CURWENSVILLE — In the hopes of finally getting on the winning side of the record for 2021, the Curwensville Golden Tide got another chance to be back in front of the home fans, although limited, on Thursday afternoon. An AML showdown with Elk County Catholic was on the docket, and both squads were ready to battle.
And battle they did. Neither team could figure out how to get on the scoreboard through four innings. It was the fifth inning that the Tide made everything happen, as they would score all of their runs in one inning, dropping the Crusaders, 5-0, for their first win of the season.
Pitchers for both teams were dealing all game long. Combined the Crusaders and Tide only had five hits between them.
A pair of singles for the Crusaders, plus a walk, put runners in scoring position. But Shawn Geci got picked off at first for the second out, and a strikeout ended the inning.
Things then stayed similar on both sides, as neither team saw more than four batters come to the plate through the middle of the fifth inning. But in the bottom of the fifth, suddenly Curwensville got things going, with a bit of help.
Following a single and a walk, Jake Mullins was hit by pitcher Jake DePrator to load the bases. Shane Hoover then hit a ground ball, but a fielding error from David Anderson allowed Nick Fegert to get home for the opening run of the game. Keegan Wilson followed that up in similar fashion, reaching first on another error. Thad Butler made it home to make the lead 2-0.
Two batters later, with the bases loaded after a fielder’s choice at home saved one run, Shane Sunderlin blasted a fly ball into center field on the first pitch he saw. The ball landed and it brought Wilson, Matt Brown, and Hoover home for a three-RBI double to put the Tide up by five.
That ultimately was enough, as Sunderlin would shut out the Crusaders with 6.1 innings of work, striking out eight while walking just three. He would earn his first win of the season. DePrator would get tagged with the loss as he came in in the fifth inning after Matt Kraus went the previous four.
Curwensville (1-2) is back on the road Friday for a long road trip for a 5:30 p.m. first pitch against Karns City.
SCORE BY INNING
E.C. Catholic 000 000 0 – 0 3 3
Curwensville 000 050 X – 5 2 1
Elk County Catholic – 0
Tommy Slay 4010, Shawn Geci 3010, Joe Tettis 3000, Dominic Zambanni 1000, Luke Ginther 3000, Jordan DePrator 3010, Mark Kraus 2000, Andrew Dellaquila 2000, David Anderson 3000. TOTALS 24 0 3 0.
Curwensville – 5
Jake Mullins 1000, Spencer Hoover 3101, Keegan Wilson 4101, Matt Brown 3100, Shane Sunderlin 2013, Tyler Lee 2000, Jayson Rowles 1000, Shane Henry 2000, Chase Graham 2010, Nick Fegert 0100, Thad Butler 2100. TOTALS 22 5 2 5.
LOB: 7/7
E: Geci, Tettis, Anderson/Butler
ROE: Hoover, Sunderlin, Wilson
2B: DePrator/Sunderlin
FC: Kraus, Anderson/Brown, Butler, Lee
HBP: Dellaquila/Mullins
SB: Kraus/Butler, Mullins
PIK: Geci
GIDP: Rowles
Pitching
E.C. Catholic: Kraus-4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 SO, 3 BB; DePrator-2 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 4 BB.
Curwensville: Sunderlin-6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 8 SO, 3 BB; Lee-0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 0 BB.
W-Sunderlin
L-DePrator