HYDE — After absorbing its fifth one-run loss of the season, 4-3, in the completion of a suspended game, the Clearfield Area High School baseball team bounced back to defeat Penns Valley 8-3 in Mountain League action at the Bison Sports Complex Tuesday.
Thomas Summers turned in a quality start and the Bison bunched all eight of their hits in three scoring frames to avert the dreaded double defeats.
Spencer Herrington, whose two-run single put the Bison in front to stay at 5-3 in the fourth inning, and Logan Puit led the way with two hits apiece.
Clearfield (2-11, 2-7 ML) grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Puit walked, Josh Sorbera lined a single into center field and Jon Janocko ripped a double inside third for the first run. The other two scored on an error and Erik Sellers’ double play grounder.
Summers gave Penns Valley (6-8, 4-8 ML) life in the third frame when he walked No. 9 batter Davey Keller, misfired to first base on Taylor Collison’s bunt and later made an errant throw attempting to pick off Wyatt Sharp, who had stroked the first of his three hits. Cameron Tobias followed with a single to make it 3-3.
The Rams managed only one other threat during Summers’ six-inning stint, though. Anthony Montresor and Sharp singled with one out in the fifth and moved up on a wild pitch. Summers wiggled off the hook with a strikeout and a groundout.
His mates had regained a three-run advantage an inning earlier.
Sellers singled, Sawyer Rowles coaxed a walk from Tobias and Cole Kephart laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to set the stage for Herrington, who slashed a high 0-2 offering to right field for the game-winning hit and then raced all the around the sacks when Puit doubled near the right field line.
The Bison chased Tobias in the sixth as Kephart slugged a solo home run to left center and Herrington singled through the left side. Puit’s single off reliever Ryan McElwee and a Penns Valley miscue gave the Bison their final run.
Summers struck out four and walked two while allowing six hits in his first victory after four losses.
“Summers pitched very well,” Bison coach Sid Lansberry said. “The runs they got they probably shouldn’t have had.”
Janocko pitched the final inning, fanning one, walking one and giving up one hit. Collison reached on the free pass but was thrown out by Sorbera on a steal attempt.
“It’s big coming back to win that game,” Lansberry said. “We’re two evenly matched teams. They ran out of pitching. They played seven games in the last eight days.
“And we hit with guys on base, which we haven’t been doing.
The suspended game was proof of that as they stranded a total of 16 runners, including a dozen in the 11 innings the teams played April 9.
The Bison missed two chances to break the 3-3 tie against McElwee, leaving two runners in scoring position in the 12th and one in the 14th.
They didn’t get another opportunity.
After being shut down for two innings by Summers, the Rams struck with one out in the bottom of the 14th when Sharp blasted a double to deep right center and Collison lofted a fly ball over the head of left fielder Curtis Collins, who was playing more shallow than normal.
“With the winning run on second and one out, you can’t play real deep, because a routine single wins the game,” Lansberry explained. “You’re kind of caught in between in that situation.”
He noted that the wind that kicked up only minutes earlier helped carry both of the Rams’ drives beyond the Bison outfielders.
The game was one inning shy of the longest one in the history of the Clearfield program. The 1988 Bison defeated DuBois in 15 innings for the District 9 Class AAA championship.
The Bison have a non-league game at Brookville Wednesday and Mountain League games at home against Bald Eagle Area Thursday and at Philipsburg-Osceola Friday.
Clearfield’s junior varsity upped its record to 6-4 with a 9-2 victory, Logan Lykens pitching a complete game and striking out nine.
Marcus Luzier doubled for two RBIs, Will Myers also had two RBIs and scored two runs and Jonathan Trimpey scored three runs.
SUSPENDED GAME
CLEARFIELD — 3
Spencer Herrington 2b 6000, Curtis Collins lf 5110, Cole Kephart ss 5030, Jon Janocko 1b-p-1b 7010, Thomas Summers p-rf-p 5011, Josh Kenned 3b 6100, Zach Timchak rf 0000, Brandon Orsich p 0000, Erik Sellers 1b 0000, Dan Collins dh 1000, Logan Puit dh 3020, Josh Sorbera c 4011, Sawyer Rowles cf 6110. TOTALS: 48 3 10 2.
PENNS VALLEY — 4
Wyatt Sharp rf 5210, L.T. Johnson p 0000, Adam DeGarmo p 0000, Taylor Collison dh 7121, Kevin Butts 1b 3011, Cameron Tobias 3b 5001, Anthony Montresor 2b 6031, Colton Treaster c 6010, David Fox lf 2000, Andrew Deardorff lf 4000, Luke Weaver cf 5110, Ryan McElwee ss 6000. TOTALS: 49 4 9 4.
