Bison Strand 12 in 5-2 Loss to Bearcats

HUNTINGDON — Stranding 12 runners proved doubly costly for the Clearfield Area High School baseball team against Huntingdon at Blair Field Tuesday.

Failure to deliver a clutch hit with multiple runners aboard in four different innings resulted in a 5-2 loss that also kept the Bison from gaining a share of first place in the Mountain League.

Coach Sid Lansberry’s club is one game back at 5-4 in the wild five-team scramble that developed when Bald Eagle Area stunned Philipsburg-Osceola, 8-7, with five runs in the top of the seventh inning Tuesday.

Ty Bender gave the Bison a brief lead with a first-inning double after Zane Morgan walked and moved up on a passed ball.

Bearcat starter Chris Alleman issued two more free passes with one out, but the Bison left the bases full for the first of two times when reliever Jon Wagner recorded a strikeout.

Wagner went on to earn the win by allowing only one hit and three walks over the next three frames before Nick Holesa came on to register a three-inning save.

With the score tied 1-1, Clearfield had Wagner on the ropes in the third inning via a single by Justin Fedder, an error on Brandon Orsich’s grounder and a walk filling the sacks with one out. A strikeout and a forceout ended that threat, however.

The Bearcats (6-6) then chipped away against Jake Sorbera with four runs in their next three at-bats.

Wagner set up two of the tallies by stealing second base after singling to center field in the third and fifth innings, Leif Brown sending him home both times.

A triple by Landon Fisher drove in Brown with the final run.

Fisher had walked and scored on Alleman’s triple in the fourth.

The Bison made it interesting in the seventh as Bender doubled and came around on singles by Jon Trimpey and Marcus Luzier that brought the tying run to the plate with one out.

Holesa snuffed out the rally with his lone strikeout and a forceout.

Huntingdon is tied for third place with BEA, a half-game behind P-O and Central.

Trimpey joined Bender in the two-hit column for the Bison.

Clearfield (6-5) draws another tough road assignment Friday at Bellefonte. The Red Raiders, who got off to an 0-5 start in the league, are lurking right behind the Bison after their 13-1 win at Penns Valley Tuesday.

Mountain League standings — Philipsburg-Osceola 6-3, Central 6-3, Bald Eagle Area 5-3, Huntingdon 5-3, Clearfield 5-4, Bellefonte 4-5, Penns Valley 2-7, Tyrone 2-7.

CLEARFIELD — 2

Zane Morgan c 3110, Justin Fedder 2b 4010, Ty Bender rf 4121, Tommy Hazel cf-p 0000, Brandon Orsich dh 4000, Jon Trimpey lf 2020, Marcus Luzier 3b 2011, Logan Lykens 1b 3000, Eli Glass ph 1000, Will Myers ss 1000, Thayne Morgan ph-3b 3000, Jake Sorbera p 0000, Reese Wilson cf 1000. TOTALS: 28 2 7 2.

HUNTINGDON — 5

Jon Wagner 3b-p-ss 4330, Nick Holesa ss-p 3011, Leif Brown c 3112, Alex Kyper 1b 0000, Mike Huntsman 3b 0000, Kodiak Heaton dh 3000, Landon Fisher rf 2111, Jared Showalter lf-3b 3000, Chris Alleman p-lf 3011, Brian McLaughlin 2b 2000, Seth Baney ph 1000, Nick Zanic cf 2000, Alex Mykut ph 1010. TOTALS: 27 5 8 5.

Score by Innings

Clearfield       100 000 1 – 2  7  1
Huntingdon    101 120 x – 5  8  1
E – Luzier; Showalter. PB – Brown. LOB – Clearfield 12; Huntingdon 5. 2B – Bender 2; Wagner. 3B – Fisher, Alleman. SB – Wagner 3, Holesa, Fisher. CS – Sorbera (by Brown).

Pitching

Clearfield – Sorbera 4-2/3 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K; Hazel 1-1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
Huntingdon – Alleman 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K; Wagner 3-1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K; Holesa 3 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
HB – Holesa 1 (Luzier). WP – Holesa 1.
W – Wagner. L – Sorbera (2-3). Sv – Holesa.

Bison Scoreboard: