LEBANON — Thomas Summers and Devin Jones combined for a five-hitter against Schuylkill South and Josh Kennedy drove in four runs, three with a long homer, in a 6-2 win at Coleman Memorial Park Saturday morning that kept Wise Eyes Opticals of Clearfield alive in the Pennsylvania VFW Teener State 15-16 Tournament.
However, the Area VI champions couldn’t maintain that momentum in a late night game after sitting around for an extra four-plus hours because of storms that hit Central Pennsylvania and were ousted, 7-1, by host Lebanon City/County in an elimination bracket quarterfinal that ended after midnight at Fifth Ward Athletic Field.
The long day started with the 10 a.m. survival game, and the Wise Eyes Optical bats didn’t come to life until after being silenced for four innings by Schuylkill South’s Danny Blugis.
Clearfield chased him with four hits in the fifth, the big blow the home run to deep left by Kennedy that wiped out a 2-0 deficit. Zach Timchak reached on an error and Cole Kephart beat out a bunt prior to Kennedy’s blast.
Then, Janocko doubled and Collins singled up the middle for an insurance run.
Aided by two passed balls that advanced runners to third base, Clearfield tacked on two more runs off reliever Mike Ulsh in the sixth. Timchak, who led off with a single and moved up on Kephart’s sacrifice bunt, scored on a single by Westen, who later crossed the plate on Kennedy’s sac fly.
Summers notched the win with a five-inning stint. He struck out five and surrendered four hits and five walks. Both Schuylkill South runs off him were unearned.
Jones whiffed three and held the Area II runners-up to one hit over the last two frames to log the save.
Janocko and Summers each had two of Clearfield’s 10 safeties
Jones got the start against Lebanon City/County for coach Sid Lansberry’s team but was unable to work out of the first inning.
Five hits, including a two-run double by Hunter Torres, a hit batsman and an error produced four runs before Janocko came on to put out the fire.
Janocko struck out nine and walked two in 6-2/3 innings, holding Lebanon City/County to five hits and three runs, only one of which was earned.
Wise Eyes Opticals couldn’t come through with a clutch hit, though, and stranded 11 runners, eight of them in scoring position.
Clearfield had winner Izzy Matias on the ropes several times, but he was able to go the distance after escaping bases-loaded jams in the first and fourth innings and watching his infielders turned double plays in the second and third frames.
Matias, who fanned five, issued five walks and gave up eight hits.
Clearfield averted a shutout on Kennedy’s bases-loaded single in the fourth inning.
Noah Cline singled twice for Wise Eyes Opticals, which was 1-2 in the state tourney and finished the season 18-7-1.
Lansberry expressed thanks to the team’s sponsor as well as assistant coach Ed Yeager and scorekeeper Sam Timchak.
Lebanon City/County defeated Schuylkill East 9-5 Sunday afternoon in the elimination bracket semifinal and will play Altoona Monday morning for the right to challenge unbeaten Bald Eagle in the afternoon championship round. That will be a rematch of their winner’s bracket semifinal won 4-3 by Altoona.
Area V kingpin Bald Eagle, which edged Clearfield 6-4 Friday, downed Suburban American 5-1 Saturday and Altoona 13-3 in the winner’s bracket final Sunday.
ELIMINATION BRACKET QUARTERFINAL
LEBANON CITY/COUNTY — 7
Nick Gonzalez ss 3-1-1-0, Izzy Matias p 4-3-3-0, Caleb Albright c 4-1-2-1, Donovan Ott 3b 2-1-0-0, Hunter Torres 1b 3-1-1-2, Dylan Cramer ph-1b 0-0-0-0, Dylan Blauch lf 3-0-1-1, Cameron Martin cf 4-0-2-0, Louis Martinez eh 4-0-0-0, Seth Hartman 2b 2-0-0-0, Nick Cantrell ph-2b 1-0-0-0, Brycen Loeper 3b 2-0-0-0. TOTALS: 34-7-10-4.
CLEARFIELD — 1
Coke Kephart ss 2-0-1-0, Wyatt Westen 3-0-1-0, Josh Kennedy 3b 4-0-1-1, Jon Janocko 1b-p 4-0-1-0, Kaleb Taylor pr 0-0-0-0, Curtis Collins lf 3-0-1-0, Spencer Herrington 2b 4-0-0-0, Devin Jones p 0-0-0-0, Thomas Summers 1b 0-0-0-0, Noah Cline dh 3-1-2-0, Zach Timchak rf 3-0-0-0, Jonas Kochan c 1-0-1-0, Josh Sorbera c 1-0-0-0. TOTALS: 28-1-8-1.
Score by Innings
Lebanon City/County 410 100 1 – 7 10 1
Clearfield 000 100 0 – 1 8 5
E – Blanch, Kephart, Jones, Summers, Kochan 2. PB – Sorbera. DP – Lebanon City/County 2 (Gonzalez, Hartman and Torres; Hartman and Torres). LOB – Lebanon City/County 10; Clearfield 11. 2B – Matias, Albright, Torres. SB – Matias, Albright, Blauch, Martin, Loeper; Taylor.
Pitching
Lebanon City/County – Matias 7 IP, 11 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 5 K.
Clearfield -Jones 1/3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, o BB, 0 K; Janocko 6-2/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K.
HB – Jones 1 (Blauch), Janocko 1 (Loeper). WP – Janocko 2.
W – Matias. L – Jones.
* * * * *
ELIMINATION BRACKET FIRST ROUND
SCHUYLKILL SOUTH — 2
Jared Zook 2b 4-0-1-0, Alec Bailey c 4-0-1-0, Tyler Hunyera 1b 2-0-1-0, Jack Barton 3b 2-0-0-0, Vinnie Fanelli cf 3-0-0-0, Luciano Valenti lf 2-1-0-0, Gene Werley rf 2-1-0-0, Luke Harding eh 3-0-1-0, Danny Blugis p 2-0-0-0, Devin Smerlick ss 1-0-0-0, Mike Ulsh ss-p 3-0-1-0. TOTAL: 28-2-5-0.
CLEARFIELD — 6
Kephart ss 3-1-1-0, Westen cf 2-1-1-1, Kennedy 3b 3-1-1-4, Janocko 1b 3-1-2-0, Collins lf 4-0-1-1-, Summers p 3-0-2-0, Jones p 0-0-0-0, Herrington 2b 3-0-1-0, Sorbera c 0-0-0-0, Kochan c 0-0-0-0, Cline dh 3-0-0-0, Timchak rf 2-2-1-0. TOTALS: 26-6-10-6.
Score by Innings
Schuylkill South 000 200 0 – 2 5 2
Clearfield 000 042 x – 6 10 4
Errors – Zook, Hunyera; Summers 2, Herrington, Sorbera. PB – Bailey 2. LOB – Schuylkill South 9, Clearfield 8. 2B – Janocko. HR – Kennedy. Sac – Kephart, Westen. SF – Kennedy. SB – Hunyera; Westen.
Pitching
Schuylkill South – Blugis 4-1/3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; Ulsh 1-2/3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
Clearfield – Summers 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 4 K; Jones 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.
HB – Blugis 1 (Timchak). WP – Summers 1.
W – Summers. L – Blugis. Save – Jones.