PHILIPSBURG — Freshman Ryan Whitehead stymied the Clearfield Area High School baseball team on five hits and Philipsburg-Osceola broke up Hunter Hipps’ shutout pitching with four runs in the fifth inning en route to a 7-1 win at the Don Womer Baseball Complex Thursday.
Whitehead had only two strikeouts but did not allow a walk in his complete-game effort that leveled the playoff-bound Mounties’ record at 9-9.
He took a one-hitter into the sixth inning, when Reese Wilson tripled and Nate Barr singled for the Bison run. Two outs later, Jake Sorbera and Ty Bender also singled, but pinch-runner Hayden Williams was out at the plate trying to score on the Bison’s final hit.
Hipps kept Clearfield in the Mountain League game until P-O put together four of their seven hits off him with a walk and an error for the four-spot in the fifth inning. A two-run double by Isaiah Dixon capped the Mountie uprising.
Hipps gave up three earned runs and three walks with one strikeout in his second start.
Wilson logged the final two outs of the fifth, but Philipsburg-Osceola turned a hit batsman and another Clearfield miscue into three more runs in the sixth, two crossing the plate on a triple by Josh Earnest.
Only one run was earned off Wilson, who struck out three.
Landon McDonald and Keegan Soltis had two hits apiece for the Mounties, who will begin the District 6 Class AAA Playoffs against league rival Central Monday.
Clearfield (10-5) finishes with a 7-5 league record since the early start to the District 6 postseason wipes out a postponement with Central and a suspended game with Bald Eagle Area.
The Bison were supposed to complete the game at BEA Friday, but that was pre-empted by a class trip for the Clearfield seniors.
Four non-league games are on tap next week for the Bison, who will be going to the District 9 Class AAAA Playoffs the following week.
They will be at home against DuBois Monday and Curwensville Tuesday before going on the road to Hollidaysburg Thursday in a game added to the schedule last week with the Central cancellation and to Punxsutawney Friday for the completion of a game suspended back on April 11.
Mountain League Standings — Huntingdon 12-1-1, Bellefonte 10-3, Clearfield 7-5, Philipsburg-Osceola 7-6, Bald Eagle Area 5-6, Central 5-6-1, Tyrone 3-10, Penns Valley 1-12.
CLEARFIELD — 1
Reese Wilson cf-p 3110, Hunter Hipps p 0000, Alec Graham cf 0000, Nate Barr dh 3011, Eli Glass 2b 3010, Hayden Williams pr-2b 0000, Seth Bumbarger 1b 3000, Jake Sorbera lf 3010, Ty Bender rf 3010, Harrison Peacock 3b 3000, Caullin Reed ss 3000, Allan Myers c 3000. TOTALS: 27 1 5 1.
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA — 7
Ryan Kephart ss 4110, Landon McDonald lf 4221, Keegan Soltis 3b 3020, Josh Earnest 2b 4113, Hunter Ammerman rf 0000, Isaiah Dixon dh 4012, Josh Bryan pr 0000, Trey Shaw c 3010, Micah Martin cf 2000, Gage Coudriet 1b 1100, Ryan Whitehead p 2210. TOTALS: 27 7 9 6.
Score by Innings
Clearfield 000 001 0 – 1 5 3
Philipsburg-Osceola 000 043 x – 7 9 3
E – Hipps, Peacock, Reed; Kephart 2, Coudriet. DP – Philipsburg-Osceola 1 (Soltis, Earnest and Coudriet). LOB – Clearfield 5; Philipsburg-Osceola 7 2B – Glass; Dixon. 3B – Wilson; Earnest. Sac – Whitehead. SB – Wilson; McDonald.
Pitching
Clearfield – Hipps 5-1/3 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K; Wilson 1-2/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.
Philipsburg-Osceola – Whitehead 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
HB – Wilson 1 (Coudriet).
W – Whitehead. L – Hipps (0-1).
Bison Scoreboard:
Date Opponent Score Record
3/27 @ Central ppd. 0 – 0
3/28 @ Central ppd. 0 – 0
3/31 @ Huntingdon 1 – 5 0 – 1
4/03 BELLEFONTE ppd. 0 – 1
4/05 @ Tyrone ppd. 0 – 1
4/06 BELLEFONTE ppd. 0 – 1
4/09 @ Central ppd. 0 – 1
4/10 BALD EAGLE AREA 4 – 2 1 – 1
4/11 @ Punxsutawney susp. 1 – 1
4/13 @ Penns Valley 3 – 0 2 – 1
4/14 @ Tyrone 8 – 7 3 – 1
4/16 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA ppd. 3 – 1
4/19 CENTRAL ppd. 3 – 1
4/20 BRADFORD 10 – 3 4 – 1
4/21 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA 5 – 0 5 – 1
4/23 @ Curwensville 7 – 2 6 – 1
4/24 HUNTINGDON ppd. 6 – 1
4/27 @ Bellefonte 8 – 9 6 – 2
4/28 @ Central 3 – 4 6 – 3
4/30 TYRONE 16 – 1 7 – 3
5/01 @ Brookville 14 – 4 8 – 3
5/02 HUNTINGDON 3 – 2 9 – 3
5/03 @ Bald Eagle Area susp. 9 – 3
5/07 CENTRAL cancelled 9 – 3
5/08 PENNS VALLEY 2 – 1 10 – 3
5/09 BELLEFONTE 3 – 9 10 – 4
5/11 @ Philipsburg-Osceola 1 – 7 10 – 5
5/14 DUBOIS
5/15 CURWENSVILLE
5/17 @ Hollidaysbug
5/18 @ Punxsutawney (susp. 4/11)