COOPERSTOWN, NY-This year there’s been a fair share of Saturday games for high school baseball just to be able to make up what’s been missed due to weather postponing a lot of the early games. One of those games that was already destined for a Saturday start came when the Clearfield Bison took on the Bradford Owls. This particular game was not going to be held in Clearfield, nor for that matter Bradford. This particular game was taking place in a place that has been long associated with baseball glory.
The Bison and the Owls were facing off at Double Day Field in Cooperstown, New York, the location of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.
A change in venue seemed to pay dividends for the Bison, as they got out front early, had luck with the bats, and took down Bradford, 11-0, in just five innings.
Clearfield’s shutout began in the opening inning with a sacrifice fly by Blake Prestash, bringing Kyle Elensky around for the score. One batter later, with Cole Bloom in the box and runners on the corners, Morgen Billotte stole second. The throw was not off and second baseman for Bradford, Jack Wells, missed the grab. It was enough for Nolan Barr to make his way from third to the bag. Billotte then scored on a passed ball after moving to third on the error. Suddenly it was 3-0 in favor of Clearfield, and at that point they had enough to ignite the desire to win.
At that point, Elensky did his job on the hill as he would stay strong on the mound, only yielding three hits on the afternoon, while his teammates only had two errors.
The third inning saw a fielder’s choice lead to another run from Billotte, then Ty Troxell got strong on with the bat courtesy of an RBI-double to plate Elijah Quick, who came in as a courtesy runner. Hunter Rumsky got in on the scoring, starting when Ryan Gearhart made it home on a passed strike that got past the Owl catcher. Rumsky then lined a 1-2 pitch into center field for an RBI-single that made it 7-0.
After giving up a single to start the fourth, the Owl coaching staff opted to make a change on the hill, as starting pitcher Talan Reese would get replaced by Nolan Roolo. Reese got tagged with the loss in a seven-run performance through three innings, striking out five.
It didn’t make a difference as Clearfield added another three in the fifth with a bases-loaded walk, a sacrifice fly from Troxell, and then an error from the second relief pitcher to come in, AJ Lama, to plate Quick.
Hitting the 10-run threshold made it certain that unless the lead was cut in the next two innings, the game was going to be called via Mercy Rule.
The Bison added one more insurance run in the fifth, an RBI-double by Billotte, to just make it certain. A pair of ground outs and a strikeout would officially end the game, as Elenaky’s three-hit, five strikeout performance was enough to seal the victory.
Now at 8-10, Clearfield has a chance to finish the season at the .500 mark as they have just two games remaining on the season, and both take place on their own home field. The first coming on Monday when they play host to the Punxsutawney Chucks at 4:30 p.m.
SCORE BY INNING
Clearfield 304 31 – 11 10 1
Bradford 000 00 – 0 3 2
Clearfield – 11
Kyle Elensky-P 3100, Nolan Barr-2B 4330, Morgen Billotte-CF 3331, Blake Prestash-1B 2001, Cole Bloom-C 1001, Jesse Lumadue-PH 1000, Ryan Gearhart-SS 3111, Ty Troxell-RF 2112, Mike Fester-3B 2000, Hunter Rumsky-LF 3021, Elijah Quick-CR 0200. TOTALS 24 11 10 7.
Bradford – 0
Elijah Fitton 2000, Chase Gray-PH 1000, Cam Austin-LF 2000, Derek Lyons-PH 1000, Nolan Roolo-1B/P 2010, Ryan Ward-CF 1010, Ashton Smith-RF 2000, Jack Wells-2B 1000, Andy Renwick-PH/2B 1000, Matt Miller-3B 1010, Adam Ward-PH 1000, Talan Reese-P/1B 1000, Liam McKay-PH 1000, Brett Skaggs-SS 1000, Mike Greenberg-PH 1000. TOTALS 19 0 3 0.
- LOB: 7/5
- E: Gearhart/Wells, Lama
- ROE: Rumsky/Skaggs
- 2B: Billotte, Troxell
- SF: Prestash, Troxell
- FC: Bloom, Elensky/Fitton
- SB: Billotte-3, Quick-2/Ward
- PIK: Roolo
PITCHING
Clearfield: Elensky-5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 SO, 1 BB.
Bradford: Reese-3 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 5 SO, 3 BB; Roolo-0.2 IP, 0 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 SO, 4 BB; Lama-1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 SO, 0 BB.
W-Elensky
L-Reese