CURWENSVILLE — What was to be a game to start the season for both the Curwensville Golden Tide and the Clearfield Bison got moved around a few times due to protocols and weather. Finally, the two local squads would meet outside the Curwensville High School for a non-league showdown for bragging rights. The sunny skies welcomed parents on both sides of the field, and they were ready for the competition.
What the fans got was a surprising victory, at least in how it came about. Neither squad had the bats working well, but Clearfield was given a gift in one inning. The Bison were handed easy runs courtesy of five consecutive walks, more than enough to cruise to a 9-2 victory, ending Curwensville’s three-game win streak, and also giving Clearfield its first win since last Wednesday.
“We just had one bad inning,” Curwensville head coach Tom Harzinski said afterwards. “We were pitching well, and Jake (Mullins) was right in the strike zone. But he was just outside a lot of the time. We just couldn’t get a strike. Tyler (Lee) had the same issue, and he is usually a strong pitcher for us.
“I’m grateful for our other pitchers for getting strikes, but we just simply had one bad inning.”
Curwensville got on the board first when Mullins connected on a line drive to left field, which brought Shane Sunderlin to the plate and gave the Golden Tide the early 1-0 lead.
Once the top of the fourth inning came, things suddenly went from decent, to stunning, for the home squad.
With two outs already on the board, Hunter Dixon walked, then Ryan Gearhart got the same experience. Matt Bailor got hit on a 2-2 pitch, loading the bases. Cole Bloom then got the bases loaded walk to tie the game, but then Nolan Barr had the same fate, bringing Gearhart home for the go-ahead run. Lee was then brought in to pitch, but he walked Kyle Elensky, Morgen Billotte, and Blake Prestash. Six at-bats, five walks, five runs.
Clearfield head coach Sid Lansberry focused on those walks since his team wasn’t hitting as well as expected.
“Jake (Mullins) was throwing really well, but he just lost it,” he said. “All of a sudden, with two outs and nobody on, and he walks three guys. We only had one hit in the inning.
“The difference in the game was that one inning.”
Shane Sunderlin was brought in after seeing five runs put up, and unfortunately he would see Karson Rumsky hit a single into center field to bring in two runs. One inning saw seven runs, but only two of them coming courtesy of the Bison bats.
At the same time, while the Curwensville pitchers were struggling, Hunter Dixon was having another solid outing. Despite a higher than usual pitch count, he would strike out nine in his six innings of work, giving up just two runs and only one walk. By comparison, the Tide only struck out three, but walked a total of 11 batters. Mullins would get tagged with the loss on the afternoon.
Curwensville’s final run of the day came in the bottom of the fourth when Matt Brown came around on an error by Barr. Clearfield added two more runs in the fifth when Morgen Billotte got a ground ball into the infield, but was misplayed by the Tide, allowing a pair of runs to make it around to set the final score.
“We did hit the ball well today, but at the same time we had 11 walks,” Lansberry said. “You cannot live on that, because it’s not going to happen very often, especially in the Mountain League. We’re fortunate in that respect, but I also think our kids are patient at the plate; that’s something we preach, and don’t go up to the plate just hacking away at each pitch.”
Clearfield (3-4-1) is in the midst of a four-game stint this week, as they will be back on their home diamond Tuesday afternoon against Penns Valley, with first pitch at 4:30 p.m. Curwensville (3-3) is on the road Tuesday against Johnsonburg.
SCORE BY INNING
Clearfield 000 720 0 – 9 4 2
Curwensville 001 100 0 – 2 5 2
Clearfield – 9
Nolan Barr-2B 3201, Kyle Elensky-3B 2101, Morgen Billotte-CF 4111, Blake Prestash-1B 3001, Karson Rumsky-SS 4022, Hunter Dixon-P 3100, Ryan Gearhart-LF 2100, Matt Bailor-C 3100, Cole Bloom-RF 3201. TOTALS 27 9 4 7.
Curwensville – 2
Jake Mullins-P 4021, Spencer Hoover-DH 3000, Keegan Wilson-1B 3000, Matt Brown-C 3110, Jake McCracken-CF 2000, Tyler Lee-2B 3000, Shane Sunderlin-3B 3110, Chase Graham-RF 2000, Thad Butler-SS 3010. TOTALS 26 2 5 1.
LOB: 9/5
E: Barr, Gearhart/Mullins, Sunderlin
ROE: Billotte, Bloom/Sunderlin
SAC: Graham
FC: Bailor, Bloom
HBP: Bailor
SB: Bailor, Billotte, Elensky, Rumsky
CS: Butler
Pitching
Clearfield: Dixon-6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 9 SO, 1 BB; Elensky-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 0 BB.
Curwensville: Mullins-3.2 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 SO, 5 BB; Lee-0 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 SO, 3 BB; Sunderlin-1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 SO, 3 BB; McCracken-2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 1 BB.
W-Dixon
L-Mullins