CURWENSVILLE-Rivalry games are always part of sports, no matter whether played on the gridiron, the hardwood, or now the baseball diamond. Thursday afternoon, even with the temperatures feeling more appropriate for Andy Evanko Memorial Field, the diamond would see the Curwensville Golden Tide play host to the Brockway Rovers. What the fans got on this chilly afternoon was an emotional roller coaster that saw so many ups, downs, and twists, it felt like a ride at Delgrosso’s Park.
Both teams would see runs plate for a majority of the game, resulting in one of the highest-scoring games in the young season. Curwensville found itself up early, but then behind. However, a stunning turn of events in the late going saw the Tide roar to life, and complete a stunning comeback to take the 20-12 victory.
“We showed a lot of heart today,” Tide head coach Tom Hartzinski said afterwards. “We got some runs early and that got our confidence going and energized the dugout. But, Brockway got some hits there in the middle of the game, got us down.
“But we shook it off and faced the adversity. This was a great victory.”
Curwensville got things going in the bottom of the first when they plated seven runs. A fielder’s choice started the scoring with Jake Mullins making it home, then one batter later a bases-loaded walk added the next. Tyler Lee was next at bat, singling into left field for a two-RBI swing to bring in Matt Brown and Jake McCracken. A pair of singles and a sacrifice fly accounted for the next three runs before Thad Butler was tagged out trying to advance to third after Chase Graham crossed home. One inning in and suddenly it was 7-0 in favor of the home sqad.
The Rovers got four of those runs back in the second inning, first from a bases-loaded walk of Seth Stewart, then a two-RBI single by Andrew Brubaker plated Jeremy Swanson and Dylan Bash. Finally, Stewart came in on a fielder’s choice by Ezra Swanson. Dylan Antonuccio tried to get a fifth in, but was tagged out when trying to score, however Brockway at that point had momentum in their favor.
It wasn’t until the fourth inning that the Rovers would get rolling, but not without a lot of controversy.
Brockway would score eight runs in the inning, but not without some questionable calls from the field regarding outs, or missed outs, depending on the side of the argument. With one out on the board, Swanson singled into left field, bringing in Marcus Bennett. After Benjamin Glasl managed to get into third, Shane Sunderlin, who started at pitcher but moved to third base in a rotation change, hurled 90 feet to second, trying to reach Thad Butler. But the tag was too late. One batter later, a two-RBI single from Conner Ford tied the game, but that was when things began getting interesting from the Tide side of the field. It appeared Shugarts was tagged out, but again the close call went to the judgment of the umpire and he called him safe.
A lot of the Curwensville bleachers felt the call was wrong, as did some of the Curwensville bench. The umpires huddled together, but the call stood, and Harzinski looked frustrated and tried to rally his team. Meanwhile, Brockway could feel the momentum was theirs and the dugout hype was high.
Ford then bunted and Lee tried for the fielder’s choice out at the plate, but it was not enough as the runner crossed home, giving Brockway the lead. A two-RBI single by Dash increased Brockway’s lead to 10-7, and the final two runs of the inning each came via Curwensville errors. After the inning ended, Curwensville was down 12-7. Harzinski went into the field during the switch to discuss things with the umpires, but meanwhile the remaining coaching staff huddled the entire team together, from those in the dugout to the bullpen, and got them ready to go back to work, trying to take all the controversy of the inning and fueling it into a rally.
“There is no ‘I’ in our team.” Harzinski said. “I know it’s cliché but this team plays well together. It was just a matter of time before our bats got going.”
Those eight runs in the inning were a blessing for the Rovers, but at the same time they had to be careful with their pitchers as Ford, who started the game on the mound, hit a limit with his pitch count after the fourth inning. He would give up a final run in the inning, but that coming on a wild pitch as Mullins would cross home to cut one run from the lead.
In the fifth inning, Andrew Brubaker would come in and start. With one out on the board, after hitting Butler, suddenly the Rovers were starting to turn as red as their uniforms. Mullins reached on an error, bringing Swanson home for the first run of the inning. With the bases loaded, the next at-bat was Spencer Hoover, who experienced getting struck by the ball, allowing Lee to walk to the plate. A 12-8 score to start the inning suddenly became 12-10. At that point, Chad Young was brought in to pitch.
That didn’t help as another error brought Butler to home plate, and finally Mullins made it around the bases on a fielder’s choice, and suddenly the Brockway lead was gone. With the sixth inning approaching, the scoreboard read 12-12, and this time the Tide was feeling good.
