Bison Rack Up 11 Hits for First Win Against Red Raiders

HYDE — Finally.

The season-opening drought is history for the Clearfield Area High School baseball team.

The Bison ended a month of frustration by breaking out of a hitting slump and getting a three-hitter from Jon Janocko and Brandon Orsich to defeat Bellefonte 11-5 in Mountain League action at the Bison Sports Complex Monday.

“It’s probably as important a win as we’ve had in years because of our situation,” coach Sid Lansberry stated. “We’ve been snake-bit, 0-and-9 with a lot of close games.

“We needed this win badly.”

Clearfield didn’t have more than five hits in any of the last five games and, according to Lansberry, had an average of just .167 in the four outings since the Altoona Curve Classic.

A shuffled lineup put those struggles in the rearview mirror in a hurry, cracking nine hits for eight runs in the first three innings.

The trio at the top of the order combined for five hits and five runs batted in. And they crossed the plate eight times.

Spencer Herrington and Curtis Collins each had two of Clearfield’s 11 hits and two RBIs, while Logan Puit provided desired production in the No. 5 hole with three RBIs via a single and a sacrifice fly.

“We hit with guys on base and that’s the difference,” Lansberry said. “That’s what we haven’t been doing.

“And (Bellefonte) helped us out a little bit. They made some mistakes.”

Errors didn’t cause nearly as much harm for the Red Raiders as the Bison bats, though.

Bellefonte (3-8, 2-6 ML) did jump out to a 2-0 lead when Janocko experienced a rocky start, issuing two walks around a double by Tanner Day and plunking Doylan Deitrich to force in a run. Day then scored on an error.

Clearfield answered right away. Herrington drew a walk, Collins lined a single to left and, with two outs, Puit cracked a hit to right to tie the score.

“That’s a big hit,” Lansberry said. “You get down early and come right back, that’s a big psychological factor right there.”

The Bison struck for three runs with two outs in the second inning, Collins coming through with the key blow. The senior outfielder’s two-run double to deep left center put the hosts in front and he then scored on dropped fly ball.

Clearfield chased Noah Perryman, Bellefonte’s No. 1 hurler, in the third frame when the bottom of the lineup set the slate, Thomas Summer bouncing a single through the left side and Sawyer Rowles drilling a hit to center. Cole Kephart ripped a double down the left field line for one run and Herrington slashed a sharp grounder over first base for two more and an 8-2 cushion for Janocko, who had slammed the door on the Raiders.

After retiring 11 of 12 batters, the senior right-hander got himself in trouble with back-to-back walks in the fifth inning. Day singled for an RBI, and miscues cost the Bison two more runs before third baseman Kephart made two superb plays on hard-hit ground balls, diving to make one stop and scooping a short hop for the final out.

“Luckily we had a big enough lead where we didn’t completely fall apart,” Lansberry said. “Cole made a couple nice plays. They both could have been base hits. Then, we’re in trouble.”

The Bison pulled away with two runs without the benefit of a hit in the fifth and one in the sixth on a single by Erik Sellers and a double into the left field corner by pinch-hitter Dan Collins.

Orsich faced only six Raiders in the last two innings, Herrington turning Day’s line drive into a double play after Andrew Stover singled in the seventh.

The win went to Janocko, who allowed only two hits and three earned runs in his five-inning stint.

“Both pitched well,” Lansberry said.

He was happy to see the Bison tee off on an opponent’s ace, too, for Perryman checked in with a 1.73 earned run average in 24-1/3 innings.

“It’s a big win for these kids, psychologically,” Lansberry said. “I feel good for them, cause they’ve worked hard enough to get some wins, but it just hasn’t happened.”

Clearfield will begin the second half of the schedule Tuesday with a home game against Bald Eagle Area, one of four teams that have handed the Bison setbacks by one run.

BELLEFONTE — 5

Noah Perryman p 0000, Dom Masullo p 0000, Andrew Stover dh 1210, Tanner Day cf 4221, Taylor Butts 1b-p 3001, Doylan Dietrich ss 2001, Adam Kuhn 3b 3000, Jonny Glunt 2b 2000, Zach Musser ph-2b 1000, Trent Fortney c 3000, Derek Fries lf 2000, Ian Marshall lf 1000, Josh Weaver rf 2100.  TOTALS: 24  5  3  3.

CLEARFIELD — 11

Cole Kephart 3b 3311, Spencer Herrington ss 3222, Curtis Collins lf 4322, Jon Janocko p-1b 3000, Zach Timchak rf 0000, Brandon Orsich p 0000, Logan Puit dh 2013, Josh Sorbera c 3010, Erik Sellers 2b 4110, Thomas Summers 1b-rf 4110, Sawyer Rowles cf 3110, Dan Collins ph 1011.  TOTALS: 30  10  11  9.

Score by Innings

Bellefonte       200 030 0 –  5    3  5
Clearfield        233 021 x – 11  11  4
E – Butts, Deitrich, Fries, Weaver 2; Herrington 2, Janocko 2. PB – Sorbera 1. DP – Clearfield 1 (Herrington and Janocko). LOB – Bellefonte 4; Clearfield 10. 2B – Day; Kephart, C. Collins, D. Collins. Sac – Herrington. SF – Puit. SB – Stover; Kephart, Sellers.

Pitching

Bellefonte – Perryman 2-1/3 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 1 K; Masullo 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; Butts 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K.
Clearfield – Janocko 5 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 2 K; Orsich 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
HB – Masullo 1 (Sorbera); Janocko 1 (Deitrich). WP – Janocko 1.
W – Janocko (2-3). L – Perryman (1-4).

Umpires – Scott Viehdorfer (plate) and Jim Rupp (bases).

Bison Scoreboard: