HYDE — The Clearfield Area High School baseball team will be striving to halt the program’s four-game losing streak in the District 9 Class AAA Playoffs when Bradford visits the Bison Sports Complex Tuesday afternoon.
The 4:30 semifinal is a rematch of last year’s tourney opener when the Bison, seeded No. 2 at 14-6, were shocked 13-6 by the Owls.
The No. 3 seeds totaled 19 hits against the top two pitchers on Clearfield’s staff that sported a 2.01 earned run average and were aided by the Bison’s uncharacteristic eight errors.
Coach Sid Lansberry had cautioned that those hard-hitting Owls were better than their 12-6 record, and he’s stressed to his 45th Red and Black squad earning a trip to the finals for the first time since 2009 will necessitate a much better all-around effort.
“Bradford’s gonna be tough,” he said. “We don’t know a lot about them, but they have the pitcher (Andrew Bacha) back who beat us last year.
“We know he is good, so I’m expecting a low-scoring game.”
Clearfield, seeded No. 2 again, picked up some momentum last week with a big 4-1 victory over DuBois and a 9-0 blanking of Curwensville for an 11-8 record, including 7-7 in the rugged Mountain League that had six District 6 playoff teams.
Bradford won two of its last three games to check in at 9-11 against an all-District 9 schedule.
Comparing results against common opponents gives the Bison a slight edge, primarily because of their win over DuBois.
The Owls were beaten 6-1 and 8-1 by the Beavers.
Both teams were victims of top-seeded Punxsutawney, the Bison by 9-4 and the Owls by 15-5 in six innings but only 3-1 in nine innings earlier this month.
Clearfield owns a 7-2 win over Brookville, while Bradford lost to the Raiders by that same score May 4 after defeating them 6-1 in early April.
Pitching and defense have been the keys to the Bison’s success this spring and most likely will determine the outcome against the Owls, according to Lansberry.
“Brandon Orsich has to pitch a really good game, and we have to keep playing solid defense like we have been all year,” he said.
Orsich has been lights out in most of eight starts while compiling a 6-1 record with two shutouts and an impressive 1.38 ERA.
The senior right-hander, who has logged seven complete games, has worked 56 innings with 59 strikeouts and only six walks. He‘s allowed 47 hits and 17 runs, 11 earned.
If relief help is necessary, sophomore Jake Sorbera, 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA, or junior Will Myers, 1-1 with a 2.42 ERA, will get the call.
Defensively, the Bison boast their best numbers in years, 29 errors for an average just under 1.5 a game.
The third phase of the game is Lansberry’s main concern, particularly hitting in scoring opportunities.
“We can’t leave runners on base like we’ve been doing most of this year,” he said.
The Bison have a .274 batting average with six starters above .300, including third baseman Myers at .462 in limited plate appearances because of an early season injury.
Catcher Zane Morgan (.368) leads the Bison in hits (21), walks (13) and runs (17) and is second in RBIs (11).
Shortstop Thayne Morgan (.333), right fielder Ty Bender (.321), second Justin Fedder (.306) and center fielder Reese Wilson (.303) are the other top hitters.
Fedder, who had an 11-game hitting streak, is second in hits (19) and runs (17) and third in walks (10), while Bender is third in hits (17) and leads in doubles with eight and RBIs with 12.
“Thayne Morgan has really improved over the year, and Wilson and Myers have come on late because they weren’t playing a lot early,” Lansberry said. “Zane Morgan, Fedder and Bender have been pretty consistent.”
Fedder has been sandwiched by the Morgan twins at the top of the lineup the last two games, and that trio has combined for 37 stolen bases in 37 attempts.
“We don’t have a true cleanup hitter,” noted Lansberry, who has used six Bison in the No. 4 spot while constantly shuffling the batting order throughout the season.
First baseman Logan Lykens and left fielder Jon Trimpey (.255) are the other starters.
Clearfield or Bradford will challenge perennial champion Punxsy in the title game at Showers Field in DuBois Thursday, with the time to be announced.
Bison Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 3/29 | CENTRAL | 11 – 5 | 1 – 0 |
| 4/01 | HUNTINGDON | 3 – 1 | 2 – 0 |
| 4/04 | BELLEFONTE | ppd. | 2 – 0 |
| 4/05 | BELLEFONTE | ppd. | 2 – 0 |
| 4/06 | BELLEFONTE | 3 – 0 | 3 – 0 |
| 4/07 | @ Tyrone | ppd. | 3 – 0 |
| 4/08 | @ Punxsutawney | 4 – 9 | 3 – 1 |
| 4/11 | CURWENSVILLE | ppd. | 3 – 1 |
| 4/12 | BALD EAGLE AREA | ppd. | 3 – 1 |
| 4/13 | BALD EAGLE AREA | 1 – 2 | 3 – 2 |
| 4/15 | @ Penns Valley | 3 – 4 | 3 – 3 |
| 4/18 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | 4 – 2 | 4 – 3 |
| 4/19 | @ Brookville | 7 – 2 | 5 – 3 |
| 4/21 | @ Central | 0 – 6 | 5 – 4 |
| 4/23 | @ Tyrone | 7 – 0 | 6 – 4 |
| 4/26 | @ Huntingdon | 2 – 5 | 6 – 5 |
| 4/29 | @ Bellefonte | ppd. | 6 – 5 |
| 5/02 | TYRONE | ppd. | 6 – 5 |
| 5/03 | @ Curwensville | 13 – 0 | 7 – 5 |
| 5/04 | TYRONE | 6 – 4 | 8 – 5 |
| 5/05 | @ Bald Eagle Area | 2 – 5 | 8 – 6 |
| 5/09 | @ The Kiski School | cancelled | 8 – 6 |
| 5/10 | PENNS VALLEY | 11 – 7 | 9 – 6 |
| 5/11 | @ Bellefonte | 3 – 4 | 9 – 7 |
| 5/13 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | 0 – 5 | 9 – 8 |
| 5/17 | DUBOIS | 4 – 1 | 10 – 8 |
| 5/19 | CURWENSVILLE | 9 – 0 | 11 – 8 |
| 5/24 | D9 AAA Semifinals | ||
| 5/24 | BRADFORD |