ALTOONA — With an afternoon of potential rain in the forecast, and with classes officially concluded, the Clearfield Bison got the chance to come together once again to support the baseball team on Tuesday afternoon. The competition was in the form of the Bellefonte Red Raiders, the third battle between the two. The Bison got the better of the Red Raiders in the first matchup, an upset to a then one-loss team. Bellefonte got the better of Clearfield in the rematch, so Tuesday’s showdown at Vet’s Field in Altoona was the rubber match.
This game saw early scoring, and a battle between pitchers as the innings went on. At the end of seven innings, Clearfield’s season came to a close in a heartbreaking 4-1 final.
All of the scoring came in the early part of the afternoon, with Clearfield starting things off in the opening inning. After a pair of singles to start the game, and with two outs now on the board, Hayvin Bumbarger was at the plate with a 1-0 count. Pitcher Braedyn Kormanic tossed the next pitch, but it got past catcher Oliver Thornburg. Anthony Lopez hustled his way from third to the plate, putting Clearfield in the lead on a quick earned run. At the bottom of the inning, Bellefonte answered back thanks to an RBI-single by Josh Brown.
The tale of the game began to be who would get to the opposing pitcher first, and in the bottom of the second inning, the Red Raiders got to pitcher Hunter Rumsky.
After two outs were put up, Ethan Tomasacci would walk to first. Trevor Johnson singled to center field, with Tomasacci advancing to third on the throw. Peyton Vancas then hit a grounder up the left field line that was enough to plate Johnson to give Bellefonte the lead. One batter later, Kormanic helped his own cause with a two-RBI single up the gap into center field.
Clearfield would get out of the inning, but the three-run inning put them in a hole.
For his efforts, Rumsky stayed on the hill and pitched a solid outing, going the entire game and giving up seven hits. He would go scoreless over the final four innings he was on the mound, but the Bison would not help out offensively. Through the final six innings, Clearfield was held to only four hits, stranding six base runners, and no runs. Ultimately, the complete game effort by Rumsky was for a loss on the afternoon.
Kormanic would stay on the mound for the first four innings, enough for him to earn the victory on the afternoon. Vancas took over in the fifth inning and pitched a solid three innings in relief for the save.
Clearfield’s 2024 season officially comes to a close after having two games cancelled due to weather and no make-up dates available, and with one game suspended after weather halted the action. The Bison campaign finished with a final record of 11-9.
SCORE BY INNING
Clearfield 100 000 0 – 1 6 1
Bellefonte 130 000 X – 4 7 1
Clearfield – 1
Cole Bloom-c 4020, Anthony Lopez-ss 2110, Christian Welker-dh 3000, Hayvin Bumbarger-1b 2000, Maddix Carfley-cr 0000, O’Brian Owens-3b 3010, Derrick Mikesell-lf 2000, Hunter Rumsky-p 3010, Elijah Quick-rf 3000, Kam Kushner-cf 3010. TOTALS 25 1 6 0.
Bellefonte – 4
Trevor Johnson-cf 1110, Peyton Vancas-ss/p 3111, Braedyn Kormanic-p/ss 4012, Levi Purnell-1b 3010, Josh Brown-3b 3021, Oliver Thornburg-c 3000,Jacob Corman-dh 3000, Parker Capparelle-lf 0000, Ryan Fraley-2b 3000, Ethan Tomasacci-rf 2110. TOTALS 25 4 7 4.
- HBP: Vancas, Johnson-2
- E: Quick/Purnell
PITCHING
- Bellefonte: Kormanic-3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 SO, 0 BB; Vancas -4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 SO, 3 BB.
- Clearfield: Rumsky-6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 SO, 3 BB.
W-Kormanic Save-Vancas
L-Rumsky
FINAL 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 – 4 8 – 7
5/09 @ Forest Hills 5 – 1,suspended 8 – 7
5/10 @ Huntingdon cancelled 8 – 7
5/13 @ Bellefonte 1 – 12 8 – 8
5/15 PUNXSUTAWNEY cancelled 8 – 8
5/16 HOLLIDAYSBURG 5 – 2 9 – 8
5/21 D9 Playoffs vs. Bradford @ DuBois 12 – 2 10 – 8
5/23 D9 Championship vs. St. Marys @ DuBois 16 – 13 11 – 8
5/28 D6/9 Subregional vs. Bellefonte @ Altoona 1 – 4 11 – 9