MARTINSBURG — Fresh off a win on Thursday, the Clearfield Bison were eager to get back on the diamond and the first full week of May would have a lot of opportunities to do so. On Monday, the squad loaded up the bus for a trip south for a Laurel Highlands showdown against the Central Dragons, a team they faced early in the season, losing 17-1.
Clearfield would score more in the second meeting, but the difference was that they would manage to rally and achieve an 8-3 triumph to even their record at 7-7 on the season.
The Dragons were the first to get on the board, scoring a run each in the second, third and fourth innings. The first run came on an RBI-single from Lukas Black, allowing courtesy runner Adam Loucks to cross home. The next inning, it was the Clearfield defense that allowed a run to cross when Braison Patrick mishandled a throw to get an out, making it 2-0 in favor of the home squad.
The fourth inning saw the two teams trade runs, with Clearfield getting on the board thanks to a based-loaded walk to Derrick Mikesell. But, Central got the run back in the same fashion when Baron Dionis took the easy stroll to first.
That 3-1 score in favor of Central would only last for a little while, as the top of the fifth is when the Bison began to stampede their way to victory.
Cole Bloom started the inning in a big way with a double into right field. Anthony Lopez then walked to first. Following a fly out, Hayvin Bumbarger got struck by relief pitcher Wyatt Dilling, loading the bases. O’Brian Owens then drew a bases-loaded walk to cut the lead to one. Then, the biggest swing of the game came when Hunter Rumsky singled into center field. Lopez made his way home, but the play was not done. As the ball was getting moved back to the infield to try to prevent more runs from scoring, shortstop Griffin Snowberger mishandled the relay, which then saw Bumbarger and Owens each score on the error. What was a two-run lead for Central suddenly became a two-run deficit in a matter of moments.
It was this series of events that led to Dilling being tagged with the loss, a two-thirds inning effort that saw him give up four runs, only two earned.
In the bottom of the inning, Clearfield made its lone pitching change on the afternoon, sending Elijah Quick to right field, and bringing Christian Welker to the mound. Quick would ultimately earn the win as he gave up the three runs, two earned, in his four innings of work. Welker managed to pitch the final three innings for the save, only giving up a walk, but saw his teammates ensure no more runs would cross home.
The win is exactly what the Bison needed to start the week as they evened their record on the year at 7-7. The week does not get easier as they will have three consecutive games to finish out the week. After a day off, the Bison will play host to Bellefonte on Wednesday. First pitch at the Bison Baseball Field will be at 4:30 p.m.
SCORE BY INNING
Clearfield 000 143 0 – 8 5 2
Central 011 100 0 – 3 6 1
Clearfield – 8
Cole Bloom-c 3210, Anthony Lopez-ss 2100, Christian Welker-rf/p 1100, Hayvin Bumbarger-1b 1101, Hayden Rumsky-cr 0000, O’Brian Owens-3b 2113, Hunter Rumsky-dh 4011, Derrick Mikesell-lf 3011, Braison Patrick-2b 3000, Matt Irvin-ph 1000, Elijah Quick-p/rf 3110. TOTALS 23 8 5 6.
Central – 3
Hunter Smith-1b 2000, Griffin Snowberger-ss 4020, Baron Dionis-dh 3101, Britton Marko-rf/3b 4001, Troy McNichol-c 3010, Adam Loucks-cr 0100, Wyatt Dilling-3b/p 4000, Jay Hoenstine-2b 3010, Lukas Black-cf/p 2121, Mason Byler-lf 2000. TOTALS 27 3 6 3.
- 2B: Bloom
- HBP: Bloom, Bumbarger/Black, Byler
- SF: Bumbarger
- E: Patrick-2/Snowberger
PITCHING
- Clearfield: Quick-4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 SO, 3 BB; Welker-3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 SO, 1 BB.
- Central: Sparks-4.1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 SO, 8 BB; Dilling-0.2 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 SO, 2 BB; Black-2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 SO, 1 BB.
W-Quick. Save-Welker.
L-Dilling.
BISON SCOREBOARD:
Date Opponent Score Record
3/18 CENTRAL ppd. 0 – 0
3/20 @ Bellefonte ppd. 0 – 0
3/22 CENTRAL 1 – 17 0 – 1
3/25 BISHOP GUILFOYLE 10 – 2 1 – 1
3/27 @ Tyrone 4 – 3 2 – 1
4/02 HOLLIDAYSBURG ppd. 2 – 1
4/05 SOMERSET ppd. 2 – 1
4/08 @ Huntingdon ppd. 2 – 1
4/10 SOMERSET ppd. 2 – 1
4/11 GREATER JOHNSTOWN ppd. 2 – 1
4/12 @ Forest Hills ppd. 2 – 1
4/15 @ Bradford 0 – 10 2 – 2
4/16 PHIILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA 1 – 3, 8 inn. 2 – 3
4/18 @ St. Marys 3 – 4 2 – 4
4/19 @ DuBois 2 – 3 2 – 5
4/22 @ Bellwod-Antis 2 – 4 2 – 6
4/23 PENNS VALLEY 1 – 0 3 – 6
4/26 @ Bishop Carroll 18 – 0 4 – 6
4/29 @ Bald Eagle Area 4 – 5 4 – 7
4/30 SOMERSET ppd. 4 – 7
5/02 SOMERSET 6 – 5 5 – 7
5/03 GREATER JOHNSTOWN 10 – 0 6 – 7
5/06 @ Central 8 – 3 7 – 7
5/08 BELLEFONTE
5/09 @ Forest Hills
5/10 @ Huntingdon
5/13 @ Bellefonte
5/15 PUNXSUTAWNEY
5/16 HOLLIDAYSBURG