TYRONE — The 2014 season ended for the Clearfield Area High School baseball team the way it began back on March 27 and continued throughout the spring, a one-run loss.
The Bison had Tyrone down 4-2 after 4½ innings Wednesday, but the Golden Eagles tallied pairs of runs in the fifth and sixth frames to win the Mountain League make-up game 6-5 at Harry Sickler Sports Complex.
Clearfield finished 3-11 in the league and 4-15 overall, with seven defeats by one run and another three by two runs.
Ten also was the number of losses in which the Bison owned the lead at one point.
One of those rare setbacks when the Bison never were ahead occurred April 25, but they were tied twice with the Golden Eagles that day. Clearfield scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to make it 2-2, only to watch a wind-aided home run in the eighth give Tyrone a 3-2 victory.
Coach Sid Lansberry’s Bison had their chances to atone for that heart-breaker with 10 hits off Matt Brenneman, plus two walks and two hit batsmen. However, they stranded nine runners, including two in each of their last two at-bats after they fell behind.
Eight Bison broke into the hit column, with Spencer Herrington and Cole Kephart registering two apiece. One of Kephart’s was a solo home run.
Clearfield pecked away in building its two-run advantage.
Curtis Collins tripled to score Logan Puit in the first inning, Sawyer Rowles doubled and crossed the plate on Puit’s sacrifice fly in the third, Jon Janocko doubled and Erik Sellers singled for the go-ahead run in the fourth and Kephart chased home Herrington in the fifth when they matched singles.
Tyrone (8-11, 6-8) had taken a 2-1 edge in the bottom of the first on two hits and two Bison misplays.
Good defense kept the Golden Eagles off the board in the next three frames, the Bison turning a double play in the second, Sorbera throwing out two runners on attempted steals in the third and Rowles nailing Coy Focht when he tried to stretch a hit into a double in the fourth.
The hosts knotted the count in the lower fifth with three of their 13 hits off Janocko and made it 6-4 in the sixth with three more hits, including the third by Jordan Miller that knocked in what proved to be the winning run.
Kephart’s third homer of the season only made it close in the seventh, though the Bison did have the tying and potential winning runs aboard.
After hitting Sorbera, Brenneman was relieved by Tristan Lingafelt, who plunked Janocko but induced two ground balls for forceouts to earn the save.
Janocko went the distance with one strikeout and no walks.
Janocko, who played first base or DHed when he wasn’t pitching, left fielder Collins and right fielder Zach Timchak played their last game for the Bison. Pitcher Devin Jones was the other senior.
The Bison Junior Varsity team won by a 12-3 count with Will Myers going the distance on the hill for the win that closes out the JV season with a 9-6 record.
Mountain League Final Standings – Central 14-0, Bald Eagle Area 11-3, Huntingdon 8-6, Tyrone 6-8, Philipsburg-Osceola 5-9, Penns Valley 5-9, Bellefonte 4-10, Clearfield 3-11.
CLEARFIELD — 5
Zach Timchak rf 0000, Logan Puit rf 2111, Spencer Herrington ss 4120, Curtis Collins lf 4011, Cole Kephart ss 4122, Josh Sorbera c 3000, Jon Janocko p 3110, Erik Sellers 2b 4011, Thomas Summers 1b 3010, Sawyer Rowles cf 3110. TOTALS: 30 5 10 5.
TYRONE — 6
Jordan Miller cf 4130, Jake Dorminy rf 3001, Tristan Lingafelt ss-p 3121, Coy Focht 3b 3122, Nathaniel Soellner 2b-ss 3010, Zach Soellner 1b 3120, Brad Wirtner c 3010, Matt Brenneman p-2b 3000, Tony Politza lf 3221. TOTALS: 28 6 13 5.
Score by Innings
Clearfield 101 110 1 – 5 10 3
Tyrone 200 022 x – 6 13 1
E – Herrington, Janocko, Summers; Dorminy. PB – Wirtner 3. DP – Clearfield 1 (Kephart, Sellers and Summers). LOB – Clearfield 9; Tyrone . 2B – Janocko, Rowles. 3B – Collins. HR – Kephart (3). SF – Puit; Dorminy. SB – Herrington, Rowles. CS – Miller (by Sorbera); Ling felt (by Sorbera).
Pitching
Clearfield – Janocko 6 IP, 13 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
Tyrone – Brenneman 6-1/3 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K; Lingafelt 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
HB – Brenneman 1 (Sorbera); Lingafelt (Janocko).
W – Brenneman. L – Janocko (1-5). Sv – Lingafelt.
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 | 10 – 2 | 3 – 11 |
| 5/08 | BALD EAGLE AREA | 13 – 14 | 3 – 12 |
| 5/09 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | 4 – 9 | 3 – 13 |
| 5/12 | @ Bellefonte | 4 – 6 | 3 – 14 |
| 5/13 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | 2 – 1 | 4 – 14 |
| 5/14 | @ Tyrone | 5 – 6 | 4 – 15 |