Score by Innings
Clearfield 000 100 200 000 0 – 3 10 5
Penns Valley 001 000 200 000 1 – 4 9 2
E – Kephart 4, Kennedy; DeGarmo, Montresor. PB – Treaster. DP – Penns Valley 2 (Montresor, McElwee and Butts 2). LOB – Clearfield 16; Punxsutawney 12. 2B – Sharp; Kephart; Montresor. Sac – Collins, Kephart, Sorbera; Sharp. SF – Butts. CS – Puit (by Treaster).
Pitching
Clearfield – Summers 5-1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K; Orsich 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K; Janocko 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K.
Penns Valley – Johnson 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K; DeGarmo 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K.
HB – DeGarmo 1 (Sorbera), McElwee 2 (Summers, Kennedy). WP – Summers 1; Johnson 1. PO – Summers 2 (Sharp, Deardorff).
W – McElwee. L – Summers (0-4).
* * * * *
SCHEDULED GAME
PENNS VALLEY — 3
Taylor Collison 2b 2000, Ryan McElwee ss-p 0000, Anthony Montresor 4111, Wyatt Sharp rf 4130, Cameron Tobias p-ss 4011, Adam DeGarmo 3b 3010, David Fox lf 3000, Hunter Ilgen 1b 1000, Kevin Butts 1b 1000, Logan Marcum 3010, Davey Keller cf 2100. TOTALS: 27 3 7 2.
CLEARFIELD — 8
Cole Kephart 3b 3111, Spencer Herrington ss 4222, Curtis Collins lf 4000, Zach Timchak rf 0000, Logan Puit dh 3121, Josh Sorbera c 3110, Jon Janocko 1b-p 4111, Nate Brady pr 0000, Thomas Summers p-1b 4001, Erik Sellers 2b 2110, Sawyer Rowles cf 0100, Dan Collins ph 1000. TOTALS: 28 8 8 6.
Score by Innings
Penns Valley 003 000 0 – 3 7 4
Clearfield 030 302 x – 8 8 4
E – McElwee, DeGarmo 2, Keller; Kephart, Janocko, Summers 2. DP – Penns Valley 1 (Collison, McElwee and Ilgen). LOB – Penns Valley 7; Clearfield 8. 2B – Puit, Janocko. HR – Kephart (1). Sac – Collison, Ilgen; Kephart. CS – Collison (by Sorbera).
Pitching
Penns Valley – Tobias 5+ IP (faced 2 batters in 6th), 7 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 5 BB, 3 K; McElwee 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
Clearfield – Summers 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; Janocko 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
WP – Summers 1. PO – Summers (DeGarmo).
W – Summers (1-4). L – Tobias.
Bison Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 3/25 | @ Central | ppd. | 0 – 0 |
| 3/28 | @ Huntingdon | 6 – 7 | 0 – 1 |
| 3/31 | @ Bald Eagle Area | ppd. | 0 – 1 |
| 4/01 | @ Bald Eagle Area | 12 – 13 | 0 – 2 |
| 4/02 | @ Central | 1 – 2 | 0 – 3 |
| 4/03 | @ Bellefonte | ppd. | 0 – 3 |
| 4/07 | @ Penns Valley | ppd. | 0 – 3 |
| 4/08 | @ Tyrone | ppd. | 0 – 3 |
| 4/09 | @ Penns Valley | 3 -3, susp. | 0 – 3 |
| 4/11 | @ Altoona Curve Classic | ||
| vs. Altoona | 8 – 10 | 0 – 4 | |
| 4/12 | @ Altoona Curve Classic | ||
| vs. Latrobe | 1 – 4 | 0 – 5 | |
| 4/14 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | ppd. | 0 – 5 |
| 4/15 | TYRONE | ppd. | 0 – 5 |
| 4/17 | CENTRAL | 0 – 10 | 0 – 6 |
| 4/21 | DUBOIS | 3 – 7 | 0 – 7 |
| 4/22 | HUNTINGDON | 8 – 10 | 0 – 8 |
| 4/25 | BALD EAGLE AREA | ppd. | 0 – 8 |
| 4/26 | TYRONE | 2 – 3 (8 inn.) | 0 – 9 |
| 4/28 | BELLEFONTE | 11 – 5 | 1 – 9 |
| 4/29 | BALD EAGLE AREA | ppd. | 1 – 9 |
| 5/01 | @ Tyrone | ppd. | 1 – 9 |
| 5/02 | @ Punxsutawney | 6 – 10 | 1 – 10 |
| 5/06 | PENNS VALLEY (susp 4/9) | 3 – 4 (13 inn) | 1 – 11 |
| 5/06 | PENNS VALLEY | 8 – 3 | 2 – 11 |
| 5/07 | @ Brookville | ||
| 5/08 | BALD EAGLE AREA | ||
| 5/09 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | ||
| 5/12 | @ Bellefonte | ||
| 5/13 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | ||
| 5/14 | @ Tyrone |