 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K; Krise 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
MR Dirt – Ripic 7 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 5 K; Bennett 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
HB – Kriner 1 (Zaparzynski). WP – Kriner 2; Ripic 1.
W – Bennett. L – Krise (0-1).
Umpires – Mark Zimmerman (plate) and Jim McKee (bases).
* * * * *
GAME TWO
CLEARFIELD — 4
Mann rf-2b 3220, Danver ss 3112, Redden c 3032, K. Kephart 1b-rf-cf 3000, McGarry lf-p 2000, Jacobson 3b 3000, Krise p-rf 0000, Miller dh 3020, C. Kephart 2b 2000, Kubala 1b 1000, Kochan eh 3010, Bumbarger cf 2110, Ronny Ogden lf 1000. TOTALS: 29 4 10 4.
BRUSHTOWN — 3
Josh Noel p 3110, Austin Buckley cf 3000, Cooper Ayres ss 2000, Tyler Kime 3b 2000, Tommy Fisher 1b 2110, Corey Smith eh 2120, Mark Fagnani c 3000, Austin Noel rf 3012, Jack Neitz lf 3000, Tanner Orndorff 2b 3020. TOTALS: 26 3 7 2.
Score by Innings
Clearfield 102 010 0 – 4 10 4
Brushtown 100 200 0 – 3 7 0
Errors – Danver 2, Redden, Krise. DP – Clearfield 1 (Krise, Kubala and Redden). LOB – Clearfield 6; Brushtown 8. 2B – Mann, Redden, Miller. HR – Danver (2). Sac – Mann; Buckley. SB – J. Noel 2, A. Noel. CS – Ayres (by Redden); Redden (by Fagnani).
Pitching
Clearfield – Krise 5-1/3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K; McGarry 1-2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
Brushtown – J. Noel 7 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB; 7 K.
WP – J. Noel 1.
W – Krise (1-1). L – A. Noel.
Umpires – J.R. Rosselli (plate) and Jay Siegel (bases).