HARMONY — Finishing strong to the season is important for any team in any situation, especially with playoffs on the horizon. As the last game of the season loomed, the Curwensville Golden Tide were on a strong run, winning their last three, and four of the last five games. In order to finish the year on a positive note, they had one final game left, and it meant making a trip to Harmony for the second matchup against the Owls.
Unlike the first game, this one would go the distance. Unlike the first battle between the Tide and Owls, the teams would trade the lead a few times. But, what stayed the same was the winner, as Curwensville came back late to take a 10-6 win to finish the regular season right at the .500-mark.
It was a duel right away as both teams started the day with a pair of runs in the opening inning. Harmony elected to start Jake Bracken on the hill, and got the first out of the day. But, he was showing some discomfort even after just six pitches. So, Jarrod Sward came from his catcher position and took over. Cael Butler then walked, but during the following at bat from Andrew Pentz, but as he was attempting to advance to second, he was cut off and umpires elected to give him the base on defensive obstruction. It did not go as a stolen base, but that 90 feet made a difference as Pentz hit a grounder up the left field line, bringing Butler home for the opening run.
Logan Kunkle backed up the RBI-single with one of his own, making it 2-0. However, the Owls got both runs back in the bottom of the first on one swing when Carter Doland blasted a line drive to center field, bringing in Bracken and then Sward scored on the throw home.
Neither team got back on the board until the third when a two-RBI single by Merek Sutika would score both Pentz and Kunkle.
Curwensville held the lead through the third as the Owls got one run back, but Harmony managed to get its first lead of the afternoon in the fourth. A fielder’s choice by Parker Maseto allowed both Dakota Friend and Bracken to cross home to make it 5-4 in favor of the home squad.
Both pitchers were making a case that they both deserved to stay on the hill, but Curwensville put the game out of reach in the top of the fifth.
A lead-off single by Butler put him on base, but then advanced to second as Jaxson Keith’s throw to first went awry. Pentz then followed it up with another RBI-single to to bring Butler across home, tying up the game. Three batters later, Hunter Tkacik plated Pentz on a single to center field. That would mark the final lead change of the game as during the next at-bat, Kunkle scored on a passed ball, then Tkacik came across home on an RBI-double by Sutika. The 8-5 score would be plenty to allow Curwensville to hold on for the win.
Pentz himself had a solid day on the hill. Along with his four-run game on offense, Pentz pitched a total of six innings, striking out eight, to get his seventh win on the season for the Tide. He would have the longest run of pitches of any Tide pitcher of the year, hurling a total of 101 towards home plate.
Curwensville added a pair of runs in the sixth, first on a bases-loaded walk to Pentz, then an RBI-single by Lawson Neiswender. Harmony managed to get a final run in the bottom of the sixth on a bases-loaded hit batsman.
In the final inning, Curwensville put Gavin McDermott on the hill to close out the day, and he did so on a five-batter performance that saw a strikeout with a couple walks, but the Tide defense managed to keep the pair of runners from making it home, and allowing Curwensville to finish the regular season with a lot of happiness, and a lot of eagerness to get back on the ball field.
Curwensville finishes the regular season at 10-10, their best season of the 2020’s, excluding the canceled 2020 campaign due to Covid. The Tide now wait for the District 9 AA playoff bracket to be released on Thursday.
SCORE BY INNING
Curwensville 202 042 0 – 10 14 1
Harmony 201 201 0 – 6 9 2
Curwensville – 10
Grant Swanson-rf 3000, Kyler Nelen-rf/lf 2120, Cael Butler-2b 4210, Andrew Pentz-p 3432, Tristan Wills-rf 0000, Logan Kunkle-ss 4221, Lawson Neiswender-1b 4011, Hunter Tkacik-dh 2111, Merek Sutika-cf 4033, Lincoln Hoyt-c 3000, Blaine Witherite-ph 1010, Gavin McDermott-lf/p 4000. TOTALS 34 10 14 8.
Harmony – 6
Jack Bracken-p/cf 5320, Jarrod Sward-c/p 3100, Parker Maseto-ss 4132, Carter Doland-1b 3012, Jace Nihart-3b 1000, Jaxson Keith-3b/lf 2000, Hunter Pearce-lf/p 4010, Jacob Pearce-cf/c 4021, Trevor Hugill-2b 3000, Dakota Friend-rf 2100, Chase Buck-rf 0000. TOTALS 31 6 9 5.
- 2B: Sutika-2/Maseto, J. Pearce
- HBP: Kunkle/Doland
- SB: Tkacik, Pentz-3, Kunkle-3, Butler-2/Bracken
- CS: Maseto
- E: Kunkle/Hugill, Keith
PITCHING
- Curwensville: Pentz-6 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 8 SO, 3 BB; McDermott-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 2 BB.
- Harmony: Bracken-0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 0 BB; Sward-4.2 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 5 SO, 2 BB; H. Pearce-2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 SO, 3 BB.
W-Pentz (7-3)
L-Sward
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 0 – 10 6 – 10
5/03 PURCHASE LINE 5 – 2 7 – 10
5/07 WILLIAMSBURG 5 – 3 8 – 10
5/08 @ Glendale 7 – 3 9 – 10
5/15 @ Harmony 10 – 6 10 – 10
D9 AA Playoffs, TBD
