WESTOVER — Entering a new week of action on the diamond, the Curwensville Golden Tide found some momentum after starting out the 2016 season with three losses. Tom Harzinski’s squad suddenly got hot at the plate, outscoring their opponents 28-5 in the last two games, both of which came on the road.
The hope was to keep the hits and runs coming, and in order to do that, the Tide had to go on the road once again on Monday to face off with the Harmony Owls.
Fans that made the trip out to Westover got more than anyone anticipated. The Tide and Owls would go on a hit fest. Both teams had their bats on display, combining for 34 hits. But, the team that was able to capitalize on those hits was the one who made the longest trip. Curwensville made the most of the long drive as they would take home their third consecutive victory in a 16-6 final.
Curwensville got started early when Garrett Shaw nailed an RBI-single that brought in Noah Strickland. Two batters later, Bryce Timko was able to bring in Shaw on an RBI-double to give the Tide a 2-0 first inning advantage.
Harmony evened things up in the bottom half of the inning, although did so with both a bat and a gamble. An RBI-single by Cody Fritz would plate Brandon Black. He moved to third on a single by Tiesi, but then would take the big gamble while McGarvey was at the plate. After a pitch was heading back to Austin Lansberry, Fritz made a break for it, and would not only steal a base, but stole home to tie the game.
With the score tied 2-2, things got extremely difficult for Harmony. Pitcher Dylan Kurtz would have issues over the next five innings, giving up nine runs.
He would get charged with the loss in six innings of work, giving up 11 runs and 14 hits.
Four of those runs came in the second inning, only one of them being earned as an RBI-single by Jake Terry would give Curwensville the lead. Errors from Black and Matt McGarvey helped put the Tide ahead for good on the afternoon.
On the opposite side, Strickland was having a solid outing. He went go four and a third innings, surrendering only four runs on nine hits. It was enough for him to earn the victory.
Harmony’s final two runs came in the bottom of the third, both coming on an RBI-single from Fritz. But after that, Curwensville would go to town.
Ten runs over the final innings gave plenty of room for the Tide to play their game. Terry got the fourth inning off to a major start when he tripled to plate Shaw. Timko then added another RBI-single that brought Terry home.
A five-run seventh inning made the score 16-4. Harmony answered by gaining two runs in the bottom of the inning, but the pitching of Strickland and Noah VonGunden would shut down the Owls to lock in their third victory in three games, all coming by 10+ runs.
At 3-3, and after over a week of having to load up the buses, Curwensville will finally get to play on their home field. They will take to the diamond at Curwensville High School on Wednesday against DuBois Central Catholic. First pitch is at 4:15 p.m.
SCORE BY INNING
Curwensville 240 401 5 – 16 19 1
Harmony 202 000 2 – 6 15 5
Curwensville – 16
Strickland 4422, Shaw 6342, Ja. Terry 5233, Timko 6132, Lancaster 3200, Lansberry 4100, Francisco 5221, Butlin 4132, Jo. Terry 5022. TOTALS 42 16 19 14.
Harmony – 6
Kurtz 4130, Watson 4330, Black 4020, Young 3220, Fritz 4043, Tiesi 4010, McGarvey 2000, McColley 2000, Blake 1000, Rorabaugh 3000. TOTALS 31 6 15 3.
ERRORS: Ja. Terry; Black, McGarvey, Rorabaugh (3). LOB: CV-12, HY-6; 2B: Shaw (2), Timko; Watson. 3B: Ja. Terry. SB: Strickland (2), Shaw (2), Timko, Francisco; Kurtz (2), Watson, Black, Young (2), Fritz (3). CS: Butlin; Kurtz, Black.
PITCHING
Curwensville: Lansberry-4.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 K, 1 BB; Strickland-1.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 BB; VonGunden-0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 K, 0 BB.
Harmony: Kurtz-6 IP, 14 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 7 K, 5 BB; Black-1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 K, 2 BB.
W-Lansberry. L-Kurtz.
Golden Tide Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 3/28 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | 3 – 18 | 0 – 1 |
| 3/31 | ST. MARYS | 1 – 4 | 0 – 2 |
| 4/04 | @ Johnsonburg | ppd. | 0 – 2 |
| 4/06 | ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC | 3 – 13 | 0 – 3 |
| 4/08 | @ West Branch | ppd. | 0 – 3 |
| 4/11 | @ Clearfield | ppd. | 0 – 3 |
| 4/14 | @ Kane | 15 – 3 | 1 – 3 |
| 4/15 | @ Glendale | 13 – 2 | 2 – 3 |
| 4/18 | @ Harmony | 16 – 6 | 3 – 3 |
| 4/20 | DUBOIS CENTRAL CATH. | ||
| 4/21 | @ Brockway | ||
| 4/22 | @ Johnsonburg | ||
| 4/25 | MOSHANNON VALLEY | ||
| 4/27 | JOHNSONBURG | ||
| 4/29 | BROOKVILLE | ||
| 5/03 | CLEARFIELD | ||
| 5/04 | @ St. Marys | ||
| 5/09 | @ West Branch | ||
| 5/10 | KANE | ||
| 5/12 | @ DuBois Central Catholic | ||
| 5/16 | @ Elk County Catholic | ||
| 5/17 | BROCKWAY | ||
| 5/19 | @ Clearfield |