DUBOIS — Despite having a not-so-stellar record on the 2021 season, the year was not over for the Clearfield Bison on the baseball diamond. In fact, it was playoff time for Clearfield, and the way it began was a road trip to DuBois’ Showers Field to take on the Flying Dutchmen.
What it meant was a road trip back home to get prepared for what is coming next, as the Bison rode the bus back to the high school after a 2-1 victory that ended the season for the Flying Dutch.
It began as a pitching duel, as both squads put their top arms on the hill. For the Dutch, Christian Coudriet would get the nod, while the Bison opted for the lefty in Hunter Dixon. But it wasn’t a pitch that got the scoring going, at least not one that was swung at. In the top of the second inning, with two outs on the board, back-to-back singles by Blake Prestash and Dixon put runners on first and second. But, Coudriet then made a rare mistake, as the pitcher was checking the bases, and balked on the hill. The umpires saw this, and suddenly runners were now at second and third. Cole Bloom looked ready for the 1-2 pitch, but he wasn’t exactly prepared to wear it, and suddenly the bases were loaded.
Morgen Billotte then faced a loaded count, swinging on a couple pitches that fouled off. But, he stared down a 3-2 pitch, and it sailed outside the zone. The bases-loaded walk put Clearfield out front by a run, a run that in the end proved vital.
The Bison added another run in the third. After Karson Rumsky doubled on the opening at-bat, he would move to third via a wild pitch. Kyle Elensky hit a grounder that reached second base, but the Dutch opted for the out at first rather than cut off a score. Rumsky made it in, putting the score at 2-0.
Finally the Dutch answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth, an RBI-single from Mitchell Reiter that brought Connor Straub to home plate. That run would be the only one scored by the Dutch, as Dixon and the defense went to work over the next two innings to ensure the lead would remain.
St. Marys kept it close as well, keeping Dixon honest, but the ace pitcher would not yield. Dixon pitched six innings, striking out five, and only giving up the one run. Coudriet, meanwhile, finished the entire game for the Dutch, striking out eight, but getting dinged with the loss on the afternoon.
In the bottom of the seventh, Clearfield head coach Sid Lansberry made a lineup change to give Dixon a chance to rest his arm, as he was close to the 100-pitch mark that would mean a week of rest. He would mnove to first base as Rumsky came to the hill from centerfield for the save, while Nick Domico made the move out to center.
That save was earned thanks to a pair of ground outs and a strikeout, giving Clearfield (8-11-1) at least one more game on the season.
The Bison will play Wednesday June 2 at Somerset against either Somerset or Carrick in the District 5/8/9 Sub-regional.
SCORE BY INNING
Clearfield 011 000 0 – 2 6 2
St. Mary’s 000 100 0 – 1 4 0
Clearfield – 2
Morgen Billotte-3B 3001, Nolan Barr-2B 3000, Karson Rumsky-CF/P 4110, Nick Domico-1B/CF 4010, Kyle Elensky-SS 4011, Matt Bailor-C 3000, Blake Prestash-LF 3110, Hunter Dixon-P/1B 2020, Cole Bloom-RF 1000, Elijah Quick-CR 0000. TOTALS 27 2 6 2.
St. Marys- 1
Christian Coudriet-P 3000, Connor Bressler-RF 3000, Connor Straub-C 3100, Garret Bauer-3B 3000, Logan Bauer-1B 3010, Mitchell Reiter-2B 3021, Logan Mosier-SS 3010, Alex Vollmar-LF 3000, Michael Fitzgerald-CF 2000. TOTALS 26 1 4 1.
LOB: 9/5
E: Billotte-2
ROE: Bressler, Straub
2B: Domico, Rumsky
FC: Bailor/Straub, Coudriet, Mosier
SB: Straub
HBP: Bloom
SB: Straub
PIK: Reiter
Pitching
Clearfield: Dixon-6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 SO, 1 BB; Rumsky-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 1 BB.
St. Marys: Coudriet-7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 7 SO, 4 BB.
W-Dixon
L-Coudriet
S-Rumsky