HYDE — Veteran coach Sid Lansberry believed his 42nd Clearfield Area High School baseball team was showing signs of improvement in recent games, especially in a 2-1 win over Bellefonte Monday.
He had to admit the Bison took a step backward in a 10-3 loss to Tyrone at the Bison Sports Complex Friday.
Six errors and 11 pop-ups prevented the Bison from sticking with a team they had taken down to the wire in a 5-4 loss nearly a month ago.
“My word for tonight is disappointing,” Lansberry said. “I was expecting much better things.
“There was no lack of effort. They play hard but just didn’t play well. You’re gonna get beat when you play like that.”
Prior to the first pitch, a moment of silence was observed in memory of Jim “Jimmer” McKee, a longtime and highly respected PIAA baseball and softball umpire and wrestling referee who died suddenly at his home in DuBois on Sunday. McKee had been booked to work the Mountain League game.
Clearfield (3-10, 3-7 ML) broke on top 2-0 in the third inning.
After No. 9 batter Jonas Kochan punched a single to right center and Spencer Herrington lined a single to left, Tyrone botched Curtis Collins’ sacrifice bunt for a bases-loaded, no-out situation.
Thomas Summers and Cole Kephart drove in the runs with a sacrifice fly and an infield single, respectively.
“We gave it right back to them with three errors in the fourth inning,” Lansberry lamented. “How many times have we been ahead early and we lose the lead?”
The majority of the Bison losses would be the correct answer.
“We get a little momentum and then we lose it,” Lansberry noted.
Tyrone hurler Matt Hample made sure Clearfield never dented the scoreboard again until it was too late. He departed with two outs in the seventh inning after Summers walked and Jon Janocko singled through the right side.
Jordan Miller relieved and, after walking Cole Kephart, uncorked a wild pitch for the final Bison tally.
Clearfield did manage eight hits off Hample, who walked three and struck out three, but stranded seven runners through five innings and nine overall.
“Hample did a nice job,” Lansberry said. “We knew he was a decent kid.
“But you gotta make an adjustment on your swing on a (windy) day like this. You’re not gonna hit the ball out of the park. We just never did.
“It’s a young team. Hopefully, we can keep working, keep improving.”
Despite allowing just one hit through four innings of his first start after seven relief appearances, Bison junior right-hander Devin Jones went to the hill in the fifth in a 2-2 deadlock because of the trio of Clearfield errors in the previous frame.
The Golden Eagles quickly took the lead on a single to short right by Ryan Fink, a walk and a single to short center by Miller.
They caught a break when the umpires ruled third baseman Kephart missed on his attempt at a swiping tag on Dorminy after fielding Jake Belinda’s grounder. Then, Hample looped a single down the right field line for two runs to chase Jones.
“That dunker really killed us, and you can’t do anything about that,” Lansberry said.
After Wyatt Westen came on in relief, back-to-back suicide squeeze bunts by Tristan Lingafelt and Brad Wiltner made it 7-2.
Jones was charged with all of those runs, but only four were earned. He gave up only four hits, fanned two and walked two.
“I’m not disappointed in him,” Lansberry said. “I thought he did a pretty good job. He deserved a better fate.”
The Golden Eagles executed a third suicide squeeze in the sixth and got run-scoring hits from Lingafelt and Nathaniel Soellner in the seventh.
Collins and Summers had two hits apiece for the Bison, who will host Brookville in a non-league game Monday.
Clearfield’s junior varsity was victorious, 16-1, in three innings. Winning pitcher Nate Brady had two hits and drove in one run while Jonathan Trimpey had a pair of RBIs.
TYRONE — 10
Jake Dorminy rf 2111, Jordan Miller cf-p 4111, Jake Belinda 1b 4200, Matt Hample p-cf 4322, Tristan Lingafelt ss 3112, Brad Wiltner c 3001, Nathaniel Soellner 2b 3012, Seth Welch 3b 3100, Kaden Hunter lf 1100, Ryan Fink dh 2010. TOTALS: 29 10 7 9.
CLEARFIELD — 3
Spencer Herrington 2b 3110, Curtis Collins lf 3020, Devin Jones p 0000, Zach Timchak rf 0000, Thomas Summers dh 2121, Jon Janocko 1b 4010, Cole Kephart 3b-ss 2011, Josh Kennedy rf 2000, Erik Sellers 3b 2000, Wyatt Westen ss-p 3000, Sawyer Rowles cf 2000, Kaleb Taylor ph 1000, Jonas Kochan c 2110, Josh Sorbera ph-c 1000. TOTALS: 27 3 8 2.
Score by Innings
Tyrone 000 251 2 – 10 7 1
Clearfield 002 000 1 – 3 8 6
E – Soellner; Herrington, Janocko, Kephart, Kennedy, Westen 2. LOB – Tyrone 4; Clearfield 9. 2B – Collins. Sac – Dorminy, Lingafelt, Wiltner; Collins. SF – Summers. SB – Belinda, Hample, Lingafelt 2, Welch, Hunter.
Pitching
Tyrone – Hample 6-2/3 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K; Miller 1/3 IP, 0 H,0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.
Clearfield – Jones 4+ IP (faced 5 batters in 5th), 4 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; Westen 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
WP – Miller 1; Jones 1, Westen 1.
W – Hample. L – Jones (0-2).
Umpires – Dave Neal (plate) and Joe Shick (bases).
Bison Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 3/25 | @ Central | ppd. | 0 – 0 |
| 3/28 | @ Huntingdon | ppd. | 0 – 0 |
| 3/30 | @ Huntingdon | 18 – 7 | 1 – 0 |
| 4/01 | @ Central | ppd. | 1 – 0 |
| 4/03 | @ Bald Eagle Area | ppd. | 1 – 0 |
| 4/04 | @ Bald Eagle Aea | 3 – 8 | 1 – 1 |
| 4/05 | @ Bellefonte | 6 – 15 | 1 – 2 |
| 4/08 | @ Tyrone | 4 – 5 | 1 – 3 |
| 4/10 | @ Punxsutawney | 3 – 8 | 1 – 4 |
| 4/11 | PENNS VALLEY | ppd. | 1 – 4 |
| 4/12 | @ Central | ppd. | 1 – 4 |
| 4/15 | DUBOIS | 5 – 6 | 1 – 5 |
| 4/16 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | 8 – 15 | 1 – 6 |
| 4/19 | CENTRAL | ppd. | 1 – 6 |
| 4/22 | HUNTINGDON | 15 – 5 | 2 – 6 |
| 4/25 | BALD EAGLE AREA | 4 – 5 | 2 – 7 |
| 4/26 | @ Central | 9 – 11 | 2 – 8 |
| 4/29 | @ Central Mountain | 0 – 10 | 2 – 9 |
| 4/30 | BELLEFONTE | 2 – 1 | 3 – 9 |
| 5/03 | TYRONE | 3 – 10 | 3 – 10 |
| 5/06 | BROOKVILLE | ||
| 5/07 | @ Penns Valley | ||
| 5/08 | CENTRAL | ||
| 5/10 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | ||
| 5/13 | @ Bradford | ||
| 5/14 | PENNS VALLEY | ||
| 5/17 | PUNXSUTAWNEY |