CURWENSVILLE — Playoff competition, whether it be between the hashes, on the hardwood, for track and field, or on the diamond, is an entirely different thought process than the regular season. Teams have to prepare to play one game, nothing more, because there’s no guarantee that there will be another game or practice coming. On Monday, the Curwensville Golden Tide had that opportunity, on their home diamond, as the first round of the District 9 AA playoffs were on the docket. As the No. 8 seed, they had to play in the opening round, hosting the No. 9 seed Brockway Rovers. The Tide had beaten the Rovers both times during the regular season.
The desire to win was prevalent, and appeared that the Tide would pull off the win in easy fashion. But, Brockway would not go away, and made the home squad nervous. However, Curwensville would come in clutch, and pull off the 7-4 triumph to move on.
“It’s not every year that you get a playoff win, so it’s nice to get one here at home. It’s been a while since we got a playoff win on this field, so it really feels good,” Curwensville head coach Derek Dixon said afterwards.
Brockway would be the ones getting on the board in the first inning. After a single by Gage Park and a throwing error by starting pitcher Andrew Pentz put runners on first and second, both runners advanced on a passed ball, and Dylan Bash took a full count pitch on a grounder to third, which had enough time to make Tide third baseman Caleb Pierce pause and feel indecisive. Jeremy Swanson managed to make it home to put the opening run on the board.
Pentz managed to get out of the inning, and seemed to settle in as he and the Tide defense kept Brockway off the board for a long time. The Rovers held the lead until the bottom of the third, and that is when Curwensville suddenly began hitting a wave and rode it for every bit it was worth.
With an out already on the board, a fielder’s choice put the second out on the tally, but it left Pentz on base. Logan Kunkle then came to the plate, and hit a powerful swing that went deep into left field. Pentz managed to make it all the way around from first, beating the throw home, and tying up the game on the RBI-double. One batter later, Lawson Neiswender looked an 0-1 pitch down and lined the ball into right field. Kunkle hustled around from second to score on the RBI-single, while Neiswender made his way to second on the throw home. Designated hitter Hunter Tkacik then hit his own RBI-single up the gap, and Neiswender scored on the throw to get the out at first. What was a one-run lead for the Rovers suddenly went to 3-1 in just as many at-bats.
Two batters later, Kyler Nelen connected on a 1-2 pitch that went to shortstop Erik Lindemuth, but the throw to first was errant and that allowed both Tkacik and Lincoln Hoyt across home. The inning concluded with a lineout to short, but in that moment Curwensville was feeling powerful, and the fans could feel it just as much as the players.
“We always say to put the pressure on the other team, so if we put the pressure on them to make plays, sometimes it works out in our favor,” Dixon said. “They had some miscues and we also had some balls that fell in. At that point, we got the lead, and never looked back.”
With the four-run advantage, Pentz seemed to get in a groove, calming down, and the Tide defense settled in, making plays and keeping Brockway off the board. Pentz would go five and two-third innings, tossing 104 pitches, and only giving up six hits. The victory would be his eighth on the season.
“We were scrambling a little bit, because we were almost planning ahead but not too far ahead. Andrew has been extremely efficient this year, so going deep in the counts isn’t something he’s done early in the year,” Dixon said. “We had to go with him today, but he’s gotten us this far, and we were happy to ride with him today.”
The Tide managed a run each in the fourth and fifth, first from Pentz as he had an RBI-single to help his own cause, then a fielding error in the sixth allowed Nelen to score.
Even with a six-run advantage, Curwensville was not out of the woods, and the seventh inning was one that made every Tide fan, player, and coach a bit nervous.
Pentz was pulled in the sixth inning after eclipsing the 100-pitch mark, and Lawson Neiswender managed to get them out of the inning. But, he would walk the first two batters in the seventh. So, Dixon made a swap, putting Gavin McDermott on the hill. Ben Yale came to the plate, and after loading up the count, took a big swing at the next pitch. The bat connected, and the ball sailed to the back wall, making its way over the yellow barrier. The three-run homer was the first one hit at the Tide field this season, and in an instant, Curwensville’s lead was cut in half.
Dixon looked on from the third-base dugout and calmed down his team, but McDermott would walk Chad Young. However, Lindemuth took a crack at the first pitch he saw, grounding the ball to Kunkle at short. He quickly got the ball to Cael Butler at second, then it went to Pentz at first. Neither Rover beat the throw, and the 6-4-3 double play put the Tide in a prime spot to close out the inning.
Andrew Brubaker then walked on four straight pitches, leaving Raiden Craft to get the ball in play for the Rovers, or at minimum get on base to move the runner 90 feet closer to scoring.
Craft would never get the opportunity.
McDermott got the sign he wanted, Brubaker took his lead, then McDermott decided to hurl the ball to first. Brubaker never expected the quick throw and as he was trying to turn back to get on base, slid short of the bag. A quick tag on the shoulder by Pentz saw the umpire call the out, and in an instant the Tide had achieved their 11th win of the 2024 season.
The win ensured Curwensville at least a .500 record for the season, and Dixon was thrilled for that because nearly his entire team is coming back for next year.
“We are only losing two guys, so I think the target is going to be on our back next year,” he said. “Merek (Sutika) is on the ball right now, Logan is crushing the ball right now. Gavin may not have many hits, but he’s swinging as hard as anybody. We’ll take that because it’s still solid contact, and that makes the other team make plays.”
But, Curwensville (11-10) has a tough task ahead, because the win also meant they have to face the top seed in the playoffs, the Karns City Gremlins. But, Dixon feels that is alright, and even likes the positioning they are in.
“We kinda like being in the underdog role, so we’ll go take on the top dog. That’s alright by us,” he said with a chuckle.
The game between the Tide and Gremlins will happen on neutral ground, as the game will be on Tuesday, at Historic Pullman Park in Butler. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
SCORE BY INNING
Brockway 100 000 3 – 4 7 2
Curwensville 005 110 X – 7 10 1
Brockway – 4
Jeremy Swanson-cf 3010, Gage Park-2b 4110, Matthew Brubaker-dh 3100, Dylan Bash-p/ss 3111, Ben Yale-1b/p 4123, Chad Young-3b/p 3000, Erik Lindemuth-ss/3b 4000, Andrew Brubaker-rf 2020, Raiden Craft-c 1000. TOTALS 27 4 7 4.
Curwensville – 7
Cael Butler-2b 4110, Merek Sutika-cf 4020, Andrew Pentz-p/1b 4111, Logan Kunkle-ss 3131, Lawson Neiswender-1b/p 4111, Hunter Tkacik-dh 4111, Caleb Pierce-3b 0000, Lincoln Hoyt-c 1110, Kyler Nelen-rf 2100, Gavin McDermott-lf/p 3000. TOTALS 29 7 10 4.
- 2B: Kunkle-2, Hoyt
- HR: Yale
- HBP: A. Brubaker
- SB: Dash, Swanson/Sutika, Kunkle-2, Butler, Hoyt
- E: Lindemuth-2/Pentz
PITCHING
- Brockway: Bash-4 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 5 SO, 2 BB; Young-1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 SO, 2 BB; Yale-1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 0 BB.
- Curwensville: Pentz: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 SO, 3 BB; Neiswender-0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 SO, 2 BB; McDermott-1 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 SO, 2 BB.
W-Pentz
L-Bash
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
5 /20 D9 AA Playoffs BROCKWAY 7 – 4 11 – 10
5/21 vs. Karns City @ Pullman Park
