CURWENSVILLE — Being able to bounce back from tough losses has been a challenge for Curwensville this entire season. One day earlier, a rather quick afternoon saw the Tide give up 18 runs while not being able to get anyone across the plate. The entire coaching staff had to get the Tide into the mindset of putting that game behind them, and focus forward because the Harmony Owls were coming in for competition on Friday afternoon.
They not only put the prior day’s loss behind them, they left it as if they were launching off the starting line in drag racing. Curwensville would capitalize on errors, while also finding their rhythm at the plate. It would lead to a quick afternoon, and a 13-0 victory that only needed five innings to accomplish.
“That was a totally different team than a day ago. Yesterday, we came out flat, possibly because we were intimidated by Mount Union. We played much different today, so it’s nice to get in, get the job done, and get out,” Curwensville head coach Derek Dixon said afterwards.
It did not look as though it was going to be that way, as the first at-bat for Harmony was one that looked to set an early tone.
Jake Bracken started things off for the Owls with a deep shot on a 2-2 pitch into center field. That shot was far enough that he rounded the bases into third to put a runner in scoring position on the first chance. However, that chance was faltered thanks to a pair of strikeouts, then a ground out would end the top half of the first with Bracken stranded on third.
Curwensville got on the board in the bottom of the inning when Logan Kunkle connected on an 0-1 pitch that brought in Cael Butler to make it 1-0.
The Owls were not able to hoot and holler in the second inning as they were kept off the board thanks to Lawson Neiswender and his defense that kept the Owls in check. However, when the bottom of the inning arrived, everything changed, and the game took on an immensely different feeling.
Hunter Tkacik started the inning with a single to center, then a walk by Neiswender put two runners on base. Hunter Pearce got called for a balk, and suddenly both runners were in scoring position. Lincoln Hoyt grounded out to short, but it was enough to let Tkacik score. One batter later, Gavin McDermott added an RBI-single to make it 3-0. Grant Swanson then came to the plate and grounded into an error that allowed McDermott to make his way all the way around the bag from first to increase the lead once more. After Butler got struck by a pitch to put runners on first and second, Andrew Pentz flew out to center for the second out.
That is when the Owls, much like the actual bird, dozed off and began seeing the game get out of hand.
Kunkle managed to hit a deep liner to left field, clearing the based on a two-RBI triple to make it 6-0. Merek Sutika singled to bring in Kunkle, then Tkacik hit a grounder into left that should have been able to hold Tkacik at first, but the slow recovery and throw back to the infield allowed an eighth run across the plate, while Tkacik advanced to second. Neiswender then singled into second to put runners on two bases, and then Hoyt returned to the plate for a two-RBI triple that made it 10-0, ensuring a short afternoon unless the Owls scored at least one run. But, Hoyt made it even better as the liner to left field was slow returning to the infield, and even Dixon saw Hoyt hustling to third and went, “Keep going.”
Despite the actual stat line being a two-RBI triple, Hoyt would make his way around the bases for a makeshift inside the park home run to make it 11-0.
Two more RBI-singles by Swanson, who came to the plate for the second time in the inning, and Pentz set the 13-0 score before the inning finally ended with a groundout by Kunkle.
Dixon was happy to see the bats come alive, especially after seeing the dedication that the team put in the batting cages during the winter, even with the struggles during the year, stating, “It’s been nice to see because a lot of these guys, they’ve been hitting since November. When we were inside, hitting in the cage, we were hitting well. When we came outside, we’ve not been hitting through the entire lineup. So to see everyone get a chance to swing, is a great thing to witness.”
Neiswender would make it an easy day on the hill as he earned the win in a complete game, striking out seven and giving up only two hits. That kind of performance was what the team needed after having such struggles the day before against Mount Union. Dixon noted that having a game one day later helped the team because it allowed them to move forward and use it as a building block heading into the stretch part of the season.
“Ultimately, it’s good for us to get that one out of the way, put it behind us, and have a couple games right after to get our minds,” he said. “We are playing three in a row, and that is tough for us. But, all of these teams are having to do it just because of how the weather has been. That’s just Central Pennsylvania baseball.”
