Bison Come From Behind To Pull Out 8-7 Win Over Chucks in 10-inning District 9 Class AAAA Semifinal Nail-Biter

HYDE — It took an outstanding relief pitching performance by Tommy Hazel, a pair of bases-loaded walks in the seventh inning to force extra frames and a small-ball run in the bottom of the 10th for Clearfield to finally get past District 9 playoff nemesis Punxsutawney 8-7 in a Class AAAA semifinal at the Bison Sports Complex Wednesday.

Not only did the No. 2-seeded Bison end a five-game losing streak to the Chucks, including four Class AAA title games under the old PIAA four-classification format, but they also halted Punxsy’s 13-year reign as District 9 champs.

All that is history as far as longtime Bison coach Sid Lansberry is concerned.

Bundled up as the temperature dropped while the Bison were facing a tough finish to a very good season on the short end of a 7-4 score in the sixth inning, Lansberry began to worry about his four seniors losing their final game at the BSC.

“That would have been my biggest disappointment,” he said. “It was a gut-wrenching game. Everything was tense. I was cold and miserable. That’s not enjoyable baseball for me.”

He paused and then added, with a grin, “Until the end.”

Which came when Seth Bumbarger slid under a high throw to the plate on senior Zane Morgan’s high chopper to the left side with one out in the 10th for a walk-off win that will send Clearfield (14-7) to the championship game against Bradford, which surprised No. 1 seed St. Marys 3-2 Tuesday.

Bumbarger had led off by fisting a Logan Johnston pitch to short right field for a single and his fourth two-hit game in a row. Freshman Allan Myers was up to bunt but watched four balls go by.

Johnston’s sixth walk in three-plus innings after relieving starter Brandon Matthews prompted another pitching change, and senior Thayne Morgan laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt on Isaac Stouffer’s second offering.

Reese Wilson was awarded an intentional walk before Zane Morgan, who already had a career-high four hits, registered the game-winning RBI that gave Hazel the outcome he deserved for his terrific job of stymieing the Chucks over the final 4-1/3 innings.

The senior right-hander relieved classmate Will Myers with two on and one out in the sixth, when the Chucks grabbed their three-run lead on a bases-loaded walk and Joey Dipietro’s two-run single.

He racked up seven strikeouts while allowing only two hits and issuing two walks.

“I’m just happy we had Tommy to put in,” Lansberry said. “He was throwing hard. He was throwing the ball by those guys, really, in some situations.”

Still, the Bison were staring at a crushing defeat after having a 4-1 lead turn into the 7-4 deficit in two innings.

They got a gift run in the sixth on Punxsy’s lone misplay that enabled Eli Glass to score after lashing a single to center and advancing on a wild pitch and a groundout.

In the seventh, the Bison were down to their last out, with Wilson and Zane Morgan aboard via singles, when Johnston suddenly couldn’t find the plate.

Successive walks to Glass, Ty Bender and Myers made it a new game, with Myers somehow laying off a close 3-2 pitch for the equalizer.

“That’s pretty unbelievable,” Lansberry said of the way the inning evolved. “And there’s nobody I’d rather have up there than Will in that situation. He’s so patient, sometimes to a fault. I don’t know how he took that pitch.”

Myers then prevented the Chucks from cashing a two-on, one-out threat in the eighth when he ranged behind second base to scoop up Daren Byers’ roller and get the important second out at first.

“I thought that was a base hit all the way,” Lansberry said.

Punxsy (8-11) also threatened in the ninth on Derek Huet’s single and a sacrifice bunt, but Hazel escaped on a groundout and a hard liner by Stouffer that sliced back to Bender in right center.

Then, the Bison made sure Hazel didn’t have to return to the mound.

Matthews not being able to go back on the bump after six innings because of a high pitch count was costly for the Chucks as the Bison only roughed him up in the fourth with four of their 11 hits, including infield singles by Zane Morgan and Hazel that triggered their four-run rally.

