SAINT MARYS — The definitive victory the night before for the Curwensville Golden Tide brought them back to the .500-mark on the season, but more importantly gave them a jolt of energy as the final two weeks of the season were well on their way. Wednesday night, the Tide rolled into Saint Marys ready for a competitive afternoon against the Elk County Catholic Crusaders.
Early on, it was a back-and-forth game between the two squads, with neither gaining a clear advantage. However, Curwensville’s bats got working late in the game, putting up six runs in one inning, the deciding factor in what finished as a 9-4 victory for the Tide.
Curwensville got on the board first in the opening inning. After a lead-off walk to Spencer Hoover, who advanced to second on a single from Keegan Wilson, Jake Mullins took a 1-0 pitch on a trip on the dirt and grass into left field, enough to bring Hoover in from second on the RBI-single to put the Tide up by one.
However, the Crusaders were not only able to answer back, but took the lead over the next two innings.
The game got tied up in the second courtesy of an RBI-double by Jordan DePrator. An inning later, Dominic Zambanini took a 2-2 pitch into right field, bringing both Tommy Slay and David Anderson home. The two RBI-single made the score 3-1, which prompted head coach Tom Harzinski to rally the team to get them focused on what they needed to do to get those runs back.
Curwensville got one run back in the top of the fourth. With runners on the corners, Tyler Lee hit a ground ball to second base, but it was too late to go for the out at home, so while he sacrificed a hit, Shane Sunderlin crossed the plate, bringing the Tide to within one run. One inning later, a similar situation. Runners on the corners, and Mullins at the plate. This time, he would connect on a fielder’s choice to Slay at short stop, who opted to go for the out at second. However, in doing so, Thad Butler crossed home, and the game was all knotted up at three runs a piece. The Crusaders didn’t manage to get a run in the bottom of the frame, and both squads headed to the sixth.
It was then that the Tide suddenly found something and grabbed the lead for good.
A single and a fielding error put two runners on, then Hoover connected to left field to bring in the first run, putting Curwensville up 4-3. Two batters later, with two outs on the board, another RBI-single by Keegan Wilson increased the lead. Curwensville would add another four runs in the next three at-bats, one from an error, an RBI-single, and a two RBI-double. In one inning, a tie game went to a six-run advantage, which in the end was more than enough for the Tide to hold on.
Mullins would close out the sixth inning in his winning effort, giving up three runs, and striking out seven. For the Crusaders, after giving up the six runs in the sixth, David Anderson was taken out in a lineup change. But, his 10 hits given up, and nine runs, only one earned, was enough to be tagged for the loss.
Elk County Catholic got one more run in the seventh on a fielding error, but left one runner stranded as Luke Ginther swung on a sinking fastball for strike three, ending the game.
Curwensville (8-7) plays at home on Friday when they host Punxsutawney.
SCORE BY INNING
Curwensville 100 116 0 – 9 10 2
E.C. Catholic 012 000 1 – 4 4 5
Curwensville – 9
Spencer Hoover-CF 4211, Thad Butler-SS/LF 5210, Keegan Wilson-1B 4131, Jake McCracken-LF/P 4100, Jake Mullins-P/SS 4123, Matt Brown-C 4010, Nick Fegert-DH 0000, Shane Sunderlin-3B 3110, Shane Haney-CR 0100, Chase Graham-RF 3000, Tyler Lee-2B 3011. TOTALS 34 9 10 6.
Elk County Catholic – 4
Tommy Slay-SS 4210, David Anderson-P/3B 3100, Dominic Zambanini-DH 4012, Andrew Dellaquila-CR 0000, Luke Ginther-CF/P 3100, Joe Tettis-3B/LF 2000, Mark Kraus-1B 3000, Jordan DePrator-2B 2021, Isaac Dellaquila-EH 2000, Joey Geci-LF 3000. TOTALS 26 4 4 3.
LOB: 10/6
E: Sunderlin, Wilson/Slay-2, Anderson, Ginther, McAllister
ROE: Graham-2, McCracken/Slay, Zambanini
2B: Brown/DePrator-2
SAC: I. Dellaquila
FC: Butler, Mullins
SB: Graham, Mullins, Wilson/Slay, Ginther
Pitching
Curwensville: Mullins-6 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 7 SO, 4 BB; McCracken-1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 0 BB.
Elk County Catholic: Anderson-5.2 IP, 10 H, 9 R, 1 ER, 4 SO, 3 BB; Ginther-1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 3 BB.
W-Mullins
L-Anderson