HOUTZDALE — Having two losses to cope with on Saturday was hard on the Curwensville Golden Tide. The baseball diamond recently has been a struggle, but in the hopes of getting back on track the squad loaded up the bus for a short trip just outside of Houtzdale to face off with the Moshannon Valley Black Knights. The sunny afternoon was welcoming for all, but only one squad would feel happy at day’s end.
For the Tide, that was a fleeting feeling. Stale bats at the plate, unforced errors, and unearned runs cost Curwensville dearly as they fell, 7-0, their fourth loss in a row.
Moshannon Valley’s pitcher, Zach Witherow, was pulling no punches on the mound on this day, as he would stay on the hill for the entire seven innings. In doing so, not one batter he faced would reach first on a walk. Only two made it on base all game, as Witherow threw a nine-strikeout performance to earn his second win on the season.
What made this game interesting is the amount of hits Curwensville had all game, it matched the Black Knights output. Despite the run count, Moshannon Valley only secured a pair of hits on the afternoon, with half the runs coming in unearned fashion.
The scoring began in the third. With a runner on first, Curwensville pitcher Chris Fegert balked, moving Tanner Kephart to second. Three pitches later, he stole third, and then one wild pitch followed, allowing him across the plate as the Tide tried to hustle to prevent the run.
When the fourth inning came around, the Tide still could not get things in their favor. The bases got loaded on an error and a pair of walks, then Fegert walked Zach Reifer for the easy score. One batter later, Jacob O’Donnell hit a ground ball to second baseman Cael Butler. Unfortunately, Butler’s handle on the ball went awry, which allowed both Landyn Evans and James Hummel to cross home to make it a 4-0 score.
After the fourth inning, Fegert would be replaced by Logan Kunkle, hoping to give a spark. Fegert took the loss on the afternoon, yielding a four-run outing and walking five.
Kunkle did not do any better as he gave up three earned runs on a pair of bases-loaded walks plus a hit batsman, setting the final score.
Curwensville (6-10) will try to end the losing skid on Tuesday, weather permitting, as they travel to face Mount Union.
SCORE BY INNING
Curwensville 000 000 0 – 0 2 4
Moshannon Valley 001 330 X – 7 2 2
Curwensville – 0
Christian Fegert-p/ss/3b 3000, Andrew Pentz-c 3010, Logan Kunkle-ss/p/ss 2000, Ayden Sutika-3b/p 3000, Nik Fegert-lf 3010, Lawson Neiswender-1b 3000, Merek Sutika-cf 3000, Aidan Finn-dh/p 2000, Cael Butler-2b 2000. TOTALS 24 0 2 0.
Moshannon Valley – 7
Jacob O’Donnell-ss 4000, Tanner Kephart-cf 3100, Zach Witherow-p 3100, Andre Wells-c 4210, Landyn Evans-1b 1200, Mason Phillips-3b 1000, Tyler Lobb-ph/3b 0001, James Hummel-lf 2110, Sam Howard-rf 2001, Zach Reifer-2b 0002. TOTALS 20 7 2 4.
- LOB: 4/6
- E: Butler, Kunkle-2, Neiswender/O’Donnell, Phillips
- ROE: Pentz-2/O’Donnell, Kephart, Wells, Evans
- SAC: Kunkle/Phillips
- HBP: Howard
- SB: N. Fegert-2, Pentz/O’Donnell, Kephart-3
- CS: Reifer
- PIK: Evans
PITCHING
- Curwensville: C. Fegert-4 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 4 SO, 5 BB; Kunkle-0.1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 SO, 2 BB; A. Sutika-0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 2 BB; Finn-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 SO, 0 BB.
- Moshannon Valley: Witherow-7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 9 SO, 0 BB.
W-Witherow (2-1)
L-C. Fegert (1-3)
GOLDEN TIDE SCOREBOARD:
Date Opponent Score Record
3/20 @ Brockway 10 – 9 1 – 0
3/23 JUNIATA VALLEY ppd. 1 – 0
3/28 GLENDALE 2 – 12 1 – 1
3/30 @ Williamsburg 5 – 8 1 – 2
4/04 @ Bellwood Antis 8 – 6 2 – 2
4/06 HARMONY 5 – 7 2 – 3
4/06 HARMONY 4 – 7 2 – 4
4/11 WEST BRANCH 3 – 17 2 – 5
4/12 @ Cranberry 14 – 9 3 – 5
4/13 MT. UNION 1 – 15 3 – 6
4/17 @ Purchase Line 16 – 6 4 – 6
4/18 MO VALLEY ppd. 4 – 6
4/20 @ Juniata Valley 14 – 13 5 – 6
4/25 @ Glendale 5 – 4 6 – 6
4/27 WILLIAMSBURG 1 – 7 6 – 7
5/02 BELLWOOD ANTIS ppd. 6 – 7
5/04 @ West Branch ppd. 6 – 7
5/06 JUNIATA VALLEY 2 – 4 6 – 8
5/06 BELLWOOD ANTIS 3 – 10 6 – 9
5/08 @ Mo Valley 0 – 7 6 – 10
5/09 @ Mt. Union
5/15 CLEARFIELD
5/16 MO VALLEY