PHILIPSBURG — The scene at the Philipsburg-Osceola Area High School on Monday afternoon was not necessarily one would anticipate to be ideal for the start of the 2016 baseball season. The skies were overcast, having seen some mist at certain points on the day. Temperatures were more suited for a game at Memorial Field, and the wind began gusting even before the first pitch.
But still, the Mounties took to their field to start the new campaign. In the opposite dugout, the Curwensville Golden Tide were ready to get the bats out and begin their season.
The high winds made everything a challenge for offense, defense, and even the umpires. At some instances the game was paused just to grab a player’s hat after it flew from their head. The one thing the wind did not stop was the home team’s offense. The Mounties broke out to an early lead in the first inning, and shut things down after four to claim the 18-3 victory.
It got started early in the bottom of the first inning after starting pitcher Austin Lansberry walked Josh Earnest, then after giving up a single to Derek Shaw, Lansberry walked Logan Williamson. Issac Knepp would bring Earnest and Shaw home on an RBI single. Williamson scored on another walk, making it an early 3-0 lead for P-O.
Curwensville answered back in the top of the second, starting with a single to center from RJ Olson. Hunter Lancaster then turned in a single of his own to shallow right, which was carried mainly by the wind since it seemed to be heading to center field initially. Lansberry then mad up for his issues pitching by hitting an RBI single that then allowed him to advance to second on an error, which brought in Lancaster. A wild pitch later in the inning would then bring Lansberry in to tie the score at three.
At that point, P-O turned on the heat in each of the following innings.
Knepp didn’t yield a hit after his few miscues in the second inning, gaining the victory after allowing two hits and one earned run.
Unfortunately for Curwensville, their pitching did not have as much luck. In the second inning a lead-off single by Hunter Ammerman was followed by a single to shallow left by Earnest. A two RBI-single by Caleb Belinda made the score 5-3, and two batters later a sacrifice fly from Gage Coudriet made it 6-3. A walk of Brandon Kephart would bring home the final run of the inning, and the gap would expand to 7-3.
It only get worse an inning later as a lead off single by Earnest was then followed up by a double by Shaw. Williamson hit a deep ball to center to bring both of them in, increasing the lead by another pair of runs to 9-3. After a deep single to right field by Knepp, which brought in Williamson, head coach Tom Harzinski made lineup changes, bringing in Bryce Timko to pitch while Lansberry moved to first base.
The move came after Lansberry gave up 10 runs, all but two being earned, which was enough to give him the loss.
Timko did not fair much better, at least initially, as he gave up a walk on five pitches to Belinda. However, he settled down and recorded three outs to close out the third inning in the next four batters, but at that point the lead had already increased to 10-3.
When the fourth inning arrived, it was P-O going to town, because the bats were swinging as hard as the wind was blowing.
Earnest led off the inning with another single, and after stealing second he was brought home on a deep RBI single to right by Williamson. Knepp hit an infield single to the left side and Belinda then brought in both Williamson and Knepp on an RBI double. Coudriet would hit an RBI single to bring in Belinda, making the score 14-3 at that point.
More moves were then made to the line-up by Harzinski, with Olson moving to the mound.
The swap from the two left-handers to the right arm of Olson did not make much difference. Pinch hitter Issac Rowles walked on four pitches, then Ammerman hit an RBI single to increase the lead to 15-3. A single by Earnest and a double by Shaw would bring in the final three runs, and umpires at that moment declared the game over thanks to the 15-run Mercy Rule.
Curwensville (0-1) hopes to have better luck when they make their home debut on Thursday, weather permitting, with a 4:15 first pitch against St. Marys. P-O (1-0) is back on the field on Tuesday as they will host Tyrone.
SCORE BY INNING
Curwensville 030 0 – 3 2 3
Philipsburg-Osceola 343 8 – 18 16 2
Curwensville-3
Strickland CF 2000, Jo. Terry LF 1000, Ja. Terry SS 2000, Olson 3B 2100, Lancaster C 2110, Timko 1B 2000, Lansberry P 2111, VonGunden 2B 0000, Newkirk RF 1001. TOTALS 14 3 2 2.
Philipsburg-Osceola 18
Earnest 2B 4440, D. Shaw C 5342, Williamson SS 3423, Knepp P 4121, Belinda CF 3224, Coudriet 1B 3113, Kephart LF 1001, T. Shaw 3B 2000, Ammerman 2111, Bryan DH 2000, Ackey PH 0100, Rowles PH 0100. TOTALS 29 18 16 15.
SB: Earnest, D. Shaw (2), Williamson (2), Knepp, Belinda
LOB: Curwensville -1. P-O – 8.
Pitching
Curwensville: Lansberry – 2 IP, 9 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO; Timko – 1.1 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO; Olson – 0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 K, 1 BB.
Philipsburg-Osceola: Knepp – 4 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO.
HBP: Lansberry. Balk: Lansberry
WP-Knepp (1-0)
LP-Lansberry (0-1)
Golden Tide Scoreboard:
Date Opponent Score Record
3/28 @ Philipsburg-Osceola 3 – 18 0 – 1
3/31 ST. MARYS
4/04 @ Johnsonburg
4/06 ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC
4/08 @ West Branch
4/11 @ Clearfield
4/14 @ Kane
4/15 @ Glendale
4/18 @ Harmony
4/19 DUBOIS CENTRAL CATH.
4/21 @ Brockway
4/25 MOSHANNON VALLEY
4/27 JOHNSONBURG
4/29 BROOKVILLE
5/03 CLEARFIELD
5/04 @ St. Marys
5/10 KANE
5/12 @ DuBois Central Catholic
5/16 @ Elk County Catholic
5/17 BROCKWAY