BELLEFONTE — It has been a true struggle this season for the Clearfield Bison when they go on the baseball diamond. Games have been tough, struggles have come on the mound, at the plate, and fielding. But, each game was a new opportunity to improve, and Thursday afternoon they looked to do that when they traveled to Bellefonte to face the Red Raiders. Originally scheduled for Friday, the game was moved up a day due to the impending forecast.
The change didn’t do much, except shorten the afternoon. Clearfield’s offense was held stagnant, only earning two hits, and Bellefonte took advantage. Solid pitching, and an outburst of offense, led Bellefonte to a 17-0 triumph that was called in the fourth inning due to the 15-run mercy rule.
Bellefonte got things going in the first inning with a lead-off single by Braedyn Kormanic. Two batters later, Alexander Eberling connected on the second pitch he saw, lining to left field for an RBI-double. He remained at second following a dropped third strike by Triston Heckman, who was thrown out at first. But, Trevor Johnson came to bat and went to battle with Bison starter Isaac Durandetta. Sitting at 0-2, he fouled two consecutive pitches, and then finally connected how he wanted. The shot he took went deep, sailing to right field and over the wall for a two-run homer to make it 3-0 at the end of one inning.
It did not get any better in the second, as Clearfield’s defensive woes continued. Despite having two outs on the tally, the Red Raiders put up five runs in the same amounts of at-bats. Five consecutive RBI-doubles by Kormanic, Derek Fravel, Ebeling, Heckman and Johnson put the score at 8-0. Johnson made it to third on a fielding error, and eventually made his way home when relief pitcher Hunter Rumsky had a balk before even getting a pitch off. That brought Johnson home for the sixth run, making it 9-0 at the end of two innings.
Durandetta was pulled after one and two-thirds innings, getting tagged with the loss after giving up eight runs, seven earned, and nine hits.
By contrast, the Red Raiders were truly sailing on the hill with Peyton Vancas making things easy for his teammates. His two-hit performance was more than enough to get the win, as he only saw 14 batters, and tossed just over 40 pitches.
Bellefonte put the game away in the fourth in spectacular fashion.
Kenny Squires started it off with a two-run double to left field, then Levi Purnell hit a two-RBI single to the same area to make it 13-0. Three batters later, Fravel sacrificed an out in order to put runners on the corners.
Eberling then came to the plate, and decided it was time to end the game for everyone so they could go home in time for dinner.
Looking down a 2-2 pitch from Nolan Barr, who came in for relief two batters earlier, Eberling blasted the ball to the same area that Johnson did three innings earlier. The ball went back, and back, and finally over the wall. As he rounded the bases, Vancas and Kormanic crossed home, and finally he touched home plate after his three-run bomb to put an end to the game via the mercy rule.
Clearfield falls to 4-9 on the season before heading back on the diamond on Monday afternoon, but with a bit of a different setup.
The Bison are slated to go on the road to face the Huntingdon Bearcats. However, it was back on April 11 that these two first met back at the Bison’s home field. Clearfield held a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third with the bases loaded, but the skies began to open up and after talking it over with coaches and umpires, the game was suspended due to weather.
According to athletic director Bob Gearhart the remainder of the suspended game would be made up before the scheduled game. The second game between the two schools is set for 4:30 p.m, subject to change.
SCORE BY INNING
Clearfield 000 0 – 0 2 2
Bellefonte 360 8 – 17 15 1
Clearfield – 0
Kyle Elensky-SS 1000, Nolan Barr-2B/P 2000, Morgen Billotte-CF 2000, Blake Prestash-1B 2010, Cole Bloom-C 2000, Ryan Gearhart-3B 2000, Ty Troxell-RF 1010, Isaac Durandetta-P/2B 1000, Elijah Quick-LF 1000. TOTALS 14 0 2 0.
Bellefonte – 17
Braedyn Kormanic-C 3231, Derek Fravel-2B 2212, Alexander Ebeling-CF 4335, Triston Heckman-SS 2211, Trevor Johnson-RF 3333, Josh Brown-3B 3100, Kenny Squires-LF 3112, Levi Purnell-1B 2112, Peyton Vancas-P 3220. TOTALS 25 17 15 16.
- LOB: 3/2
- E: Gearhart-2/Brown
- ROE: Gearhart/Brown-2
- 2B: Ebeling-2, Heckman, Johnson, Fravel, Kormanic, Squires
- HR: Ebeling, Johnson
- FC: Bloom
- SF: Fravel
- SB: Heckman
- CS: Elensky
- PIK: Kormanic
- DP: Barr
- GIDP: Vancas
PITCHING
Clearfield: Durandetta-1.2 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 3 SO, 1 BB; Rumsky-1.2 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 2 SO, 2 BB; Barr-0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 SO, 1 BB.
Bellefonte: Vancas-4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 SO, 1 BB.
W-Vancas
L-Durandetta