HYDE — Repeating as District 9 Class AAAA champion most likely will require the Clearfield Area High School baseball team to turn in a performance at least equal to its signature 3-2 victory over Central Penn League and District 6 Class AAA king Huntingdon that is the lone blemish on the Bearcats’ 20-1-1 record.
While No. 1 seed St. Marys is 14-6 for Wednesday’s 6:30 p.m. title game at Showers Field in DuBois, the Flying Dutch boast one of the premier pitchers in the region in Nate Beimel.
The 6-4 junior left-hander’s credentials are scintillating.
He’s 5-0 with a 0.82 earned run average for 34 innings in 10 appearances.
His MaxPreps statistics show 73 strikeouts and 20 walks with only five runs allowed, four earned.
The Columbia University commit registered no-nos in three starts the first two weeks of the month before giving up two runs on two hits and four walks over four innings in the Flying Dutch’s five-inning, 12-2 semifinal win against Bradford last Wednesday.
“We’ve heard a lot about him, but our kids have never seen him, so we’re flying blind,” Bison coach Sid Lansberry said. “They know he’s good. We’ve been told he throws in the mid-80s with a good changeup and good curveball.
“But our league has a lot of good pitchers, too, and I think our kids have enough confidence with the pitchers we’ve faced that they’re not going to give in too easy.
“We’ll do what we can. The way we hit the ball the other day, if we can be aggressive like that, you never know what‘s going to happen later in the game, especially with the pitch count. That can be a factor, too.”
The third-seed Bison (12-5) rode a 13-hit attack to an 8-2 victory over Punxsutawney in their semifinal last week.
If the Flying Dutch need relief help, they can turn to Tim Beimel, 3-3 but sporting a 1.26 ERA for 33-1/3 innings, or Jared Groll, 5-1 with a 2.44 ERA for 28-2/3 innings. Both right-handers are seniors.
St. Marys, which plays in the Central Penn League and was 2-4 against higher-higher classification opponents DuBois, Hollidaysburg, Altoona and Williamsport while 2-0 against Punxsutawney, averages just under seven runs a game with a .302 batting average.
Big guns are junior outfielder Brandon Sicheri (.393, 17 RBIs), outfielder Tim Beimel (.388, 16 RBIs), shortstop Groll (.380, 14 RBIs) and Nate Beimel (.357, 21 RBIs) with four of the team‘s seven home runs. The latter plays first base when not on the mound.
Other possible starters are junior Shane Price (.286), sophomore Jake Meeker (.261), senior Jesse Meeker (.256), senior Brendon Rolley(.250) and senior Hayden Tettis (.234).
“That’s a good solid team,” Lansberry said. “They played good competition and some games they lost were close. Normally, they play good defense.
“No doubt, it’s going to be a formidable challenge. We know that.”
Against three common opponents, St. Marys was 5-1 while Clearfield was 4-0.
The Flying Dutch swept Punxsutawney 5-2 and 7-2 as well as Bradford 20-6 and 12-0 and lost to Brookville 3-1 in District 9 Northern Allegany League Big School Division play. Then, they made it three Mercy Rule wins in a row over the Owls in the semis.
The Bison defeated Bradford 10-3, Brookville 14-4 and Punxsy 10-4 during the regular season and then trimmed No. 2 seed Punxsy for the second time in six days in the semifinal.
Coming off a strong performance in that game, senior right-hander Jake Sorbera (4-2) draws the starting assignment with his 1.59 ERA for 44 innings in seven starts and one relief outing. He has 32 strikeouts and 12 walks.
Next up, as he was for the final out at Punxsy, will be junior righty Eli Glass (5-0), who also has made eight appearances with four starts. He has worked 26 innings and has been stingy with both hits, 16, and runs, five with four earned for a 1.08 ERA. He has 32 strikeouts and 10 walks.
Barring any changes, the Bison will back Sorbera (.220, 12 RBIs) with sophomore Nate Barr (.386) behind the plate, senior Seth Bumbarger (.354, 18 RBIs) at first base, sophomore Hayden Williams (.235) at second base, sophomore Caullin Reed (.242) at shortstop, sophomore Harrison Peacock (10 RBIs) at third base, Glass (.510, 10 RBIs) in left field, senior Reese Wilson (.226) in center field and senior Alec Graham in right field.
Junior Ty Bender (.255, 11 RBIs) DHed for Graham last week.
“As always, the key for us is defense,” Lansberry said. “We can’t give away any runs, so we‘ve got to play tight defense right from the beginning.
“We don’t want to get in a hole, especially against a real tough pitcher. It’s tough to come back against someone like Beimel.”
Fans should note the Flying Dutch-Bison game will be preceded by the District 9 Class AA championship between Brockway and Johnsonburg that is set for four o’clock.
The District 9 champ will advance to the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament first round against District 7 (WPIAL) runner-up Ringgold (16-4) Monday, with the site and time to be determined. The Rams lost 4-1 to South Fayette in the WPIAL title game Tuesday night.
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 cancelled 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 cancelled 10 – 5
5/15 CURWENSVILLE cancelled 10 – 5
5/16 BELLEFONTE cancelled 10 – 5
5/17 @ Hollidaysbug cancelled 10 – 5
5/18 @ Punxsutawney (susp. 4/11) 10 – 4 11 – 5
5/23 District 9 AAAA Semifinals
5/23 @ Punxsutawney 8 – 2 12 – 5
5/30 District 9 Finals
5/30 vs. St. Marys @ DuBois