PHILIPSBURG – A 5-3 victory over the Corning, N.Y., Grays Saturday morning put the Clearfield American Legion Post 6 baseball team in contention for a berth in the 2012 Pennsylvania Wood Bat Championship Tournament semi-finals, but the Keystone Nationals dashed the Chiefs’ hopes, 10-2, in the next game at the Don Womer Complex.
The split gave Clearfield a 2-2 showing for the two-day tourney and a 7-6 record overall.
Both games were halted after six innings, the opener due to the time limit and the nightcap because of the Mercy Rule.
A quality effort by pick-up pitcher Parker Emigh, who was 5-2 as a junior starter for West Branch Area High School in the spring, keyed Clearfield’s win over the Corning Grays.
Aided by a double play in the first inning and catcher Andrew Redden throwing out a runner in the second frame, Emigh kept the Grays off the board while the Chiefs were building a 5-0 lead.
Kyler Kephart singled and scored on a passed ball in the first inning and Derek Danver walked, stole second and scored on Tanner Ogden’s groundout in the third.
Kephart’s second single triggered a three-run rally in the fifth. Redden and Ronny Ogden came through with two-out RBI singles. The other run was the result of a passed ball and an error.
The Grays broke up Emigh’s shutout in the fifth and threatened to overtake the Chiefs in the sixth with four of their nine hits around a miscue producing two runs filling the bases.
Manager Sid Lansberry called on Ronny Ogden in the two-out situation, and the right-hander saved the win for Emigh by inducing a game-ending pop-up.
Ogden wasn’t as fortunate against the Keystone Nationals, who got to him for nine hits and six runs, five earned, in 3-1/3 innings.
A trio of misplays enabled the Harrisburg-area team to add four runs off Thomas Summers and Danver in the fifth inning.
Parker Beatty, 3-2 with a save for Mechanicsburg High School in the spring, limited the Chiefs to five hits, including a triple by Tanner Ogden and doubles by Kephart and Danver.
The southpaw posted 10 strikeouts with no walks.
Kephart drove in Clearfield’s first run with his two-bagger and scored on Redden’s groundout later in the third inning.
The Chiefs return to Central Penn League West Division play this week with four games in five days.
They will travel to Altoona Tuesday and Hollidaysburg Wednesday for the completion of a suspended game in which they’ll take a 6-1 lead into the third inning and then host Hollidaysburg Thursday and State College Saturday.
GAME 1
CLEARFIELD LEGION — 5
Kyler Kephart 1b 3-2-2-0, Derek Danver ss 2-1-0-0, Andrew Redden c 3-1-1-1, Tanner Ogden cf 2-1-0-1, Ronny Ogden rf-p 3-0-1-1, Jon Janocko 3b 3-0-0-0, Cole Kephart 2b 3-0-1-0, Wyatt Westen dh 2-0-0-0, Josh Kennedy ph 1-0-0-0, Zach Timchak rf 0-0-0-0, Curtis Collins lf 1-0-0-0, Derek Hryn ph 1-0-0-0. TOTALS: 24-5-5-3.
CORNING, N.Y., GRAYS — 3
Mitch Allen ss-p 4-0-1-1, Sean Locker rf 2-0-1-0, Jordan Wheaton 3b 1-0-1-0, Connor LeBarron ph-3b 1-0-0-0, Josh Grant dh-lf 3-1-1-0, Zack LeBarron 1b 3-0-0-1, Nate Sollenberger cf 2-1-2-0, Taias Mahon ph 1-1-1-0, Ryan Eckel lf-ss-c 3-1-1-0, Jeffery Christan 2b 3-0-1-0, Pelham McClennan c 2-0-0-0, Chris Bernard ss 1-0-1-1.
Score by Innings
Clearfield Legion 101 030 – 5 5 1
Corning Grays 000 012 – 3 9 2
Errors – Emigh; Z. LeBarron, Christan. PB – McClennan 2. DP – Clearfield Legion 1 (Danver, C. Kephart and K. Kephart); Corning Grays 1 (Eckel and McClennan); LOB – Clearfield 4; Corning Grays 7. 3B – Grant, Mahon. SB – Danver, T. Ogden. CS – Shollenberger (by Redden).
Pitching
Clearfield Legion – Parker Emigh 5-2/3 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K; R. Ogden 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
Corning Grays – Quint Baird 4-2/3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K; Allen 1-1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
WP – Emigh 1; Baird 1.
W – Emigh (1-0). L – Baird. Save – R. Ogden (1).
* * * * *
GAME 2
KEYSTONE NATIONALS — 10
Matt Sheckerd rf 4-2-4-1, Wyatt Hoover lf 4-0-2-1, Tom Naparella cf 4-0-1-1, Dustin Daibl 2b 2-0-0-1, Ken Johnston eh 4-1-2-0, Parker Beatty lf 3-1-0-0, Mitch Hostetter ss 3-1-1-0, Chuck Johnston c 3-1-1-0, Jim Roherer 3b 4-2-2-2, Tim Stammel 1b 3-2-0-2. TOTALS: 34-10-13-8.
CLEARFIELD LEGION — 2
K. Kephart 1b-ss 3-1-1-1, Danver ss 3-0-1-0, Redden c-lf 3-0-1-1, T. Ogden cf 2-0-0-0, Hryn ph 1-0-0-0, R. Ogden p-rf 2-0-0-0, Matt Josephson ph 1-0-0-0, Janocko 3b 2-0-0-0, Kennedy ph 1-0-0-0, C. Kephart 2b 2-0-0-0, Jones 2b 0-0-0-0, Westen rf-lf 1-1-0-0, Josh Sorbera ph 1-0-0-0, Collins lf 1-0-1-0, Summers p-1b 1-0-1-0, Timchak pr-1b 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 24-2-5-2.
Score by Innings
Keystone Nationals 040 240 – 10 13 1
Clearfield Legion 002 000 – 2 5 4
Errors – Johnson; T. Ogden, Janocko 3. DP – Clearfield 1 (C. Kephart, Danver and K. Kephart). LOB – Keystone Nationals 11; Clearfield 4. 2B – K. Kephart, Danver; Sheckerd 2, Hoover 2, Johnston. 3B – Redden. SB – Hostetter, Roherer 2.
Pitching
Keystone Nationals – Parker Beatty 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K.
Clearfield Legion – R. Ogden 3-1/3 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 1 K; Summers 1-1/3 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K; Danver 1-1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
HB – R. Ogden 2 (Daibl 2).
W – Beatty. L – R. Ogden (2-1).