BROCKWAY — After struggling to get things going on Monday against Clearfield, the Golden Tide of Curwensville had to immediately get back in the mindset to play again, as there was no rest for the weary.
This game meant loading up the bus and making a road trip through DuBois, and into the town of Brockway to face off with the Rovers, the first of two games between the two in a six-day period.
For Curwensville, they decided to have Noah VonGunden take to the mound to get them back on the winning track. On the opposing side, Brockway decided to put Tyler Serafini as the starting pitcher. Neither of the starting pitchers had the best record, but neither were focused on what they had experienced already in the season. Both were looking at this game, and were looking to get a win for their respective teams.
What wasn’t the deciding factor in the game was not the pitching, but instead defense. More specifically, defensive mistakes.
For a majority of the game, Curwensville held the lead, but Brockway would battle back. When it mattered the most, Curwensville’s defense faltered, allowing five runs in Brockway’s last inning of play, and falling for the third straight game, 7-3.
Brockway got on the board first in the bottom of the second in the easiest way possible. With the bases already loaded, Zach Foradori had the free pass to first base, bringing Matthew Clark to home plate for the first run of the game, an unearned run on the score sheet.
The Tide then answered back in the top of the third to take their first lead of the game. With Bryce Timko on second and Avery Francisco on third, and two outs on the board, Brock Heitsenrether came up enormous for the visitors, hammering a two-RBI single into deep right field, and giving Curwensville a one-run cushion. That cushion, however, did not last.
Clark got credit for bringing in the tying run in the bottom half of the third, thanks to a sacrifice fly that brought Cameron Baka to the plate.
At the end of three innings, it was tied a two runs a piece, and it remained that way until the sixth inning. Both teams played tough defense, and each pitcher remained strong on the mound. Curwensville then finally broke the tie in the top of the sixth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly from Francisco, which brought Josh Terry home and put the Tide ahead 3-2. VonGunden remained at the mound and looked to keep the momentum going to bring Curwensville back on the winning track.
Unfortunately, those tracks suddenly took an abrupt turn, and one that decided the game.
The sixth inning became a disaster for the Tide. A lead-off single from Santino Inzana put the tying run on base. Zane Puhala followed up with another single, while Inzana managed to round his way to third to put runners on the corners. Puhala then stole second to put a pair of runners in scoring position. A fielder’s choice by Foradori brought Inzana home, tying the game. Bryce Grecco then hit a short hopper into the gap between first and second, and Zach Brewer could not bring the ball in to make the play. The error brought Puhala to the plate, and the Tide now found themselves down by a run.
Hoping to stop things from getting out of hand, coach Tom Harzinski decided to make a few changes in the lineup. Timko moved to first base from left field, while Francisco went from behind home plate as catcher to left field. Jake McCracken then moved from center field to being the relief pitcher, as Terry then took his spot in the outfield. Brewer then went to the dugout, while Chase Graham took over at catcher.
After the warmups, things got going with runners at second and third. Things did not go as planned as it wasn’t the pitching that caused issues. Instead, it was the defense.
An error by Ralph Evans put Grecco on first, while Foradori came home. Serafini then walked on four consecutive pitches. With Grecco on third, Graham couldn’t handle a pitch while Ben Glasl was at bat, bringing home the sixth run of the game, and the fourth in the inning. Then, while Angelo Inzana was at the plate, Graham again mishandled a pitch, and Serafini made his way home for the seventh run of the game.
Finally, the Tide got the necessary three outs in the inning to stop the bleeding, but the four-run gap was in place, and Curwensville had one inning to make up the difference.
Unfortunately, the Rovers were standing confident, and ready to close out the afternoon.
Marcus Copelli got the request to come in and close things out for the home team. He did just that in the best way. Despite a pair of walks, Bakaysa, Heitsenrether, and VonGunden each went down on strikes, giving Copelli his first save of the 2018 campaign.
Curwensville stranded 13 runners on base in the game, the most of the season, compared to Brockway’s five, and also committed a season-high six errors. Curwensville falls to 5-5, now having lost three straight games.
The Tide will try to get back on the winning side on Thursday when they host an important Mo Valley League matchup against the Black Knights of Moshannon Valley. First pitch is set for 4:15 p.m.
SCORE BY INNING
Curwensville 002 001 0 – 3 7 6
Brockway 011 005 X – 7 3 2
Curwensville – 3
VonGunden P/SS 5000, Evans 2B 4000, Francisco C/LF 2111, Timko LF/1B 4110, McCracken CF/P 3000, Brewer 1B 3000, Graham C 0000, Bressler PH 0000, Bakaysa RF 4010, Heitsenrether DH 3012, Terry SS/CF 3130. TOTALS 31 3 7 3.
Brockway – 7
Glasl 2B 4000, A. Inzana CF 3000, Baka SS 4110, Clark C 1101, S. Inzana 3B 3110, Puhala LF 3110, Foradori RF 1101, Grecco DH 3101, Serafini P/SS 0101, PR Ford 0000. TOTALS 22 7 3 4.
LOB: Cville – 13, Bway – 5. E: Brewer, Evans, Farley, Graham, Terry, VonGunden/Baka, T. Inzana. SF: Francisco/Clark. HBP: McCracken. SB: Terry, Timko, VonGunden/Puhala. CS: A. Inzana
PITCHING
Curwensville: VonGunden-5 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 SO, 5 BB; McCracken-1 IP, 0 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 0 SO, 1 BB.
Brockway: Serafini-6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 SO, 2 BB; Copelli-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 SO, 2 BB.
WP-Serafini (2-2)
LP-VonGunden (2-4)
SV-Copelli (1)
Golden Tide Scoreboard:
Date Opponent Score Record
3/23 @ Broadalbin-Perth, NY 1 – 2, 8 inn. 0 – 1
3/24 @ Friends Select School, PA 9 – 2 1 – 1
3/27 BROCKWAY ppd. 1 – 1
3/29 @ Punxsutawney ppd. 1 – 1
4/05 @ Elk County Catholic ppd. 1 – 1
4/06 @ West Branch 3 – 0 2 – 1
4/09 @ Johnsonburg ppd. 2 – 1
4/10 ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC 5 – 3 3 – 1
4/14 JOHNSONBURG 2 – 5 3 – 2
4/14 JOHNSONBURG 5 – 0 4 – 2
4/16 @ Glendale ppd. 4 – 2
4/17 @ Kane ppd. 4 – 2
4/19 @ DuBois Central Catholic 3 – 0 5 – 2
4/20 PUNXSUTAWNEY 1 – 2 5 – 3
4/23 CLEARFIELD 2 – 7 5 – 4
4/24 @ Brockway 3 – 7 5 – 5
4/26 MO VALLEY
4/30 BROCKWAY
5/01 @ Elk County Catholic
5/07 @ Harmony
5/08 @ Glendale
5/09 KANE
5/10 @ Kane
5/15 @ Clearfield
5/16 DUBOIS CENTRAL CATH.