Curwensville (5-8) will finish out the week with another Saturday contest, part of a make-up effort thanks to Mother Nature, as they will take on West Branch.
“We have to make defensive plays alongside our pitchers. We aren’t sure, yet, what we’re doing there, since pitch count comes into play. As you know, we’ve had a lot of baseball this week,” Dixon said. “So our hope is to keep them off base. They hit the ball well, so hopefully in the end we are able to limit our mistakes, which will keep the game tight.”
Originally the game was to be played in Curwensville, however athletic director Allen Leigey said afterwards that the game is being moved over to DuBois. Curwensville will still be designated as the home team. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
SCORE BY INNING
Harmony 000 00 – 0 2 4
Curwensville 1(12)0 0X – 13 12 0
Harmony – 0
Jack Bracken-lf 2010, Jarrod Sward-ss 2000, Hunter Pearce-p/lf 2000, Jace Nihart-3b 2000, Carter Doland-1b 2010, Parker Maseto-p/lf 2000, Jacob Pearce-c 2000, Jaxson Keith-lf/2b 1000, Trevor Hugill-rf 1000, Warren Leamer-rf 0000. TOTALS 16 0 2 0.
Curwensville – 13
Grant Swanson-rf 3211, Tristan Wills-rf 1000, Cael Butler-2b 2210, Connor Luzier-2b 1000, Andrew Pentz-dh 3011, Cayden Pearce-3b 1000, Logan Kunkle-ss 3123, Josh Legars-ss 1000, Merek Sutika-lf/cf 2111, Kyler Nelen-cf 1000, Hunter Tkacik-1b 2221, Blaine Witherite-1b 1010, Lawson Neiswender-p 2210, Lincoln Hoyt-c 2113, Dante Lezzer-c 0000, Gavin McDermott-cf 2211, Cooper Haag-lf 1000. TOTALS 28 13 12 11.
- 3B: Bracken/Kunkle, Hoyt
- HBP: Butler
- SB: Swanson, Tkacik, Kunkle, McDermott
- E: Nihard, Sward, Doland, Maseto
PITCHING
- Harmony: H. Pearce-3 IP, 12 H, 13 R, 3 ER, 2 SO, 2 BB; Maseto-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 SO, 0 BB.
- Curwensville: Neiswender-5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 7 SO, 0 BB.
W-Neiswender (1-1)
L-H. Pearce (0-1)
GOLDEN TIDE SCOREBOARD:
Date Opponent Score Record
3/18  BROCKWAY ppd. 0 – 0
3/21 @ Juniata Valley ppd. 0 – 0
3/25 MO VALLEY 0 – 10 0 – 1
3/26 @ Juniata Valley 9 – 9, susp. 0 – 1
3/28 @ Claysburg-Kimmel 1 – 5 0 – 2
4/02 BROCKWAY ppd. 0 – 2
4/04 WEST BRANCH ppd. 0 – 2
4/06 @ Union 0 – 13 0 – 3
4/09 @ Wiliamsburg 4 – 1 1 – 3
4/11 @ Brockway 3 – 2, susp. 1 – 3
4/13 @ Harmony ppd. 1 – 3
4/15 @ Brockway 10 – 2 2 – 3
4/15 BROCKWAY 8 – 2 3 – 3
4/16 GLENDALE 7 – 14 3 – 4
4/18 @ Tourney vs. Altoona 0 – 16 3 – 5
4/19 @ Tourney vs. Tyrone 2 – 4 3 – 6
4/23 JUNIATA VALLEY 11 – 9 4 – 6
4/23 JUNIATA VALLEY 2 – 4 4 – 7
4/25 MT. UNION 0 – 18 4 – 8
4/26 HARMONY 13 – 0 5 – 8
4/27 WEST BRANCH
4/30 @ Mo Valley
5/02 @ West Branch
5/03 PURCHASE LINE
5/07 WILLIAMSBURG
5/08 @ Glendale
