JOHNSONBURG — With only one game at home over the last two weeks, the Curwensville Golden Tide have made the most of their time away from the high school. In the four previous road contests, the Tide have achieved three victories. The final journey they needed to make was on Friday afternoon to take on the Johnsonburg Rams.
Curwensville was coming off two back-to-back losses, and desperately wanted to get back to their winning ways.
Head coach Tom Harzinski saw his team rally around one another and put forth a 15-hit performance at the plate, while defensively they were each contributing to keeping the Rams from gaining any momentum. At the end of seven innings, Curwensville put it all together to achieve the 9-3 victory.
On the mound for the visitors, Noah Strickland had the honor of defending the black and gold, earning the victory for his team. Strickland would go six innings, yielding only seven hits to go along with five strikeouts.
Johnsonburg got on the board first in the opening inning, but it was all Tide after that.
Curwensville would tie the game during the top of the second inning, but it was the next inning that put the Tide up for good. It was also the beginning of the end for the Rams’ starting pitcher Justin Kasmierski and his teammates. A pair of singles plus a two-run error would bring in four runs to extend the lead to 5-1. The Rams would add in another run in the bottom half of the frame, but it was starting to unravel for the home squad.
The fifth inning ultimately would give Curwensville the insurance that the victory was all but secure.
Avery Francisco connected on an RBI-single to plate Hunter Lancaster, then Strickland would help his own cause with a two-run double, and then Jake Terry would add in the final run for Curwensville with another RBI-single.
Johnsonburg added one final run in the bottom of the fifth, but it was too little, too late. In the seventh inning, Bryce Timko would take over pitching and made quick work of the final three outs, two of them coming on strikeouts.
After such a long time being on the road, the next week of games for Curwensville (4-5) all take place at the high school. Monday they host Moshannon Valley, then on Wednesday Johnsonburg returns to try and avenge the loss they experienced on Friday, and then the Tide will entertain Brookville on Friday.
All games are slated for a 4:15 p.m. first pitch.
SCORE BY INNING
Curwensville 014 040 0 – 9 15 1
Johnsonburg 101 010 0 – 3 7 2
Curwensville – 9
Strickland 5132, Shaw 4110, Terry 5131, Olson 4102, Timko 4121, Lansberry 2111, Lancaster 4020, VonGunden 4100, Francisco 4231. TOTALS 36 9 15 8.
Johnsonburg – 3
Mitchell 4220, Ames 4110, J. Raubenstrauch 4023, Kasmierski 3010, Freeburg 3000, Sallack 3000, Breier 3000, Amacher 2010, K. Raubenstrauch 2000, Singer 1000. TOTALS 29 3 7 3.
E: Lancaster; Mitchell, Sallack. LOB: CV-10; JB-7. 2B-Strickland; Ames, J. Raubenstrauch. HBP-Shaw, Lansberry. SB-Strickland; Mitchell, Amacher. CS-Francisco.
Pitching
Curwensville: Strickland-6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 K, 2 BB; Timko-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 BB.
Johnsonburg: Kasmierski-5 IP, 13 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 2 K, 0 BB; Ames-2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 K, 1 BB.
W-Strickland
L-Kasmierski
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. | 2 – 9 | 3 – 4 |
| 4/21 | @ Brockway | 3 – 4 | 3 – 5 |
| 4/22 | @ Johnsonburg | 9 – 3 | 4 – 5 |
| 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 |