BROCKWAY — After letting the rain postpone Friday’s scheduled game, Curwensville finally had a day of great weather to get out the bats and gloves. But, for the first time this season, the diamond at the Curwensville High School was not the backdrop for the competition.
Instead, the bus got loaded with equipment, and on the road the Golden Tide went for a make-up game against the Brockway Rovers. Originally scheduled for March 27, both teams were ready to get to work in another AML contest.
What everyone got was a close, comeback game; that for six innings was any team’s to win.
This time, the Tide found a way, with solid pitching, and clutch at-bats, to take their first win of the 2017 season in a thrilling, but close, 8-7 final.
The first inning it was Curwensville getting the first runs on the board. Already having two outs on the board, Zach McClure came up huge with a single off starting pitcher Tyler Serafini, plating Noah VonGunden. Austin Butlin then plated Avery Francisco before the inning ended.
Curwensville added a third run in the third inning before Brockway got on the board in the bottom of the fourth.
The Tide decided to start Bryce Timko for the second time this season, and for five and two-thirds innings, he put on a clinic for the Rovers. It turned out to be the best start of the year for any Curwensville pitcher, tossing a season-high 15 strikeouts with only two walks, and yielding only two earned runs. Despite all that effort, he would not get the victory for Curwensville.
After earning one more run in the fifth inning, Curwensville suddenly faltered.
Things started to go downhill when Andrew Trunzo hit an RBI-single to plate Jarrett Esposito, who hit a double to start the inning. By the time the inning ended, another pair of runs came across the plate, and just like that, the score was 4-4, with just one inning remaining.
Serafini was pulled to start the seventh inning, after a five-hit, four earned-run performance. In his place, Christian Baka then came to the mound, hoping to close it out and give Brockway a chance.
What happened was a takeoff.
It started when Avery Francisco hit an RBI-single to bring in VonGunden. Butlin then brought both Terry and Francisco in on a two-RBI single. Timko then came to the plate on a fielder’s choice, but at that point the lead was 8-4, putting Brockway in a tough spot with only one inning left.
However, Brockway was not giving up without a fight.
VonGunden took over in the sixth inning, but in the final inning it started going downhill. He yielded three runs, on a pair of fielder’s choice plays, and one of two errors on Francisco. However, he kept after it, and earned the victory on the afternoon, his first of the year.
Curwensville (1-3) is back at it Tuesday afternoon when they are back on the road. This time, it’s a shorter trip up Rt. 879 to take on Clearfield, with first pitch at 4:30 p.m.
SCORE BY INNING
Curwensville 201 010 4 – 8 8 3
Brockway 000 103 3 – 7 5 1
Curwensville – 8
Noah VonGunden 3330, Josh Terry 4110, Avery Francisco 2321, Bryce Timko 2101, Zach McClure 4012, Austin Butlin 3010, Ralph Evans 4001, Jeremiah Farley 3000, Blake Passarelli 1000, Christian Bakaysa 3000. TOTALS 29 8 8 5.
Brockway – 7
Hunter Antonuccio 4110, Cameron Baka 3210, Angelo Inzana 3100, Jesse Johnson 3201, Jarrett Esposito 4113, Matthew Clark 3011, Zachary Foradori 2000, Andrew Trunzo 2011, Erik Botwright 2000, Tyler Serafini 3000. TOTALS 29 7 5 6.
ER: Francisco (2), Carter; Inzana. LOB: 6/6. 2B: VonGunden; Esposito. 3B: Francisco. FC: Serafini (2), Botwright, Johnson, Clark. HBP-Timko; Johnson. SB: VonGunden, Butlin; Baka (2), Inzana, Johnson, Clark.
Pitching
CURWENSVILLE: Timko-5.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 15 K, 2 BB; Francisco-0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 K, 1 BB; VonGunden-1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 K, 1 BB.
BROCKWAY: Serafini-6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 7 K, 3 BB; Baka-0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 K, 1 BB; Antonuccio-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 K, 1 BB.
WP-VonGunden (1-1)
LP-Baka (0-1)
Golden Tide Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 3/24 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | 2 – 8 | 0 – 1 |
| 3/27 | @ Brockway | ppd. | 0 – 1 |
| 3/30 | @ Punxsutawney | ppd. | 0 – 1 |
| 4/03 | ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC | 2 – 6 | 0 – 2 |
| 4/05 | JOHNSONBURG | 5 – 8 | 0 – 3 |
| 4/07 | WEST BRANCH | ppd. | 0 – 3 |
| 4/10 | @ Brockway | 8 – 7 | 1 – 3 |
| 4/11 | @ Clearfield | ||
| 4/13 | @ Johnsonburg | ||
| 4/18 | @ Mo Valley | ||
| 4/21 | @ DuBois Central Catholic | ||
| 4/24 | KANE | ||
| 4/25 | BROCKWAY | ||
| 4/27 | HARMONY | ||
| 5/02 | @ Elk County Catholic | ||
| 5/04 | @ Brookville | ||
| 5/05 | GLENDALE | ||
| 5/09 | CLEARFIELD | ||
| 5/11 | @ Kane | ||
| 5/15 | PUNXSUTAWNEY | ||
| 5/17 | DUBOIS CENTRAL CATH |