PUNXSUTAWNEY — The final week of the season for the Clearfield Bison on the baseball diamond is a long, strenuous run of games. Four games in four days, and none of them are easy. One day after winning the local battle against Curwensville, the buses got loaded up one final time on the year as Clearfield made the trip to Punxsutawney to face off against the Chucks.
The trip home, much like many others, was a tough one as errors and a strong opponent led the Bison to an 8-3 loss.
Punxsutawney’s two-loss record showed how strong of an opponent they were, and how difficult it potentially could be to get the advantage. Still, the Bison struck first in the opening inning. Back-to-back opening singles got runners in position really quickly, and then thanks to a fielding error, Morgen Billotte moved across home plate to get the lead for Clearfield.
Unfortunately, that lead only lasted through the half inning. Punxsutawney tied things up in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly by Carter Savage. One batter later, Jake Sikora helped his own cause, as the Chucks’ starting pitcher, with an RBI-single to left field, putting Punxsutawney in the lead for the first time, in what was the only other lead change all game long. Peyton Hetrick added his own RBI-single a few batters later, giving the Chucks a 3-1 lead after one inning.
Clearfield battled back, cutting the lead to one in the second inning after a bases-loaded hit by pitch to Anthony Lopez.
Punxsutawney got that run back in a big way as Sikora stared down a 2-0 pitch, and let it sail over the center field wall to make the lead 4-2. The home run deflated any energy the Bison had in the dugout, as defensively Clearfield began struggling to field the ball cleanly. In the afternoon, the Bison had five errors, compared to the Chucks’ two.
Sikora ultimately secured his sixth win of the season, a five-inning performance where he gave up two runs while striking out five.
With the long week, Clearfield was rotating pitchers in the game. Christian Welker got the start on the afternoon, ultimately taking the loss in a three-inning performance. Craig Mays would come in, but immediately he would see runs go up as a sacrifice fly from Josh Tyer brought Donnie Bender home. A wild pitch from Mays brought in another run, then Savage connected on a ground ball up the left field line for a two-RBI single to make it an 8-2 score after four innings.
Clearfield managed to get one final run in the seventh on an RBI-double from Billotte, but it was not enough as the Chucks held on for the victory.
The marathon week for Clearfield (7 -11) continues on Wednesday as they play host to Huntingdon. The Bison won the first contest between the two schools back in April, 3-0. The second game originally was set for May 5, until Mother Nature played havoc on the schedule. First pitch at the Bison Baseball Complex is at 4:30 p.m.
SCORE BY INNING
Clearfield 110 000 1 – 3 6 5
Punxsutawney 301 400 X – 8 6 2
Clearfield – 3
Morgen Billotte-cf/p 3121, Derrick Mikesell-cf 0000, Anthony Lopez-ss/p 3011, Hunter Rumsky-dh 3000, Hayvin Bumbarger-1b 3010, Cole Bloom-c 3000, Will Domico-rf 3110, Christian Welker-p 2010, Craig Mays-p/cf 1000, Kam Kushner-lf 2100, Braison Patrick-2b 3000. TOTALS 26 3 6 2.
Punxsutawney – 8
Zeke Bennett-cf 2210, Josh Tyer-dh 3001, Nevin Day-3b/p 2200, Carter Savage-1b 3013, Jake Sikora-p/3b 4122, Justin Miller-lf 2010, Jake Henretta-cr 0100, Peyton Hetrick-2b 3011, Cooper Hallman-c 3000, Owen Wood-rf 2100, Donnie Bender-cr 0100. TOTALS 24 8 6 7.
- LOB: 6/6
- E: Billotte, Irvin, Lopez, Quick, Welker/Wood, Hetrick
- ROE: Kushner/Miller, Hallman, Bennett
- 2B: Billotte, Bumbarger
- HR: Sikora
- SF: Tyer, Savage
- HBP: Billotte, Lopez, Rumsky/Miller
- SB: Billotte, Lopez/Wood, Bennett-2
PITCHING
- Clearfield: Welker-3 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 1 SO, 4 BB; Mays-1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 SO, 1 BB; Billotte-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 SO, 0 BB; Lopez-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 SO, 0 BB.
- Punxsutawney: Sikora-5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 SO, 1 BB; Day-2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 SO, 0 BB.
W-Sikora (6-1)
L-Welker (0-1)
BISON SCOREBOARD
Date Opponent Score Record
3/27 BELLEFONTE 2 – 13 0 – 1
3/30 HOLLIDAYSBURG 5 – 15 0 – 2
4/03 @ Tyrone 3 – 4 0 – 3
4/06 @ Bald Eagle Area 2 – 12 0 – 4
4/10 @ Huntingdon 3 – 0Â 1 – 4
4/11 ST. MARYS 12 – 7 2 – 4
4/13 PENNS VALLEY 6 – 7 2 – 5
4/17 @ Philipsburg-Osceola 5 – 10 2 – 6
4/20 @ Bellefonte 0 – 4 2 – 7
4/21 @ Brookville forfeit  3 – 7
4/24 BRADFORD 12 – 1 4 – 7
4/25 @ Hollidaysburg 1 – 11 4 – 8
4/27 TYRONE 0 – 8 Â 4 – 9
5/02 BALD EAGLE AREA ppd. 4 – 9
5/05 HUNTINGDON ppd. 4 – 9
5/09 @ Penns Valley 12 – 4 5 – 9
5/10 BALD EAGLE AREA 0 – 5 5 – 10
5/11 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA 5 – 4 6 – 10
5/15 @ Curwensville 10 – 3 7 – 10
5/16 @ Punxsutawney 3 – 8 7 – 11
5/17 HUNTINGDON
5/18 DUBOIS
