HYDE — The 2022-2023 school year has been one of record-setting moments when it comes to Clearfield Bison athletics. Now-retired football head coach Tim Janocko got win number 300 in his final season, and then basketball head coach Nate Glunt led his team to a ninth-consecutive district championship. As strong as those accomplishments are, baseball head coach Sid Lansberry is in a class all his own.
On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, his Bison team welcomed in Huntingdon for a Mountain League clash. The Bearcats would make a late charge to put Clearfield in a bind, but as if it was literally drawn up in the dugout, the Bison put another one in the record books. Clearfield would rally in the final inning, walking off to a 6-5 victory that gave Lansberry an unprecedented 650th win as the leader of the Bison baseball team.
Clearfield got things going early with a three-run inning to start things off.
An RBI-double by Hayvin Bumbarger got things started, then one batter later Will Domico helped plate Hunter Rumsky with a ground out to second. An RBI-single from Cole Bloom would put the Bison in the lead, 3-0, and it held that way over the next three innings. The ensuing pitching duel and defensive battle would test both squads, as starting pitchers Morgen Billotte for Clearfield and Josh Zaleski for Huntingdon went on a tear.
Both pitchers would stay on the hill for their respective squads for nearly the entire game, each getting high into the pitch count. Billotte went six and two-thirds innings, but had to be pulled due to hitting the 100-pitch mark.
On the opposite side, Zaleski went six innings, striking out four while giving up eight hits. However, despite both those efforts, neither would earn the decision on the afternoon.
After trading runs in the fifth and matching zeros in the sixth, Clearfield headed to the final inning with a three-run gap still intact. Yet, the Bearcats would not go away, and decided to not make getting that milestone win easy for the home squad.
With two outs an RBI-double Gavin Woodward cut the lead to 4-2. After the double, Billotte was pulled from the mound, and in came Anthony Lopez from shortstop. Lopez gave up a walk to Lincoln Miller, putting runners on first and second. Ryder Sheffield then connected on a pop fly to right field, and Domico could not pull it in, allowing Gavin Woodward to round to home. Suddenly the three-run gap was reduced to one, and the next at-bat shook the home dugout immensely, as Eric Mykut hit a grounder down on the right field line for a two-RBI single that gave the Bearcats their first lead of the game, forcing the bottom half of the seventh to be played.
Lansberry rallied his team, knowing that they still were playing a strong game having not committed any errors. They needed to get on base at minimum, and did that easily when Craig Mays drew the lead-off walk.
Billotte then got hit by Zaleski, and just like that, the winning run was on base for Clearfield. Miller then got sent to the mound for Huntingdon, as Zaleski had gone past his own pitch count.
Lopez sacrificed a bunt in order to move runners, and did so just enough to put both Mays and Billotte in scoring position. Rumsky came to the plate, connecting on a grounder to second. It recorded the second out of the inning, but in doing so Mays would make it home, knotting up the score at five runs each. Bumbarger came to the plate hitting 1-for-3 on the afternoon, his lone hit being the RBI-double in the first inning. But, knowing he was a strong hitter, Billotte stayed at the ready knowing one hit could be the deciding factor.
Bumbarger stared down strike one, then saw a ball go outside the zone. The third pitch was what he wanted, and with every ounce he had, he ripped the bat and connected. The ball lined up the third baseline, and once it made its way through the infield, Billotte made the charge home as the walk-off RBI-single from Bumbarger gave Clearfield the historic and monumental victory.
Clearfield would rush the field to celebrate, but afterwards it was Lansberry taking honors as an icon in the Clearfield community. Win number 650 seemed fitting for a man who loves the game of baseball.
Lopez would earn the win on the afternoon for the Bison, pitching the final one-third inning after Billotte hit the pitch limit. For Huntingdon, Miller got tagged with the loss in a two-thirds inning effort.
The regular season for the Bison (8-11) will come to a conclusion on Thursday afternoon when they play host to DuBois.
The District 9 Championship game for the Bison will be on Monday against St. Marys at Showers Field in DuBois. Time to be determined.
SCORE BY INNING
Huntingdon 000 010 4 – 5 8 3
Clearfield 300 010 2 – 6 9 0
Huntingdon – 5
Eric Mykut-cf 3012, Jack Foster-lf 3000, Ryan Marshall-c 3000, Ashton Steele-ss 3010, Will Wallen-rf 3220, Bowden Woodward-dh 3010, Gavin Woodward-1b 3122, Lincoln Miller-3b/p 1100, Ryan Hack-2b 2000, Ryder Sheffield-ph 1111. TOTALS 25 5 8 5.
Clearfield – 6
Morgen Billotte-p/ss 3110, Anthony Lopez-ss/p 2101, Hunter Rumsky-3b 3111, Hayvin Bumbarger-1b 4122, Will Domico-rf 3011, Cole Bloom-c 3021, Christian Welker-dh 3000, Kam Kushner-cf 3010, Derrick Mikesell-lf 1100, Matt Irvin 1010, Craig Mays-ph 0100, Elijah Quick-ph 0000. TOTALS 26 6 9 6.
- LOB: 3/4
- E: G. Woodward-2, Zaleski
- ROE: Lopez, Rumsky
- 2B: G. Woodward-2/Bumbarger
- SAC: Lopez
- SF: Lopez
- HBP: Foster/Billotte
- GIDP: B. Woodward, Foster/Bumbarger
- SB: G. Woodward-2, Miller/Billotte
- CS: Domico
PITCHING
- Huntingdon: Zaleski-6 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 4 SO, 2 BB; Miller-0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 SO, 0 BB.
- Clearfield: Billotte-6.2 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 SO, 2 BB; Lopez-0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 SO, 1 BB.
W-Lopez (1-0)
L-Miller (1-1)
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 6 – 5 8 – 11
5/18 DUBOIS
5/22 D9 Championship at DuBois vs. St. Marys