“They (Brockway) had a lot of trouble finding the strike zone today,” Harzinski said. “They pitched well, but couldn’t find the zone, and our guys know when to see their pitch.”
It was the bottom of the sixth when Curwensville suddenly blew the score wide open.
The bases were loaded following a walk, error, and fielder’s choice. Butler then flew out on a sacrifice fly, but Sunderlin roared home to put the Tide in the lead. One batter later, Mullins singled to right field, bringing Danny McGarry home. Keegan Wilson then singled down the line into left field, plating two more runners. Brown then lined into right field, bringing in another pair. With the score 18-12, Young’s time at the mound ended, and Lance Fitzgerald came in. Young got tagged with the loss on the afternoon, with one inning of work but eight runs, six earned, and a pair of walks.
A pitching change didn’t help much, as Lee was caught on the wrist by a 1-0 pitch to load the bases. Chase Graham then hit a sacrifice fly into left field, as McCracken beat the throw home to put the 20th run on the board for the Tide. A fly ball would end the inning, but also put the defense on alert as Brockway had scored eight runs already in one inning, and it was possible to happen once more.
Glasl started the inning with a fly out into left field, but Matthew Brubaker got one runner on base via a single into right field. Swanson then flew out into center. One out remained, and Dylan Antonuccio came in to pinch-hit. With a 2-1 count, Lee hurled home, but the ball went wide and Antonuccio looked to steal second. He would turn back trying to get back, but Hoover then took a shot at tossing to first for the pick.
He hurled to first, and Wilson grabbed the ball for the tag and went for Antonuccio’s arm. When the dust settled, even in the cold temperatures, the umpire called out and the Tide celebrated the come-from-behind victory. Meanwhile, the devastation could be seen in the Brockway dugout as the post-game wave seemed subdued, with the coaching staff angry at some of the things that took place.
Lee ultimately got credited with the victory with his four innings of relief, despite giving up six runs and not striking out a batter.
Harzinski acknowledged the high-scoring game was something that wasn’t common, even with the Tide having scored in double-digits in three prior games this year. But, he also knew that when it came to facing Brockway, the rivalry would bring out a different level of anxiety. Two years ago, on the same field, both teams combined for over 30 runs, with the Rovers winning that contest.
“It’s Brockway. We always know it’s going to be a tight game, and the rivalry’s always intense between these two teams,” Harzinski said with a smile.
Curwensville (4-4) will be on the road Monday against Dubois Central Catholic.
SCORE BY INNING
Brockway 040 800 0 – 12 7 5
Curwensville 700 148 X – 20 10 4
Brockway – 12
Benjamin Glasl-CF 5100, Matthew Brubaker-SS 5110, Ezra Swanson-RF 5112, Daniel Shugarts-3B/P 3212, Jeremy Swanson-CR 0100, Chase Azzatto-CR 0000, Conner Ford-P/2B 3101, Dylan Bash-1B 3222, Seth Stewart-DH/C 2201, Andrew Brubaker-C/P 3012, Marcus Bennett-LF 3110, Dylan Antonuccio-PH 0000. TOTALS 32 12 7 10.
Curwensville – 20
Jake Mullins-SS 3413, Spencer Hoover-C4122, Keegan Wilson-1B 4213, Matt Brown-DH 3223, Nick Fegert-PH 0100, Jake McCracken-CF 4201, Shane Sunderlin-P/3B 2110, Grant Swanson-CR/3B 0100, Tyler Lee-2B/P 4223, Chase Graham-RF 2201, Thad Butler-3B/2B 3112, Danny McGarry-CR 0100. TOTALS 29 20 10 18.
E: Shugarts-3, Ford-2/McCracken, Mullins, Sunderlin-2
ROE: Glasl, M. Brubaker, Shugarts, A. Brubaker/Lee, Mullins-2, Wilson
2B: Brown
SAC: Graham
SF: Butler, Graham, Mullins
FC: Glasl, Swanson, Ford/Brown, Graham, McCracken
HBP: Shugarts, Stewart/Butler, Hoover, Lee
SB: Mullins
PIK: M. Brubaker
Pitching
Brockway: Ford-4 IP, 4 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 7 SO, 6 BB; A. Brubaker-0.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 SO, 0 BB; Young-1 IP, 4 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 0 SO, 2 BB; Fitzgerald-0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 SO, 1 BB; Shugarts-0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 SO, 0 BB.
Curwensville: Sunderlin-3 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 5 SO, 5 BB; Lee-4 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 0 SO, 0 BB.
W-Lee
L-Young