CLAYSBURG — The spring weather was looking better for Thursday afternoon as the sun was high in the sky and not a rain cloud anywhere. That meant excellent conditions for the first week of baseball, and for the Curwensville Golden Tide got another opportunity to get the first win on the year. After having the prior game suspended due to darkness, the next opportunity came against the Bulldogs of Claysburg-Kimmel.
Curwensville had a stronger game at the plate than the hosts, but could not convert the hits into runs. At the end of the evening, the Tide looked up at a 5-1 score that left another sour taste in the team’s mouth.
Neither team would get on the board until the second inning. Dustin Slowlick started with a lead off double, then Porter Weise singled to short to put runners on the corners. A ground out by Paydden Knisley would bring Slowlick home to put the Bulldogs in the lead. During the next at-bat by Riley Ebersole, a wild pitch from Andrew Pentz got past the plate, bringing Weise home to make it 2-0.
The Bulldogs got a lot of help thanks to the strong pitching by Aidan Simpson. The Claysburg senior would stay on the hill for all seven innings, achieving the win despite giving up nine hits. He struck out nine batters on the afternoon, while walking just one.
Claysburg got another run in the third on one of two Tide errors to put the score at 3-0. The Tide managed to get out of the inning on a fly out during the next at-bat, then got the run back in the top of the fourth on an RBI-single by Kyler Nelen to cut the lead down to 3-1.
But, the Bulldogs managed to add another couple insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth. Despite being outhit, 9-7, a second error allowed another run across the plate. The next at-bat from Landon Douglas would be an RBI-single to plate Mason Campagna to set the final.
For the Tide, Pentz got the nod on the hill, going four and one-third innings, giving up the five runs, three of them earned, and striking out six. It would be his first start on the season, sadly ending in a loss on the stat line.
Curwensville (0-2) will try to get their first win of the year next Tuesday when they return to their home field to host the Brockway Rovers. First pitch comes at 4:30 p.m.
SCORE BY INNING
Curwensville 000 100 0 – 1 9 2
Claysburg-Kimmel 021 020 X – 5 7 0
Curwensville – 1
Cael Butler-ss 4010, Lawson Neiswender-1b 4000, Andrew Pentz-p/2b 4020, Logan Kunkle-3b/p 3020, Merek Sutika-rf 2110, Hunter Tkacik-dh 3010, Lincoln Hoyt-c 3000, Kyler Nelen-lf 3021, Gavin McDermott-cf 3000. TOTALS 29 1 9 1.
Claysburg-Kimmel – 5
Riley Ebersole-cf 3110, Zach Campagna-2b 4000, Mason Campagna 2220, Aidan Simpson-p 2000, Landon Douglas-1b 3011, Dustin Slowick-3b 3110, Porter Weise-lf 3110, Brayden Haney-ss 3000, Paydden Knisley-rf 3011. TOTALS 26 5 7 2.
- 2B: Pentz/M. Campagna, Slowick
- 3B: Nelen
- SB: Kunkle/Ebersole-2, M. Campagna, Simpson, Douglas, Weise
- CS: Pentz/Ebersole
- E: Neiswender, Pierce
PITCHING
- Curwensville: Pentz-4.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 6 SO, 3 BB; Kunkle-1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 SO, 0 BB.
- Claysburg-Kimmel: Simpson-7 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 9 SO, 1 BB.
W-Simpson (2-0)
L-Pentz (0-1)