CURWENSVILLE — The final week of the regular season for high school baseball has arrived, and for the Curwensville Golden Tide it was a two-for-one deal to start their slate. After experiencing a rainout one day earlier, the Tide came to their home field for an early start, as the Harmony Owls came in for competition. For both teams, it was a 3 p.m. start as fans of both schools were treated to a double-header to make up for three different postponements. The first two were each at their respective schools, and the third was the double-header originally set for last Thursday.
What the home fans got were two opportunities to cheer on their team as Curwensville would take down Harmony in both games, the first 15-5 in five innings, the second being an 11-7 final.
GAME 1
In the first game, Curwensville got after it early and often, causing starting pitcher Owen Bailey to struggle right away.
Back-to-back RBI-singles from Shane Sunderlin and Thad Butler put Curwensville up by two runs. Spencer Hoover then reached on an error, allowing Sunderlin to score, then Ayden Sutika added another RBI despite grounding out for the first out of the inning. Chris Fegert then added another RBI-single, as the Tide went through their entire lineup to start the game, scoring five runs. But, things were not done.
Jake Mullins, after singling in his first at-bat, got struck by a 2-1 pitch with the bases loaded to add another run to the tally. Logan Kunkle grounded into a fielder’s choice for the second out, but not before bringing in his lone RBI of the afternoon. The scoring in the opening inning came to a close when Sunderlin took a 1-0 pitch up the left field line, and head coach Tom Harzinski waved around both runners, with Fegert coming home from third and Kunkle rounding all the way around from first for a two-RBI double.
In one inning, Curwensville put 13 batters to the plate, and took a 9-0 lead that they never looked back from.
Both teams exchanged five runs between the third and fourth innings, with Curwensville holding a 14-5 advantage heading into the fifth.
Mullins pitched a solid opening inning, but it was Jayson Rowles getting the victory in game one, pitching two and two-thirds innings, yielding the five earned runs in the game, striking out four and walking three. For the Owls, Bailey got dinged with the loss after a 12-run, two-inning performance that saw him strike out two while walking seven.
In the fifth, Ayden Sutika would walk followed by a single from Tyler Libby to put runners on the corners. Courtesy runner Danny McGarry came in for Sutika, while Mitch Sutika came in for Libby. Looking at a full count, Tyler Lee caught an infield single to short, which was just enough for Sutika to cross the plate, setting the final and ending the first game via the 10-run mercy rule.
SCORE BY INNING
Harmony 003 20 – 5 5 2
Curwensville 903 21 – 15 13 2
Harmony – 5
Colhton Fry-C 3220, Jack Bracken-SS 2122, Anthony Maseto-1B 2100, Lucas Tarnow-CF 2001, Zach Hutton-3B/P 3001, JJ Sward-2B 3000, Owen Bailey-P/3B 2110, Ethan Cornelius-LF 2000, Dakota Friend-RF 1000. TOTALS 20 5 5 4.
Curwensville – 15
Jake Mullins-P/RF 1311, Logan Kunkle-LF 3321, Shane Sunderlin-1B 4234, Thad Butler-SS 3122, Spencer Hoover-C 3002, Ayden Sutika-3B 2012, Danny McGarry-CR 0100, Jayson Rowles-RF/P 2100, Tyler Libby-PH/P 1010, Tyler Lee-2B 2111, Chris Fegert-CF 3221, Grant Swanson-CR 0100, Mitch Sutika-CR 0000. TOTALS 24 15 13 14.
- LOB: 4/5
- E: Sward, Cornelius/Mullins-2
- ROE: Hoover
- 2B: Sunderlin
- FC: Fry/Kunkle
- HBP: Mullins-3
- DP: Bracken-2, Tarnow-2
- GIDP: Sunderlin, Lee
- SB: Fry, Bracken-2/Hoover, Rowles, Fegert, Butler-2, Mullins, Kunkle, M. Sutika
PITCHING
Harmony: Bailey-2 IP, 7 H, 12 R, 9 ER, 2 SO, 7 BB; Hutton-2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 SO, 1 BB.
Curwensville: Mullins-1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 SO, 1 BB; Rowles-2.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 SO, 3 BB; Libby-1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 0 BB.
W-Rowles
L-Bailey
GAME 2
After both squads got a chance to get a breather in, rehydrate and get the lineup set for game two. It did well for the Tide as they picked up exactly where they left off.
