HYDE – Three days after winning the Dean Patterson Curve Classic, the Clearfield Area High School baseball team had two multi-run leads erased before Williamsport erupted for six runs in the top of the seventh inning to hand the Bisons an 11-5 Central Penn League defeat at the Bison Sports Complex Wednesday afternoon.
The hard-hitting Millionaires, featuring several players who were West End Babe Ruth League All-Stars on 15-year-old national runner-up team in 2006 and 16-year-old national top 10 team in 2007, hammered three home runs and three doubles in ending the Bisons\’ four-game winning streak.
\”They have some good sticks, and we stayed with them for six innings,\” Clearfield coach Sid Lansberry said. \”We were right there, tied. Then, the wheels kind of fell off in the seventh.
\”It was one of those situations where we didn\’t give the game away there. They just hit the ball.\”
Curve Classic Most Valuable Player Tanner St. Clair got into the home run act first, slugging a Lucas Mahaffey offering into the top of the high screen behind the left field fence for two runs in the third inning.
In the fourth, Jon Steele broke up Bison starter Corey Bookhamer\’s shutout with a solo blast over the screen in left center.
Bucknell-bound outfielder Bob Donato lined a single to center and scored the tying run in the fifth by stealing second and benefiting from two throwing errors on the play.
\”We had some defensive lapses which cost us that we didn\’t have on the weekend,\” Lansberry noted.
Clearfield reclaimed the lead, 5-2, in the lower fifth on Jarrin Campman\’s RBI-single and Derek Danver\’s two-run double into the right field corner that chased Millionaire starter Lucas Mahaffey.
Nick Keener relieved and, aided by Williamsport\’s second double play of the game in the sixth, faced the minimum seven batters over the final 2-1/3 innings to earn his third win of the season. He also has three saves for the 9-4 Millionaires, who still are in the CPL title chase at 5-2.
The visitors took Mahaffey off the hook in the sixth, thanks to Nick Zegarski\’s two-run homer, Tony Gottschall\’s double and another of Clearfield\’s seven errors.
\”Bookhamer pitched well until he just ran out of gas,\” Lansberry said.
Aaron Sayers kept the score 5-5, but he couldn\’t hold off the Millionaires in the seventh.
Donato rifled a double to right center, and Ed Belton singled for the game-winning hit.
After Belton stole second and took third on a wild pitch as Sayers was striking out Jake Fagnano, Lansberry elected to intentionally walk Steele and Zegarski to set up a force at the plate or an inning-ending double play.
A sacrifice fly to center by Gottschall made it 7-5, but the Bisons had a shot at the twinkilling when courtesy runner Matt Stanzione was caught in a rundown between second and third. However, obstruction was ruled by umpire Rob Murphy, so the Millionaires wound up with two runners in scoring position.
Keener gave himself a little insurance with a line single to center for two RBIs, and Jon Taddeo greeted reliever Justin Hoffman with a home run to left center.
St. Clair accounted for two of the five hits by the Bisons, who stand 1-6 in the CPL and 4-10 overall.
Clearfield will travel to Bellefonte Friday.
WILLIAMSPORT — 11
Bob Donato cf 4220, Sean Ruane ph 1000, Ed Belton 2b-lf 4111, Lucas Mahaffey p 2000, Jake Fagnano rf 2000, Jon Steele c 2321, Nick Zegarski 3b 2212, Tony Gottschall ss-2b, Nick Keener rf-p 4112, Mike Seewald lf 1000, Jon Taddeo ss 2112, Jared Mertes 1b 3000, Jed Phillips ph 0000. TOTALS: 30 11 9 9.
CLEARFIELD — 5
Jarrin Campman 2b 4211, Parker Herrington ss 4000, Tanner St. Clair lf 2222, Derek Danver 2012, David Welker rf 3000, Corey Bookhamer p-1b 2000, Chris Barr dh 2000, Matt Lonjin c 0000, Michael Moyer 1b 1000, Isaac Butler ph 1010, Aaron Sayers p-rf 1000, David Ryan cf 0000, Justin Hoffman ph-rf-p 2100. TOTALS: 24 5 5 5.
Score by Innings
Williamsport 000 113 6 – 11 9 1
Clearfield 002 003 0 – 5 5 7
Errors – Steele; Herrington, Welker, Bookhamer 2, Lonjin 2, Ryan. DP – Williamsport 2 (Belton, Gottschall and Mertes; Taddeo and Mertes); Clearfield 1 (Herrington and Moyer). LOB – Williamsport 5; Clearfield 3. 2B – Donato, Belton, Gottschall; Danver. HR – Steele, Zegarski, Taddeo; St. Clair. Sac – Seewald. SF – Gottschall. SB – Donato, Belton; Campman 2.
Pitching
Williamsport – Mahaffey 4-2/3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K; Keener 2-1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
Clearfield – Bookhamer 5-1/3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K; Sayers 1-1/3 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K; Hoffman 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
HB – Mahaffey 1 (Danver), Keener 1 (Barr); Hoffman 1 (Phillips). WP – Bookhamer 1; Sayers 1.
W – Keener (3-0). L – Sayers (0-2).
