Collins, Janocko Combine for Nine RBIs as Bison End Slide

HYDE — Finally.

Led by a trio of junior lettermen, the Clearfield Area High School baseball team was able to ditch a six-game losing streak which was especially discouraging because the Bison owned leads in all of them.

Curtis Collins chased home five runs and Jon Janocko knocked in four more to back a gutsy pitching effort by Wyatt Westen as the Bison repeated their season-opening win over Huntingdon, 15-5, in five innings at the Bison Sports Complex Monday.

In five of their setbacks, coach Sid Lansberry’s Bison were on top early, 3-0 against Bald Eagle Area and Punxsutawney in the second inning, 3-2 against Tyrone in the third and 5-2 against DuBois and Philipsburg-Osceola after two.

Opponents immediately erased Clearfield’s lead in each instance.

The Bearcats appeared on the verge of continuing that trend after the teams traded five-run outbursts in the second frame that left the Bison ahead 6-5 in the Mountain League game.

Back-to-back ground singles by Nate Gearhart and Josh Foster and a one-out walk to John Wagner filled the sacks.

However, Westen speared Rhett Stetchock’s wicked liner and then picked off Wagner to escape the jam.

The right-hander, who had worked out of a two-on, no-out situation in the first inning, also stranded Bearcats at third base in the final two innings with his fifth and sixth strikeouts.

He emerged victorious despite surrendering 12 hits, including six in a row when the Bearcats produced all of their runs.

“Wyatt was a workhorse,” Lansberry said. “To live through that second inning, down, 5-1, he kept throwing and never lost his composure. That’s what you need from a veteran pitcher.

“He didn’t have great stuff, but he hung in there and made some good pitches when he had to.”

Meanwhile, the Bison kept providing him with extra insurance.

Two walks and infield hits by Westen and Spencer Herrington made it 7-5 after three, and Collins’ two-out, two-run single through the left side capped a four-run fourth that saw two runs cross the plate when Erik Sellers’ grounder was mishandled.

Collins socked a bases-loaded double into left-center for two more RBIs in the fifth, when Josh Kennedy and Spencer Herrington scored on wild pitches to invoke the Mercy Rule.

“Big game out of Collins,” Lansberry said. “Two real clutch hits there. That’s great.” 

Collins’ other RBI came on a bases-loaded walk in the second inning, just moments before Janocko came through with a key extra base blow for the third game in a row. His two-out double to the fence in left cleared the bases and put the Bison in front 6-5.

“That was a real big hit.” Lansberry said. “He’s on a hot streak.”

Janocko, who ripped a liner to left for a sacrifice fly in the first inning, has belted six hits, including two home runs and three doubles, and driven in 12 runs in the last three games.

Westen aided his own cause with two hits for the Bison, who benefited from nine walks and five hit batsmen.

For Huntingdon (4-4, 2-3 ML), Wagner’s two-run single and Stetchock’s two-run triple had Westen on the ropes in the second inning. They were two of five Bearcats with multiple hits.

Five of Huntingdon’s hits never left the infield.

“Three were routine ground balls that they beat out,” Lansberry noted. “They’ve got speed.”

The Bison got much more production out of their eight hits, though, for a 2-4 league record.

“This is a win we really needed,” Lansberry said. “The kids deserved this. They’ve worked hard.”

The Clearfield junior varsity upped its record to 3-4 with a victory.

Jonathan Trimpey and Brandon Orsich drove in three runs apiece. Dan Collins was the winning pitcher.

The Bison will be home again Thursday when Bald Eagle Area visits the BSC.

HUNTINGDON — 5

John Wagner 2b-lf-2b 3122, Rhett Stetchock rf-p-rf 4122, Tanner Cook cf 3021, Hunter Price p-ss 2000, Bryant Weller 1b 3000, Ridge Bookwalter lf-rf 0000, Adam Everhart dh-p 2110, Lucas Speck ph-rf-lf 1000, Josh Foster ss-2b-p 3120, Devon Claar c 2010.  TOTALS: 26  5  12  5.

CLEARFIELD — 15

Spencer Herrington 2b 2311, Curtis Collins lf 4125, Cole Kephart ss 3010, Jon Janocko 2114, Thomas Summers rf-lf 3110, Erik Sellers 3b 2201, Jonas Kochan c 0000, Josh Kennedy dh 1300, Wyatt Westen p 4220, Sawyer Rowles cf 2000, Zach Timchak ph-rf 1200.  TOTALS: 24  15  8  11.

Score by Innings

Huntingdon    050 00 –  5  12  5
Clearfield        151 44 – 15   8  1
Errors – Price 4, Foster; Sellers. LOB – Huntingdon 9; Clearfield 10. 2B – Collins, Janocko. 3B – Stetchock. Sac – Claar. SF – Janocko. SB – Wagner, Stetchock, Cook 3, Price; Kephart.

Pitching

Huntingdon – Price 1-1/3 IP, 2 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 5 BB, 2 K; Everhart 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K; Stetchock 1-2/3 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K; Foster 1 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
Clearfield –
HB – Everhart 2 (Summers, Kennedy), Stetchock 1 (Timchak), Foster 2 (Kephart, Kennedy). WP – Everhart 2, Foster 2. PO – Westen 1 (Wagner).
W – Westen (1-1). L – Price.
Umpires – Lynn Gilham (plate) and Kenny Knepp (bases).

Bison Scoreboard: