ALTOONA – Hollidaysburg dashed the Clearfield Area High School baseball team\’s hopes for repeating as Dean Patterson Curve Classic champions and remained undefeated in the Central Penn League with a deceiving 10-2 victory at the Blair County Ball Park Friday afternoon.
The undefeated Golden Tigers converted six Bison misplays into nine unearned runs in a game that was 3-2 after five innings.
In the lower sixth, Hollidaysburg coupled four hits with four errors for seven tainted runs to lock up its fourth CPL win and No. 5 overall.
\”We were right in the game until that bad inning,\” coach Sid Lansberry said after Clearfield fell to 2-5. \”That\’s upsetting whenever you let it get away like that. You make mistakes you ordinarily wouldn\’t make because you get down.\”
In what was a very winnable game, the Bisons led twice and were one clutch hit away from giving Michael Moyer a cushion in three of the first four innings, stranding four runners in scoring position.
Three of their six hits off Brandon Simpson came in the first frame.
Jarrin Campman rapped Simpson\’s ninth offering right back up the middle, Parker Herrington sacrificed and Justin Hoffman bounced a single through the left side for a quick run.
Tanner St. Clair followed with the first of his two safeties, and Aaron Sayers\’ comebacker advanced the two runners.
However, Simpson got out of the jam with the first of his six strikeouts.
Jake Weibley\’s double over third base, a wild pitch and Matt Taylor\’s single to right center got Hollidaysburg even in the second inning.
Clearfield regained the lead 2-1 in the third when Campman reached base on an error, stole second, moved to third on a botched pickoff attempt and scored on Hoffman\’s line drive out to center.
St. Clair followed with an opposite-field double to deep right and advanced to third on a wild pitch but was stranded there.
An inning later, the Bisons failed to plate Corey Bookhamer after he ripped a two-bagger over the right fielder\’s head.
\”We started out real well, and then we had opportunities we couldn\’t cash in on,\” Lansberry said. \”We quit hitting. We left a lot of runners on.\”
Whereas the Bisons played some of their best baseball of the season in winning the sixth Curve Classic, they self-destructed in their return visit to the home of the Altoona Curve.
A bobble, an infield hit by Scott Hammond, a wild pitch and a throwing error resulted in the runs that put the Golden Tigers ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth.
The sixth was a nightmare for the Bisons after Moyer had kept them in the game despite giving up eight hits.
First, Sayers was called out for stepping on home plate when he sacrificed St. Clair to second. So St. Clair, who had walked, was at first base instead of second when Bookhamer drilled a two-out single to center. Simpson (4-0) wild pitched them up a base, but the stocky junior right-hander ended the threat with another strikeout.
In the bottom of the frame, Moyer gave up three more hits, two of the infield variety, but was betrayed by the four miscues.
Taylor\’s swinging bunt was followed by errors on two grounders and a wild pitch that made it 5-2.
Then, with two outs, Aaron Kovach picked up an RBI with an infield single before back-to-back miscues kept the inning alive. Weibley\’s RBI-single ended Moyer\’s day, and Tyler Sell\’s two-run single off reliever Trevor Flanagan set the final count.
\”We just blew apart in that inning,\” Lansberry said. \”I felt we played pretty well up to that point. But things fell part and went from bad to worse.
\”That\’s the worst game we\’ve played defensively by far.
\”Moyer didn\’t pitch that badly. (We) just made a lot of mistakes. That\’s disappointing.
\”We sold ourselves short. We didn\’t execute the plays we practice. I can\’t explain it.\”
Nathan Pope worked the seventh inning for Hollidaysburg, striking out two of the three pinch-hitters he faced.
The Bisons get another chance to play on the Pittsburgh Pirates Class AA affiliate\’s diamond Saturday morning.
They will meet Cambria Heights (3-6) in a 10 o\’clock consolation game.
The Highlanders were nipped 2-1 by Bishop Guilfoyle in the tourney opener that was delayed for more than 1-1/2 hours because of morning rains.
CLEARFIELD — 2
Jarrin Campman 2b 3210, Garrett Samsel ph 1000, Parker Herrington ss 2000, Luke Peterson ph 1000, Justin Hoffman rf 2012, Tanner St. Clair lf 2020, Chad Zurat pr 0000, Aaron Sayers cf 3000, Derek Danver 3b 3000, Corey Bookhamer 1b 3020, Michael Moyer p 0000, Trevor Flanagan p 0000, Isaac Butler dh 2000, Kyle Timchak ph 1000, Matt Lonjin c 2000, Matt Flanagan ph 1000. TOTALS: 26 2 6 2.
HOLLIDAYSBURG — 10
Neil Schroth 2b 4101, Andy Glass ss 4010, Aaron Kovach 3b 4131, Sidd Amirnini 1b 4100, Brandon Simpson p 0000, Nathan Pope dh-p 4110, Jake Weibley cf 4321, Matt Taylor lf 3121, Tyler Sell rf 4012, Scott Hammond c 4220. TOTALS: 35 10 12 6.
Score by Innings
Clearfield 101 000 0 – 2 6 6
Hollidaysburg 010 207 x – 10 12 2
Errors – Campman, Herrington 2, Danver 3; Glass, Simpson. LOB – Clearfield 6; Hollidaysburg 8. 2B – St. Clair, Bookhamer; Weibley. Sac – Herrington. SF – Hoffman. SB – Campman; Schroth, Glass.
Pitching
Clearfield – Moyer 5-2/3 IP, 11 H, 10 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K; T. Flanagan 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 K, 1 BB.
Hollidaysburg – Simpson 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K; Pope 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
WP – Moyer 3; Simpson 2.
W – Simpson (4-0). L – Moyer (2-4).
Umpires – Jim Klausman (home plate); Eugene Talko (bases).