CLEARFIELD — Beech Creek and Philipsburg dropped the Clearfield American Legion Post 6 baseball team under .500 in the Central Penn League with weekend victories at the Lawrence Township Recreation Park Field.
Saturday’s loss was a heart-breaker for the Chiefs, who erupted for four runs in the fourth inning to grab a 6-5 lead against Beech Creek, only to watch the Crickets tally two runs with two outs in the seventh inning for a 7-6 win.
Sunday evening, the Chiefs fell behind early again, 4-0, and never recovered as Philipsburg broke into the win column, 9-4.
Errors were costly for Clearfield (1-2) in both games.
Four of the Chiefs’ five misplays led to three unearned runs for Beech Creek, and three miscues contributed to seven unearned runs for Philipsburg.
Will Myers, who pitched five innings with no decision, paced the Chiefs against Beech Creek with three hits, including a two-run single in the fifth.
Marcus Luzier followed with a two-run double that gave Clearfield its only lead of the weekend.
Myers struck out six, walked four and gave up six hits and five runs, three earned in his first start.
Reliever Reese Wilson was tagged with the loss when the Crickets’ Clayton Butler and Bryce Hanley delivered clutch hits in the top of the seventh inning.
The winning run was unearned as Wilson allowed only two hits and one walk in two innings. He had two strikeouts.
Butler and Hanley combined for five his and four RBIs for Beech Creek. Evan Kinley was the winning pitcher with 2-1/3 innings of one-hit, scoreless work after relieving Hanley and stranding three Chiefs in the fifth with one of his two strikeouts.
Philipsburg (1-2) was the home team Sunday because its field was unavailable, and the Phils turned a pair of two-out Clearfield miscues into a 4-0 start in the first inning when Nate Kerlin slugged a three-run double.
The Chiefs cut the margin in half in the second on Jon Trimpey’s run-scoring groundout and Thayne Morgan’s RBI single, but Phils’ starter Cam Domblisky and reliever Conor Myers then kept them off the scoreboard until the final frame.
The Phils’ duo surrendered only five hits, three by winner Domblisky in four innings. Myers came on to earn a three-inning save, striking out four and walking four. He gave up two unearned runs in the seventh.
Kerlin also singled twice in topping Philipsburg’s 11-hit attack, while Logan Williamson socked two doubles and scored two runs, Jesse Martin singled twice and Vince McDowell added two RBIs.
Curt Collins went the distance in his first Chiefs’ start and allowed only two earned runs. He struck out three and walked two.
Clearfield continues its home stand against Mifflin County Tuesday and Altoona Thursday before heading to Bellefonte Friday.
BEECH CREEK — 7
Trapper Kunes ss 3210, Ethan McGill c 1300, Kenny Heverly lf 4010, Clayton Butler 1b 3232, Bryce Hanley p-1b 3022, Talon Falls 3b 3001, Wyatt Koch rf 1000, Evan Kinley p 1000, Mitch Heverly eh 3000, Connor Bauman cf 2000, Wes Smeal ph 1000, Colin Treaster 2b 1010, Mike Keibler ph-2b 2000. TOTALS: 28 7 8 5.
CLEARFIELD — 6
Curt Collins cf 2200, Will Myers p-ss 3232, Marcus Luzier 3b 3012, Brandon Orsich eh 4011, Logan Lykens 1b 2000, Seth Bumbarger ph-1b 0000, Ty Bender lf 1000, Jon Trimpey lf 1000, Jake Sorbera ss 2000, Reese Wilson p 1000, Tommy Hazel rf 1100, Jarrit Wagner rf 0000, Zane Morgan c 2100, Justin Fedder 2100, Justin Fedder 2b 1000, Thayne Morgan 2b 2000. TOTALS: 25 6 5 5.
Score by Innings
Beech Creek   202 010 2 – 7 8 1
Clearfield      200 040 0 – 6 5 5
E – Kunes; Lykens, Sorbera 2, Hazel, Fedder. LOB – Beech Creek 8; Clearfield 7. 2B – Hanley; Luzier. Sac – McGill, Falls. SF – Butler. SB – Kunes 2, McGill 2, Butler, Hanley, Bauman.
Pitching
Beech Creek – Hanley 4-2/3 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 7 BB, 8 K; Kinley 2-1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
Clearfield – Myers 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 6 K; Wilson 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.
WP – Hanley 3; Myers 1. PO – Myers 1 (Koch).
W – Kinley. L – Wilson (0-1).
* * * * *
CLEARFIELD — 4
Bender rf 4000, Collins p 4000, Luzier 3b 3010, Orsich 3h 3111, Lykens 1b 3110, Sorbera ss 3000, Trimpey cf 3001, Z. Morgan c 1000, Seth Bumbarger ph 0100, T. Morgan lf 2011, Wagner ph 1000, Fedder 2b 1110. TOTALS: 28 4 5 3.
PHILIPSBURG — 9
Tanner Wilson 2b 4000, Logan Williamson ss 4220, Vince McDowell 3b 4012, Jon Janocko 1b 2100, Gage Coudriet 1b 0000, Derek Shaw c 2111, Conor Myers cf-p 3110, Nate Kerlin lf 3133, Isaac Knepp eh 2000, Noah Jeffries eh 1110, Jesse Martin rf 2120, Cam Domblisky p 1000m Josh Earnest ph-cf 2101. TOTALS: 30 9 11 7.
Score by Innings
Clearfield       020 000 2 – 4  5 3
Philipsburg   400 014 x – 9 11 3
E – Sorbera 3; Wilson, Janocko, Shaw. DP – Clearfield 1 (T. Morgan, Z. Morgan, Collins and Z. Morgan); Philipsburg 1 (Wilson, Williamson and Janocko). 2B – Williamson 2, Shaw, Kerlin.
Pitching
Clearfield – Collins 6 IP, 11 H, 9 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K.
Philipsburg – Domblisky 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K; Myers 3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K.
WP – Myers 1.
W – Domblisky. L – Collins (0-1). Sv – Myers.
Umpires – Jay Siegel (plate) and Gary Kost (bases).