Myers delivered the key hit, a double to left center that put the Bison ahead 2-1 after Glass plated Morgan with a groundout. Bumbarger followed with an RBI single to left and the Bison executed a double steal to make it 4-1.

“Matthews is a good pitcher,” Lansberry said of the Youngstown State commit who had been effective for six innings against the Bison in their mid-season 3-2 win decided in the seventh. “After that fourth, he was tough in the fifth and sixth. The pitch count, in this case, helped us.”

Junior Jake Sorbera was the Bison starter and extended his scoreless inning streak to 19-1/3 innings before Byers’ single got the Chucks on the board in top of the fourth.

One of his four strikeouts had left three Chucks on base in the second, but he was charged with three more runs, all unearned, in the fourth.

After Clearfield’s two miscues around Sorbera’s lone walk filled the sacks, Dipietro singled home one run, and Johnston lined Myers’ first pitch to left for two RBIs, tying the game 4-4. Harrison Peacock then turned Tyler Richardson’s grounder into a third-to-first double play.

“Jake did what we wanted him to do,” Lansberry said. “We were hoping to get three or four innings out of him. He did a good job.”

“Will, unfortunately, had control problems. He had been pitching great lately.”

Four walks by Myers and Dipietro’s clutch hit gave Punxsy the big lead and had Lansberry pacing the dugout in the sixth, but his 46th Clearfield team found a way to extend the season.

“It’s a good win, especially for the seniors,” he said. “The way this team has gotten better over the year, I would have hated to see it end today.”

Hazel, Myers and the Morgan twins will get to don the Red and Black at least one more time next Wednesday when the Bison seek their first district title since 2003 against an upstart Bradford (8-12) team Lansberry described as very good when ace Danny Manion is pitching.

Showers Field in DuBois is the probable site, with the time to be announced.

PUNXSUTAWNEY — 7

Brandon Matthews p-ss 5100, Lucas Burkett 2b 4200, Isaac Stouffer 3b-p 4101, Adison Neal pr 0100, Joey Dipietro c 4123, Trenton Stouffer 1b 0000, Logan Johnston dh-p-3b 5022, Tyler Richardson ss ss-rf 4020, Daren Byers rf-lf 4111, Jacob Weaver cf 3000, Caleb Smith lf 2100, Derek Huet ph-1b 2010. TOTALS: 37 7 8 7.

CLEARFIELD — 8

Thayne Morgan 2b 4000, Reese Wilson cf 4111, Zane Morgan c 6241, Tommy Hazel lf-p 4110, Eli Glass 3b-ss 4111, Alec Graham pr 0000, Ty Bender rf 2101, Will Myers ss-p-ss 4112, Seth Bumbarger 1b 5121, Jake Sorbera p-lf 0000, Harrison Peacock 3b 0000, Allan Myers dh 4010. TOTALS: 37 8 11 6.

Score by Innings

Punxsutawney 000 133 000 0 – 7 8 1
Clearfield 000 401 200 1 – 8 11 2
E – Matthews; Glass, Myers.. DP – Punxsutawney 1 (Burkett and T. Stouffer); Clearfield 1 (Peacock and Bumbarger). LOB – Punxsutawney 11; Clearfield 12. 2B – Myers. Sac – Matthews, Weaver; T. Morgan, Hazel. SB – Richardson; Myers. CS – Wilson (by Dipietro).

Pitching

Punxsutawney – Matthews 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, r K; Johnston 3+ IP (faced 2 batters in 10th), 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 1 K; I. Stouffer 1/3 IP, 0 H,0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K.
Clearfield – Sorbera 4-1/3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K; Myers 1-1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 0 K; Hazel 4-1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K.
WP – Matthews 1.
W – Hazel (3-1). L – Johnston.

Umpires – Brian Harlan (plate), Tim Mahoney (first base), Kenny Knepp (second base), James Slay (third base).

Bison Scoreboard: