BEECH CREEK — A deep pitching staff and solid, top-to-bottom hitting carried Beech Creek to the Central Penn League regular season championship and were on display in ending the Clearfield American Legion baseball team’s season, 9-0, Monday evening.
Four Crickets combined for eight strikeouts with only two walks to completely stymie a Chiefs offense that had averaged double-digit hits and eight runs over the last eight games.
Singles by Justin Fedder, Reese Wilson and Alec Graham were all the Chiefs could muster in the elimination bracket final of the Central Penn League Playoffs.
Fedder’s first-inning single extended his hitting streak to nine games.
Jarrit Wagner was the lone Clearfield runner to reach second base, advancing on a groundout after drawing a walk in the fifth inning.
Jake Sorbera, the starter and loser, and Bryce Timko each surrendered five hits in three-inning stints.
The Crickets parlayed three hits with two walks and a Chiefs error into four runs in the third frame, with Austin Carson’s two-run single the highlight.
They added two more runs after Sorbera surrendered two hits to start the fourth inning. With Timko on in relief, another Clearfield misplay allowed both runners to score.
Back-to-back RBI triples by Caleb Seyler and Talon Falls made it 8-0 in the fifth inning, and Alex Garbrick doubled and scored the final run on the third Chief error in the sixth.
The win went to Connor Bauman, the second Cricket to take the mound. He worked two hitless innings with two strikeouts and one walk.
Standing in the way of a CPL title sweep by Beech Creek (14-3) is regular season runner-up Sate College (13-4), which handed the Crickets all of their losses, including 6-3 in the winner’s bracket final Sunday afternoon.
The championship game is set for Tuesday evening, but a Beech Creek win would force a showdown Wednesday.
The Chiefs split four games in the playoffs after finishing in fourth place with a 9-5 record.
“I thought we had a very good season,” manager Sid Lansberry said. “A 14-8 record while playing in the league is something to be proud of. Our kids played hard all summer and faced a lot of good pitching.
“The CPL is one of the strongest leagues in the state.
With only one 19-year-old (Josh Sorbera) on the roster, things look good for next year.
“I’d like to thank assistant coaches Ed Yeager, Andy Sorbera and Hank Wilson
“And special thanks to the John Lewis Shade Post 6 for sponsoring the team and giving our young men the opportunity to play competitive baseball at a high level.”
CLEARFIELD — 0
Thayne Morgan ss 3000, Justin Fedder 2b 3010, Josh Sorbera c 3000, Zane Morgan lf 2000, Ty Bender rf 2000, Alec Graham rf 1010, Jarrit Wagner 1000, Jake Sorbera p-dh 1000, Will Myers 3b 2000, Wyatt Porter 3b 000, Brandon Orsich 1b 2000, Seth Bumbarger 1b 0000, Reese Wilson cf 2010. TOTALS: 22 0 3 0.
BEECH CREEK — 6
Toner Corl ss 2110, Ken Heverly ss 1000, Evan Prough ss 1000, Alex Garbrick 2b 4111, Austin Carson cf 4112, Wyatt Koch c 4000, Bryce Hanley p 2010, Connor Bauman p-rf 2110, Caleb Seyler 1b 4111, Ethan Watkins 3b 2110, Talon Falls 3b-p 1011, Mitch Smith rf-p-3b 2220, Devin Nyman lf 2100. TOTALS: 31 9 10 5.
Score by Innings
Clearfield 000 000 0 – 0 3 3
Beech Creek 004 221 x – 9 10 0
E – Fedder 2, Wilson. DP – Beech Creek 1 (Corl, Garbrick and Seyler). LOB – Clearfield 3; Beech Creek 6. 2B – Garbrick, Hanley, Watkins. 3B – Seyler, Falls. SB – Heverly, Smith 2. CS – Z. Morgan (by Koch).
Pitching
Clearfield – Ja. Sorbera 3+ IP (faced 2 batters in 4th), 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; Bryce Timko 3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.
Beech Creek – Hanley 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K; Bauman 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K; Smith 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K; Falls 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
WP – Ja. Sorbera 1.
W – Bauman. L – Ja. Sorbera (3-2).
