Myers Handcuffs Mounties, Bison Extend Win Streak to Five

HYDE — Will Myers turned in a quality start for his fifth win while Ty Bender, Eli Glass and Tommy Hazel combined for six hits and seven runs driven in to lead the Clearfield Area High School baseball team past Mountain League rival Philipsburg-Osceola 10-3 on Senior Night at the Bison Sports Complex Thursday.

Myers fired a gem at the Mounties in what was his final appearance on the BSC mound unless the Bison rate a home game in the District 9 Class AAAA Playoffs.

The right-hander, one of four senior regulars, recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts while limiting the Mounties, who had won seven of their last eight games, to three hits and one run before reaching the 100-pitch limit with two outs in the sixth inning after issuing both of his walks.

“I think Will pitched as well as he ever has,” Bison coach Sid Lansberry said. “It seemed to me that he was throwing a little bit harder than usual. And 10 strikeouts, that’s unusual for him.”

Hazel, another senior, got the final four outs, giving up two runs, one earned, in the seventh inning.

Clearfield (11-6, 7-6 ML) solved two P-O hurlers for 11 hits and took advantage of three Mountie errors to extend its winning streak to five games.

Bender had three hits, one a double, and drove in two runs, Glass knocked in three runs with two singles and a sacrifice fly and Hazel added a pair of RBIs with a single and a groundout in addition to scoring twice.

“That’s a good hitting display,” Lansberry said. “Hopefully, we’ll keep it up, because we’ve been hitting better recently. I think we were under .200 for the first eight games or so.

“Eli and Ty had big games, and they’re both sophomores.”

The Bison got to Gage Coudriet for nine hits and eight runs, four earned, in five innings.

Almost one year ago to the day, Coudriet bested Myers with a seven-hitter for a 4-0 victory that gave the Mounties a share of the 2016 league title, and the lanky junior right-hander entered the rematch with a 2-2 record and a 1.54 earned run average in five appearances.

He was unable to keep the Bison in check again as they atoned for a 9-6 road loss on April 18 in impressive fashion.

P-O (11-7, 8-5 ML) broke on top in the first inning when Logan Williamson whacked a double to right center and scored on a sacrifice fly by Keegan Soltis, but Clearfield answered in the second. Hazel drew a nine-pitch walk, stole second and was waved around third when Glass’ high fly fell in front of a diving Bubba Slogosky near the left field line. Bender followed with a liner to center that plated Glass with the go-ahead run.

Leading off the fourth inning, Hazel reached second base on a throwing error, advanced on Myers’ sac bunt and crossed the plate on Glass’ sac fly to make it 3-1.

The Bison then blew it open with five runs in the fifth.

Freshman Allan Myers triggered the rally by belting a double to deep left in his first varsity at-bat. Designated hitter Alec Graham re-entered and was driven in by senior Thayne Morgan. Zane Morgan matched his twin brother’s hit with a perfect bunt, and the score jumped to 8-1 on Hazel’s groundout, Glass’ line single into right field, Bender’s team-high eighth double into the left field corner and a passed ball.

The Bison added two runs off reliever Noah Jeffries in the sixth on hits by Jake Sorbera and Hazel around a hit batsman and a Mountie misplay.

A walk and pinch-hitter Ryan Kephart’s double led to P-O’s two runs off Hazel in the seventh.

“That’s a great win for our program, especially at this stage of the season,” Lansberry said. “P-O has been hot lately. They beat Bellefonte twice and Huntingdon in the last week.

“That clinches a winning season and gets us closer to the No. 1 seed for the playoffs, but that‘s still not a guarantee.”

Wins are the first criteria for determining D-9 playoff seeds, and Clearfield has a slim edge over St. Marys (10-8) as the Flying Dutch nipped Bradford 3-2 in nine innings Thursday.

Both teams have two games remaining, with the Bison closing the regular season at DuBois Monday and against Bald Eagle Area at Wingate in their league finale Wednesday.

Lansberry pointed out the Bison must finish with more wins to earn the top seed, for the Flying Dutch would have the advantage in schedule points if the teams tie in victories.

PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA — 3

Logan Williamson cf 3111, Landon McDonald 3b-lf 3000, Keegan Soltis 1b-3b 1011, Josh Earnest 2b 3000, Micah Martin cf 3000, Trey Shaw c 2010, Bubba Slogosky lf 0000, Noah Jeffries p 0000, Brandon Kephart d 2000, Logan Moore ph 1100, Gage Coudriet p-1b 2000, Ryan Kephart ph 1110, Hunter Ammerman rf 2000, Riley Phillips ph 1001. TOTALS: 24 3 4 3.

CLEARFIELD — 10

Thayne Morgan 2b 3211, Reese Wilson cf 4010, Zane Morgan c 4110, Tommy Hazel lf-p 3212, Will Myers p-ss 3100, Eli Glass ss-3b 3223, Ty Bender rf 3032, Seth Bumbarger 1b 3000, Harrison Peacock 3b 0000, Jake Sorbera lf 1110, Alec Graham dh 1100, Allan Myers ph 1010. TOTALS: 29 10 11 8.

Score by Innings

Philipsburg-Osceola  100  000  2 –   3    4  3
Clearfield                      020  152  x – 10  11  2
E – Williams, McDonald 2; Myers 2. PB – Shaw. LOB – Philipsburg-Osceola 5; Clearfield 5. 2B – Williamson; Bender, Myers. Sac – McDonald; Myers. SF – Soltis; Glass. SB – Hazel. CS – McDonald (by Z. Morgan); Wilson (by Shaw).

Pitching

Philipsburg-Osceola – Coudriet 6 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 4 R, 1 BB, 6 K; Jeffries 1 IP, 2 H,2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
Clearfield – Myers 5-2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 K; Hazel 1-1/3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB.
HB – Jeffries 1 (T. Morgan).
W – Myers (5-2). L – Coudriet (2-3).

Umpires – Scott Viehdorfer (plate) and Mark Michelucci (bases).

Bison Scoreboard: