DUBOIS — In what has become a rather unique, and unexpected, occurrence this season, the Clearfield Bison were having to wait a day before taking to the field for their road contest against the DuBois Beavers. What was slated to occur on Wednesday afternoon got moved 24 hours ahead because of the unique winter chill that had descended on the area.
Already having to overcome a long losing skid, Clearfield also had to find a way to come from behind in the late innings. However, some strong offense and a tough defensive stand were exactly what brought Clearfield back from a four-run deficit to achieve a 6-5 victory to put an end to their five-game losing streak.
It was Clearfield that got on the board first on an RBI-single by Kyle Elensky in the top of the second, but when the bottom of the fourth inning came around the Beavers would put the Bison in an all-to-familiar position of being down multiple runs.
The Beavers would put up five runs in the inning as Kaden Clark, Gavin Kaschalk, Brycen Dinkfelt and Colby Estrada all contributed for bringing runs to the plate. Dinkfelt had a two-RBI single in the inning, while Kaschalk and Clark all added in RBI-singles of their own. At the end of four innings, the 5-1 lead had the Beavers feeling rather strong.
During the inning, starting pitcher Kyle Elensky would be pulled with one out on the board, as he would trade positions with Ryan Gearhart.
Gearhart only gave up the final run in the inning, but his pitching would get better over the final three innings, as his three and two-thirds inning effort would give him the victory on the afternoon.
In the fifth inning, Clearfield began clawing back, as the offense was finally able to take advantage of pitcher Austin Mitchell and cut the lead to just two runs entering the sixth. With two outs already achieved, the DuBois staff elected to pull Mitchell from the hill and Tycen Roy then took over. He would not give up any more runs in the inning.
But, the sixth inning would be when the Bison finally found their opening.
Clearfield cut the lead down as Nolan Barr made his way home, suddenly cutting the lead to a single run. Shortly after, Blake Prestash would get on base, and a single by Cole Bloom suddenly put the game in a 5-5 tie as Blake Prestash singled to get him in position. After Ty Troxell moved the bases despite getting called out, Gearhart himself would provide the deciding hit. On just a 1-0 pitch, Gearhart blasted a single that got Prestash to the plate and gave Clearfield the one-run advantage.
That would be just enough as Gearhart would shut down DuBois over the final two innings, handing Roy the loss on the afternoon with his 1.1-inning effort that saw him give up three earned runs.
Clearfield (4-6) hits the midway point of the season and gets to take a bit of a rest before having to experience a rather unique situation to start off the month of May. With time running out to get games in, the next slated game for the Bison is on Tuesday, May 3, against Tyrone. Already having the first game against the Golden Eagles rained out earlier in the month, the two schools came to an agreement to play a double-header in Clearfield. The first game of the double-header is slated to begin at 2 p.m. Clearfield is designated as the visiting team for the opener, despite being on their home field.
Both squads will get to have a break to rest and recoup, as the second part of the double-header is slated for a 4:30 p.m. start, with Clearfield then being the home squad in the scorebook.
SCORE BY INNING
Clearfield 010 023 0 – 6 9 2
Dubois 000 500 0 – 5 7 2
Clearfield – 6
Kyle Elensky 5131, Nolan Barr 4200, Morgen Billotte 3010, Blake Prestash 3221, Cole Bloom 4021, Ty Troxell 3001, Ryan Gearhart 3012, Mike Fester 2100, Isaac Durandetta 1000, Elijah Quick 3000. TOTALS 31 6 9 6.
Dubois – 5
Brycen Dinkfelt 3012, Colby Estrada 4000, Alex Pasternak 4100, Jordan Ell 4120, Kaden Clark 3111, Austin Mitchell 2000, Tycen Roy 0000, Tyler Chamberlin 1000, Aaron Andrulouis 2110, Gavin Kaschalk 1111, Billy Gray 3010, Davey Aughenbaugh 0000. TOTALS 27 5 7 4.
- LOB: 11/5
- E: Fester-2/Andrulouis, Kaschalk
- ROE: Barr, Quick/Pasternak, Clark
- 2B: Prestash
- SAC: Billotte
- FC: Bloom, Troxell
- HBP: Fester
- SB: Elensky-2, Quick-2/Dinkfelt, Ell
- PIK: Ell, Clark
PITCHING
Clearfield: Elensky-3.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 3 SO, 1 BB; Gearhart-3.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 SO, 3 BB.
Dubois: Mitchell-4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 SO, 4 BB; Roy-1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 SO, 1 BB; Dinkfelt-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 0 BB.
W-Gearhart
L-Roy