An RBI-single by Sunderlin in the opening inning, then a run scored due to a fielding error by Ethan Cornelius immediately put the Tide up 2-0 The now-visiting squad would add in a third run in the third when Ayden Sutika’s ground out allowed Sunderlin to cross home. However, the Owls would answer back in the bottom half of the inning when Anthony Maseto hit a grounder that allowed Colhton Fry to cross home to make it 3-1.
Still, Curwensville’s Tyler Libby would stay on the hill despite giving up the run, after taking over for Sunderlin who only pitched the opening inning. Libby would get the win on the afternoon, a four and one-third inning effort giving up just four runs but striking out eight.
Curwensville added in another two runs in the fifth to extend the lead, but the Owls began to hoot in the bottom half of the inning.
An RBI-double by Maseto got the scoring started, then two batters later Zach Hutton had the same effect. JJ Sward then added in another RBI-single to cut the led in half.
Maseto’s two-RBI performance in the box couldn’t be matched on the hill, as he got dinged with the second loss of the day for Harmony, giving up the two opening runs.
Neither team scored in the sixth, but both squads had a late run in the seventh.
In the top half, two consecutive singles put runners on first and second. Chris Fegert stole third to put runners on the corners, and Kunkle came to bat, pulling off a successful sacrfice bunt to bring Fegert home. Two more RBI-singles from Sunderlin and Spencer Hoover made it 11-4, where it held until the sides swapped heading to the bottom half of the seventh.
Just like the top of the seventh, Harmony started with back-to-back singles. A fielding error by third-baseman Ayden Sutika allowed a run to cross home, cutting the lead to 11-5. Fry then added a pair of runs on a two-RBI single after Sward to make it home from third, and Bailey beating the throw to home.
Two walks by relief pitcher Tyler Lee suddenly loaded the bases, and one swing could make a big difference in the score suddenly being closer, or the game coming to an end.
With two outs already on the board, Lucas Tarnow became the lone focus. Looking at the 1-2 pitch, Tarnow swung his bat, but the ball went directly back to Lee, who then decided the easiest out would be to just send it right back to Hoover at home plate, saving a run, and securing the out. It was game over, giving Curwensville the full sweep on the afternoon.
Curwensville (14-4) finishes out its regular season on the road Wednesday, as they make a very short trip up route 879 to face off with Clearfield. First pitch set for 4:30 p.m.
SCORE BY INNING
Curwensville 201 320 3 – 11 13 3
Harmony 001 030 3 – 7 10 3
Curwensville – 11
Jake Mullins-SS 4440, Shane Sunderlin-P/1B 3132, Mitch Sutika-CR 0100, Thad Butler-LF 3011, Spencer Hoover-C 3021, Ayden Sutika-3B 4001, Hunter Tkacik-DH 4000, Logan Kunkle-1B/2B 4111, Tyler Lee-2B/P 3100, Alan Farley-PH 1000, Chris Fegert-CF 3210, Grant Swanson-CR 0100. TOTALS 32 11 13 6.
Harmony – 7
Colhton Fry-C 4232, Jack Bracken-SS/P 4010, Anthony Maseto-P/SS/CF 2122, Lucas Tarnow-CF/P/1B 5110, Zach Hutton-1B/3B 3121, JJ Sward-3B/P 4121, Owen Bailey-2B 4100, Ethan Cornelius-LF 4000, Dakota Friend-RF 4000. TOTALS 34 7 10 6.
- LOB: 10/11
- E: Rowles, A. Sutika-2/Hutton, Bailey, Cornelius
- ROE: A. Sutika, Kunkle/Bracken, Bailey-2
- 2B: Fry, Maseto
- SAC: Butler, Kunkle
- FC: Butler, A. Sutika, Tkacik/Sward
- HBP: Hoover, Sunderlin
- DP: Bracken, Tarnow, Hutton
- GIDP: Tkacik
- SB: Hoover, Fegert-2, Butler, Mullins-3, Tkacik, Kunkle/Bracken-2, Maseto, Bailey
- CS: Kunkle
PITCHING
Curwensville: Sunderlin-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 SO, 2 BB; Libby-4.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 8 SO, 1 BB; Lee-1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 3 BB.
Harmony: Maseto-1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 SO, 0 BB; Bracken-2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 SO, 2 BB; Tarnow-1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 SO, 4 BB; Sward-3 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 SO, 1 BB.
W-Libby
L-Maseto