BELLEFONTE – The Clearfield American Legion baseball team remained alive in the Central Penn League Playoffs by riding two big innings to a 15-11 win over Bellefonte at Governors Park Saturday afternoon.
Though outhit 19-15, the Chiefs bunched theirs in the three frames they posted crooked numbers, including six in a seven-run outburst in the first and five in a six-run salvo in the sixth, and weathered a late rally by the Bandits to prevail in the elimination bracket semifinal.
Clearfield (13-10) will play State College, which ousted Philipsburg 5-3, at the Shaner Complex near Boalsburg Sunday at 2 p.m. and the winner now is guaranteed a berth in the Region 7 Tournament.
That’s because West Division champion DuBois forfeited the winner’s bracket final to Beech Creek and was declared out of the double-elimination tourney by league officials, leaving the East Division champion Crickets as the other finalist.
Beech Creek will host the Clearfield-State College survivor Monday at 6 p.m. If another game is necessary, it will be played Tuesday evening.
Kyler Kephart triggered and ended Clearfield’s 7-0 start with two of his four singles. His RBI single was matched by Ronny Ogden, Coleman Kubala and Curtis Collins. Three runs scored on Bellefonte errors.
Two more runs crossed the plate in the fourth on Jon Janocko’s single and Ogden’s groundout, making it 9-1.
Kubala’s two-run double highlighted the sixth-inning rally that put the had the Chiefs on the brink of a Mercy Rule victory with a 15-3 bulge. Ogden, Collins and Kephart contributed run-scoring singles.
However, the Bandits answered with eight runs in the lower sixth, six off starter Ogden and two off reliever Wyatt Westen before Danver finally got the last two outs.
Danver pitched a scoreless seventh, but Bellefonte did have the tying run on deck after getting two more hits.
Ogden, coming back on just two days’ rest after working six innings at Beech Creek Wednesday, kept the Bandits in check through five innings before tiring and, with one out, issuing two of his four walks and giving up four consecutive hits.
All six runners scored, as did the two who recorded hits off Westen.
Danver, Ogden, Kubala and Collins had two safeties apiece for the Chiefs, who matched their season-high for hits.
Bellefonte’s big guns were Dylan Moerschbacher with four singles, Seth Weaver with a solo home run, a double and a single and Clint Hicks with a double and two singles.
Weaver and Taylor Smith, who had a double and a single, each had three RBIs.
CLEARFIELD — 15
Kyler Kephart rf-cf-2b 5-2-4-2, Derek Danver ss-p 5-2-2-0, Andrew Redden c 3-2-1-0, Jon Janocko 1b 3-2-1-2, Thomas Summers 1b 1-0-0-0, Ronny Ogden p-rf 4-2-2-3, Cole Kephart 2b-ss 4-0-1-0, Coleman Kubala 3b 4-2-2-3, Wyatt Westen cf-p-cf 4-2-0-1, Curtis Collins lf 4-1-2-2. TOTALS: 37 15 15 13.
BELLEFONTE — 11
Brandon Quay sso-p 4-1-2-0, Seth Weaver lf 4-2-3-3, Clint Hicks p-ss 4-2-3-1, Dylan Moerschbacher rf 5-2-4-1, Taylor Smith 2b 5-1-2-3, Kevin Tate c 5-1-2-1, Branton Quay 3b 4-1-2-1, Zach Williams 1b 4-0-1-1, Brandon Shuey cf 2-1-0-0. TOTALS: 37-11-19-11.
Score by Innings
Clearfield 700 206 0 – 15 15 2
Bellefonte 100 028 0 – 11 19 6
Errors – K. Kephart, Kubala; Brandon Quay, Smith 3, Moerschbacher, Branton Quay. DP – Clearfield 2 (Danver, C. Kephart and Janocko 2). LOB – Clearfield 7; Bellefonte 10. 2B – Redden, Kubala; Brandon Quay, Weaver, Hicks, Smith, Branton Quay. HR – Weaver. SF – Ogden. SB – Redden. CS – Brandon Quay (by Redden).
Pitching
Clearfield – Ogden 5-1/3 IP, 13 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 4 BB, 2 K; Westen 0+ IP (faced 2 batters in 6th), 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K; Danver 1-2/3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
Bellefonte – Hicks 5-2/3 IP, 14 H, 15 R, 10 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; Brandon Quay 1-1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.
HB – Ogden 1 (Hicks); Hicks 1 (C. Kephart).
W – Ogden (5-3). L – Hicks.