DUBOIS – Clearfield Area High School baseball coach Sid Lansberry had a premonition his Bisons would bring out the best in a DuBois team still seeking its first Central Penn League win Wednesday.
His concerns proved valid.
The Beavers, coached for the fourth year by former Bison Todd Stiner, roughed up Andrew Janocko and Brandon Evans for 13 hits and scored in every inning except one to triumph 10-4 at Showers Field.
\”I knew it was gonna be a really tough game,\” Lansberry said. \”I was very worried because DuBois has been playing really well, but they\’ve been snake-bit. They lost a lot of close games. And Todd always does a good job getting his team ready for us.\”
Clearfield solved winner Andy Keller and Jeremy Smith for 10 hits but stranded 11 runners one day after bouncing Hollidaysburg 11-1 in six innings.
\”We were just a different team tonight,\” Lansberry said. \”Keller had us popping up. If you have 10 hits, you ought to have a pretty good chance to win. We just missed scoring opportunities, and we had some mental errors. But you\’ve gotta give DuBois credit. They were ready to play.\”
The Bisons led briefly on Kyle Kline\’s RBI-single in the first inning.
The Beavers, who had lost six games by one run and another by two runs, answered with a four-run salvo. All of the runs were unearned because of a Bison miscue. After Pat Lydick singled home the tying marker, Keller homered to right center.
\”They jumped on us early, and that home run really got them going,\” Lansberry said. \”So, we were fighting from behind the whole game.\”
Jarrin Campman\’s single and Adam Jury\’s home run to right center got the Bisons close in the second inning, but the Beavers proceeded to score the next six runs.
Jon Baummer\’s RBI-single made it 5-3 in the third, and hits by T.J. Anderson, Jed Zelenky and Sean Zimmerman ended Janocko\’s stay on the mound with one out in the fourth. Lydick, the first batter to face Evans, drove in the Beavers\’ seventh run with a forceout.
Phil Smith\’s sacrifice fly in the fifth and Baummer\’s two-run single in the sixth pushed the Beavers\’ lead to 10-3.
A throwing error on a doubleplay attempt gave Clearfield its final run in the seventh.
Jury, Kline, Campman and James Zimmerman had two hits apiece for Bisons, while Zelenky collected three for the Beavers. The senior leftfielder is the son of former Clearfield assistant coach Denny Zelenky.
It\’s been a case of one step forward and one step back for the Bisons, who slipped to 7-8, including 3-7 in the CPL.
\”Our inconsistency is why we\’re hovering around .500,\” Lansberry said.
The Beavers, who had lost nine CPL games, are 4-12.
\”When it comes down to Clearfield and DuBois, records mean nothing,\” Lansberry said. \”They were due.\”
The Bisons face another stern test Friday when they host Somerset. The Eagles are 15-2.
CLEARFIELD — 4
Adam Jury ss 4122, James Zimmerman 2b 4120, Brandon Evans c-p 4000, Kyle Kline 3b 3021, Drew Hipps rf 3110, Doug Kephart cf 3000, Lucas Malloy 1b 1000, Tanner St. Clair dh 3010, Jarrin Campman lf 2120, David Ryan lf 0000, Cody Fye ph 1000, Janocko p 2000, Wil Bacharach c 1000. TOTALS: 30 4 10 3.
DUBOIS — 10
T.J. Anderson ss 5120, Jed Zelenky lf 3230, Phil Smith 1b 3001, Sean Zimmerman cf 4111, Pat Lydick 1b 4222, Andy Keller p 3113, Jeremy Smith p 1110, Brandon Palumbo 2b 0000, Mike Gralla dh 3110, Jon Baummer rf 3123, John Hartzfeld c 3000, Jeremy Grove ph 1000. TOTALS: 33 10 13 10.
Score by Innings:
Clearfield 120 000 1 – 4 10 2
DuBois 401 212 x – 10 13 2
Errors – Zimmerman, Kline; Anderson, Zelenky. LOB – Clearfield 11; DuBois 9. 2B – Zelenky. HR – Jury; Keller. Sac – Keller. SF – P. Smith. SB – J. Smith.
Pitching
Clearfield – Janocko 3-1/3 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K; Evans 2-2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K.
DuBois – Keller 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; J. Smith 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K.
W – Keller (2-2). L – Janocko (3-4).