BASEBALL
DUBOIS — Junior right-hander Brandon Orsich (Clearfield) pitched 6-1/3 innings in relief to register his 10th win without a loss as Penn State DuBois defeated Bryant & Stratton Albany (N.Y.) 12-7 at Showers Field Thursday afternoon to claim the United State Collegiate Athletic Association Small College World Series championship for the second year in a row.
Orsich, who started and worked 6-1/3 innings three days earlier when the third-seeded Lions’ began their title run with a 7-1 victory over Southern Maine Community College, was summoned by coach Tom Calliari after the tourney hosts went in front 4-3 on a two-run home run by junior Vince McDowell (West Branch) in the top of the third inning.
Orsich faced 26 batters in his quick turnaround appearance, striking out four and walking one while allowing seven hits and four earned runs. Justin Orlowski came on to record the final two outs.
McDowell had two more RBIs on a first-inning single and an eighth-inning homer.
Orsich, who surrendered just five hits while fanning four and hitting one against Southern Main CC, and McDowell were named to the all-tournament team, the latter as a utilityman.
Most Valuable Player laurels went to sophomore shortstop/pitcher Toner Corl (/Central Mountain) after he set a tournament record with seven RBIs, four coming on his grand slam homer that broke the game open in the fifth inning at 8-3.
He drove in sophomore outfielder Thayne Morgan (Clearfield) with a single in the seventh and a double in the eighth. Morgan had singled and stolen second base both times.
Sophomore utilityman Zane Morgan (Clearfield) had one plate appearance.
Freshman pitcher Jake Sorbera (Clearfield) and freshman first baseman Seth Bumbarger (Clearfield) did not see any action.
The five former Clearfield Bison are among 14 players from District 9 schools on the 31-man roster. Another 11 hailed from District 6 schools.
After beating No. 6 seed Southern Maine CC, Penn State DuBois (32-15) then advanced to the championship round with wins over No. 7 seed Bryant & Stratton 4-0 behind Corl’s three-hit pitching and No. 1 seed Apprentice School (Va.) 6-3.
Bryant & Stratton (31-25) came out of the loser’s bracket to force an extra game by trimming the Lions 6-1 after eliminating Apprentice School 4-3 Thursday morning.
The Bobcats, who swept the Lions 4-1 and 9-7 April 25, finished 6-2 in the tourney.
Orsich, who finished second in wins, tied for second in starts (12) and was 11th in innings pitched (57) in USCAA national statistics, led the Penn State DuBois staff in all three of those categories as well as strikeouts (28) and tied for the most complete games (3).
He posted a 3.63 earned run average, allowing 62 hits and 23 runs, all earned, while walking 11 and hitting eight.
Sorbera logged 13 appearances, all in relief, and had a 3.00 ERA for 21 innings. He gave up 20 hits and 10 runs, seven earned, and had 11 strikeouts and 10 walks.
Thayne Morgan tied for team hitting honors, .432, with 35 hits in 81 at-bats, and led the Lions in runs scored (34) and stolen bases (27), which ranked third in the USCAA. He played in 41 games with 21 starts.
Zane Morgan hit .365 (27-for-74) with five doubles, one triple and two home runs. He made 35 appearances, 20 of them starts, and drove in 19 runs, scored 25 and was 10-for-11 in steal attempts.
Bumbarger made four starts in 17 games, hitting .261 with two double and one triple.
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MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
GREENSBURG — Freshman Alex Coval (Clearfield) competed in four events for Seton Hill with 4:43.59 his best time for the 1,500 meters and 10:44.05 the time for his lone race at 3,000 meters.
The 1,500 PR was set in the Dave Labor Invitational at Slippery Rock April 6, while the 3,000 PR occurred in the Costal Carolina Invitational March 9.
Coval ran the mile three times on indoor tracks during the winter, knocking more than 14 seconds of his previous mark with a 5:15.01 effort in the Youngstown State Mid-Major Invitational in early February.