HOUTZDALE — The last full week of April was not really kind to the Curwensville Golden Tide. Struggles pitching, lack of hits, and errors left the Tide going 1-for-4 in the week, with the lone win coming in a mercy-rule contest after Curwensville plated 12 runs in one inning. Hoping to get off the slide, Curwensville hit the road on Tuesday afternoon to face off with the Moshannon Valley Black Knights.
The road trip proved to be plentiful as the Tide racked up a dozen hits on the afternoon, downing the Black Knights in a 9-2 final.
A pair of runs is what got the visitors on the board in the opening, starting with an RBI-double by Logan Kunkle to plate Cael Butler. One batter later, Kunkle would make it home when Merek Sutika lined into right field for an RBI-single. In the end, that was the only lead change of the game, allowing Curwensville to play defense for the remainder of the afternoon.
Moshannon Valley got one run back in the second inning on an error by Kunkle, cutting the lead in half. However, that would be as close as the Black Knights would get, as their shields would take a lot of punishment in the next inning.
Curwensville opened the game up in a big way, bringing home six runs, in the third. With runners on first and second, Kunkle lined a 1-2 pitch into left field to plate Butler, his second run of the game and the second RBI for Kunkle on the day. Two batters later, Hunter Tkacik blasted a two-RBI double into right field that plated both Kunkle and Andrew Pentz, making it a 5-1 gap. Gavin McDermott then got in on the action as he brought in a pair of runs on an RBI-single, with Thacik making his way home from third, while Sutika made his way around the bases, beating the throw home.
What was a one-run gap suddenly increased to a lucky seven when Grant Swanson helped plate Lawson Neiswender to make it 8-1.
That big gap would be all Pentz would need to get his third win on the year. Pentz would finish out the entire game, pitching all seven innings, striking out three, but allowing no walks. This came as a stark contrast compared to the last game for Curwensville when a total of 15 batters would get the easy trip to first base. On the opposite side, Moshannon Valley’s Landyn Evans took the loss after giving up seven earned runs in two innings of work.
Curwensville added their final run in the fourth when an RBI-single by Swanson plated Neiswender.
It wasn’t until the sixth inning when a groundout by Evans still was able to bring Tanner Kephart across the plate for Mo Valley, ultimately setting the final.
The win moved Curwensville’s record to 6-9. The week of baseball continues for the Tide on Tuesday when they try to avenge their loss from Saturday against West Branch. The Warriors shut out Curwensville, 9-0, in DuBois. This time, the game will take place at the Warriors’ home field behind the high school, with first pitch set for 4:30 p.m.
SCORE BY INNING
Curwensville 206 100 0 – 9 12 3
Moshannon Valley 010 001 0 – 2 4 2
Curwensville – 9
Grant Swanson-rf 5032, Cael Butler-2b 4220, Andrew Pentz-p 4110, Logan Kunkle-ss 4222, Merek Sutika-cf 2111, Hunter Tkacik-dh 4112, Lawson Neiswender-1b 1200, Lincoln Hoyt-c 4010, Gavin McDermott-lf 4012. TOTALS 32 9 12 9.
Moshannon Valley – 2
Mason Abernethy-ss 3000, Zach Reifer-1b/2b 3000, Tanner Kephart-cf 3110, Landyn Evans-p/1b 3011, Colby Reifer-cr 0000, Rocco Reifer-c 3000, Valent Cervenak-lf 3110, JC Smith-3b 3000, Chase Mital-rf 3010, Brady Kephart-2b/p 3000. TOTALS 27 2 4 1.
- 2B: Tkacik, Kunkle/T. Kephart
- SB: Swanson, Sutika, Butler/T. Kephart
- E: Swanson, Kunkle-2/Evans, Smith
PITCHING
- Curwensville: Pentz-7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 SO, 0 BB.
- Moshannon Valley: Evans-2 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 SO, 1 BB; B. Kephart-5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 SO, 5 BB.
W-Pentz (3-3)
L-Evans (0-2)
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 0 – 9 5 – 9
4/30 @ Mo Valley 9 – 2 6 – 9
5/02 @ West Branch
5/03 PURCHASE LINE
5/07 WILLIAMSBURG
5/08 @ Glendale
5/15 @ Harmony
