CLEARFIELD — The Clearfield Chiefs went into the final night of the Central Penn American Legion League with the understanding they would need to salvage at least one win against the Philipsburg Phils to make the championship playoffs.
They absorbed two shutouts, 4-0 in the completion of Wednesday’s meeting suspended in the fifth inning because of lightning and rain at Philipsburg and 9-0 in the make-up game booked for the Lawrence Township Recreation Park Thursday evening.
But the Post 6 Chiefs are going to be playing this weekend after all.
That’s because coach Sid Lansberry received a phone call late in the nightcap informing him that Bellefonte (3-12), the team Clearfield was striving to overtake for the eighth and final berth in the double-elimination tournament, opted not to enter the playoffs.
So, the Chiefs (3-14) will head to Lewistown Friday to challenge Mifflin County, which earned the No. 1 seed with a 14-3 record.
Other first-round games, based on wins and head-to-head tiebreakers, will send Altoona (5-6-1) to DuBois (11-1), Clarence (5-11-1) to Philipsburg (10-7), Beech Creek (9-5) to State College (10-7).
The outcomes will determine the schedule for Saturday’s four games that will start at 2 p.m.
Clearfield, 5-16-1 overall, never got untracked offensively against Philipsburg pitching.
Tanner Perow returned to the mound in the suspended game to polish off a two-hitter before a trio of Phils teamed up to blank the Chiefs on four hits.
Perow, who struck out five and walked two, was aided by a pair of inning-ending double plays turned by his middle infielders when he and Brandon Orsich were dueling Wednesday at the Don Womer Baseball Complex.
The Phils broke through against Orsich, making just his second start for the Chiefs, in the fourth inning.
Aaron Lidgett led off with a home run to left center. Parker Watson followed with a triple to right and scored on Chad Speigle’s sacrifice fly to center.
Philipsburg added two runs off Devin Jones in the sixth, one on Troy Singer’s third consecutive hit and the other on Wyatt Belinda’s groundout.
Curtis Collins and Spencer Herrington had Clearfield’s hits.
In the nightcap, Collins singled twice for the only safeties off Kyle Johns, who worked five innings to register the victory.
Matt Hample and Lidgett pitched one inning apiece and each gave up one hit.
After hurling two innings in the suspended game, Jones started and took the loss for the Chiefs, allowing seven hits and four runs in four innings. Thomas Summers surrendered four hits and five runs in 1-2/3 innings before Kyler Kephart finished up with 1-1/3 hitless innings.
Dave Ormsby topped Philipsburg’s 11-hit attack with a double and two singles, driving in three runs.
Watson chipped in two doubles, while Nate Kerlin and Luther Harlow whacked solo home runs.
SUSPENDED GAME
CLEARFIELD — 0
Curtis Collins cf 3010, Spencer Herrington 2b 3010, Thomas Summers 1b 3000, Cole Kephart ss 3000, Ronny Ogden lf 2000, Brandon Orsich p 0000, Devin Jones p 0000, Kyler Kephart dh 3000, Josh Kennedy 3b 1000, Zach Timchak rf 2000, Josh Sorbera c 2000. TOTALS: 22 0 2 0.
PHILIPSBURG — 4
Wyatt Belinda 2b 4001, Jake Belinda ss 4000, Dave Ormsby lf 3000, Aaron Lidgett rf 3221, Parker Watson cf 3110, Chad Speigle 3b 1111, Luther Harlow 1b 1000, Sam Ohler c 2110, Nate Kerlin ph 1010, Tanner Perow p 0000, Troy Singer dh 3031.
Score by Innings
Clearfield 000 000 0 – 0 2 1
Philipsburg 000 202 x – 4 9 1
E – C. Kephart; Speigle. DP – Philipsburg 2 (J. Belinda, W. Belinda and Harlow 2). LOB – Clearfield 3; Philipsburg 7. 2B – Singer. 3B – Watson. HR – Lidgett. Sac – Harlow. SF – Speigle. SB – Collins; Ormsby, Speigle. CS – Watson (by Jones).
Pitching
Clearfield – Orsich 4 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO; Jones 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K.
Philipsburg – Perow 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K.
WP – Perow 1.
W – Perow. L – Orsich (0-1).
Umpires – Gary Kost (plate) and Norm Bender (bases).
* * * * *
SCHEDULED GAME
PHILIPSBURG — 9
W. Belinda 2b 2200, J. Belinda ss 3210, Ormsby lf 4133, Ohler lf 0000, Lidgett rf-p 3110, Watson cf 3121, Speigle 3b 4010, Harlow 1b 4111, Kyle Johns p 0000, Matt Hample p-rf 0000, Kerlin dh 3111, Singer c 200, Caleb Belinda ph 1000. TOTALS: 29 9 11 6.
CLEARFIELD — 0
Collins cf 3020, Herrington 2b 2000, Orsich 2b 1000, Jones p 0000, Summers dh-p-1b 30000, C. Kephart ss 3000, Ogden lf 3000, K. Kephart 1b-p 3000, Kennedy 3b 1000, Timchak rf 2010, Kaleb Taylor ph 1000, Sorbera c 2000, Logan Lykens ph 1010. TOTALS: 25 0 4 0.
Score by Innings
Philipsburg 012 123 0 – 9 11 1
Clearfield 000 000 0 – 0 4 2
E – J. Belinda; K. Kephart, Kennedy. LOB – Philipsburg 6; Clearfield 6. 2B – J. Belinda, Ormsby, Lidgett, Watson 2. SB – J. Belinda, Watson 2. CS – Singer (by Jones), Speigle (by Summers).
Pitching
Philipsburg – Johns 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K; Hample 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K; Lidgett 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K.
Clearfield – Jones 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K; Summers 1-2/3 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 0 K; K. Kephart 1-1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K.
PO – Summers 1 (Kerlin).
W – Johns. L – Jones (2-7).
Umpires – Frank Keenan (plate) and Mike Skraba (bases).