HYDE — If win number 650 the day before was a sweet one for Clearfield Bison Head Coach Sid Lansberry, the one thing that he was hoping would not come the next day was a let down after such a monumental moment. But, the reality was that his team was playing its fourth game is in as many days, and everyone was ready for a break. However, that only was coming after they stepped onto the diamond one more time on the regular season, and the final time for the year on their home turf.
Coming in for battle was the DuBois Beavers, but what the visitors got was a game that was defined by desire and momentum. Clearfield would put on a clinic in hitting, scoring, and defense as they would roll to a 13-2 victory that lasted only five innings.
“That is a solid win for these kids, and we’ve had a very good week as well,” Lansberry said afterwards. “Pitching is always a question mark when you have four games in a week, and we lost a pitcher yesterday. Elijah Quick hurt his finger against Punxy on Tuesday, and actually was to pitch for us a day ago. But, he couldn’t throw, so we’re down one pitcher. Craig (Mays) came through today.
“We’re having to count on kids we’ve not had to count on all year on the hill, like yesterday when Morgen Billotte came in and started. Craig has gotten better these last few games, getting the win as well against P-O.”
Mays certainly had a day on the hill, as he was the lone Bison pitcher to see time hurling the ball. His five-inning performance yielded only five hits, two earned runs, no walks, and six strikeouts.
It wasn’t without a bit of adversity to start the afternoon, as Tyler Chamberlin started the day with a single into left field. He would ultimately make it home when Noah Farrell hit a sacrifice fly into right field, giving the Beavers the early lead. However, Clearfield managed to come back in the second, as designated hitter Christian Welker got on base real quick with a short hopper into shallow right. Once Kam Kushner made it on base thanks to an error by shortstop Talon Hodge, senior Billotte would capitalize in a big way. Looking at a 2-1 pitch, he connected into deep left field, going all the way back to the wall and ultimately getting lost in the sun as Jordan Ell could not pull the ball in.
The two-RBI double would put the Bison in the lead for good on the afternoon. Billotte’s senior day stat line for the Bison included the number two all across the board, from times at bat, runs scored, hits and the two RBI’s.
Lansberry saw his team struggle all season long, but each opportunity the diamond presented he saw his team get a bit better.
“Going into the year, we lost eight seniors from last season. This has been a bit of a rebuilding season, but we have kept seeing improvements. Morgen had some really solid at-bats today, and that’s what we expect from him,” Lansberry said. “Many expect him to really drive the ball for doubles or triples all the time. He’s not like that, but he’s absolutely a solid batter for us.
“We just kept seeing improvements as the season went on. We started the year where three of the first four games, we got mercy-ruled. We certainly have gotten better and that’s what I hoped for.”
If the second inning was an early indication, what was coming in the third was the frosting on the cake.
Hunter Rumsky got it going reaching on an infield error. Cole Bloom then followed it up with a single into right to put a pair of runners on. When Will Domico came to bat, that is when things went off the rails. He would chop a shallow ball right back to pitcher Tyler Chamberlin, who was trying to decide where to toss the ball for the out. In his haste, he tried to go for third, but the ball sailed wide to the right, going out of play and allowing all runners to advance position, putting Rumsky across home plate to make it a 3-1 game. Welker then walked to load the bases, and Kushner followed up with a walk as well to make it a 4-1 game.
Billotte’s lone at-bat that did not result in him swinging to get on base came next as he got hit in the foot, bringing Welker around for the the fourth run in as many at-bats. Three more runs came across home courtesy of RBI-singles by Anthony Lopez and Hayvin Bumbarger, then a sacrifice fly by Rumsky as Clearfield batted around to the delight of the home crowd.
Cole Bloom added another RBI-single, with Domico then blasting a two-RBI single to center field. The nine-run inning made it an 11-1 score, potentially putting the 10-run mercy rule into effect.
After a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth gave Clearfield a bit of a cushion, all that Mays needed to do was close things out in the top of the fifth to give the Bison their third win in four days.
Davey Aughenbaugh made that a bit of a challenge with a lead-off triple that made it to deep left field. Samson Deeb managed to bring him in on a ground out RBI to bring the deficit closer to potentially extend the game. Unfortunately, Tycen Roy struck out and Kam Knisley grounded to second to end the afternoon, and send fans home a bit early.
The Bison end the regular season with a 9-11 record, which Lansberry was impressed with as after losing eight seniors, many did not know what to expect entering the season. Now, the Bison will have an opportunity to make a playoff run as they will play in the District IX Championship on Monday afternoon. Lansberry already was looking ahead, especially since their opponent is a familiar foe, the St. Marys Flying Dutchmen. The two schools faced one another back on April 11, with Clearfield getting the 12-7 victory. However, Lansberry knows that the opponent they will face on Monday is much different.
“Back when we played them the first time, they were low on pitching. We faced off against a freshman pitcher, and I think that was something that made a big difference,” Lansberry said. “Now, we’re going to face the very best they have, so we need to be ready.”
First-pitch will be at 4 p.m. on Monday, and will happen at Showers Field in DuBois
SCORE BY INNING
Dubois 100 01 – 2 5 5
Clearfield 029 2X – 13 10 0
Dubois – 2
Tyler Chamberlin-p 2110, Tycen Roy-ph 1000, Trey Wingard-c 1010, Jordan Ell-lf 2020, Kam Knisley-cr/lf 1000, Noah Farrell-1b 1001, Kaden Clark-rf 2000, Billy Gray-3b 2000, Aaron Andralonis-2b 2000, Davey Aughenbaugh-cf 2110, Talon Hodge-ss 1000, Samson Deeb-ss 1001. TOTALS 18 2 5 2.
Clearfield – 13
Morgen Billotte-cf 2222, Anthony Lopez-ss 4122, Hayvin Bumbarger-1b 4112, Hunter Rumsky-3b 2101, Cole Bloom-c 2221, Will Domico-rf 3113, Christian Welker-dh 2210, Kam Kushner-lf 2211, Craig Mays-p 2000, Matt Irvin-ph 0100. TOTALS 23 13 10 12.
- LOB: 4/5
- E: Aughenbaugh, Chamberlin, Ell, Hodge, Deeb
- ROE: Billotte, Bumbarger, Rumsky
- 2B: Lopez
- 3B: Aughenbaugh
- SF: Farrell/Billotte, Rumsky
- SAC: Wingard
- FC: Domico
- HBP: Wingard/Billotte
- GIDP: Rumsky
- SB: Billotte
PITCHING
- Dubois: Chamberlin-2.1 IP, 4 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 4 SO, 4 BB; Brock Smith-0.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 SO, 0 BB; R. Clark-1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 SO, 1 BB.
- Clearfield: Mays-5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 SO, 0 BB.
W-Mays
L-Chamberlin
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 – 0 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 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 13 – 2 9 – 11
5/22 D9 Championship vs. St. Marys @ DuBois
