Late-Inning Scoring for Clearfield Leads to Victory

SPRING MILLS, Pa. — A night ago, the Clearfield Bison made a frantic rally late in the game that fell short against Huntingdon. Hoping to forget that bitter loss, the Bison were off to another Mountain League contest against the Penns Valley Rams.

(This article was provided by our News Partner GantDaily.com.)

About a month ago, the Bison won the first contest between the two at the Bison ball field, and now the Rams were hoping to return the favor on their diamond.

For a majority of the game, the two teams dueled to a draw. Neither squad would get the bats going, as the two teams combined for nine hits on the afternoon. However, the Bison managed to find a way to get things rolling late in the contest, getting runners across the plate, while the defense did their job all game long. The result, a 4-0 victory for Clearfield and a season sweep of Penns Valley.

Neither squad found its footing in the dirt right away. Each would find a hit, but would end up stranding runners. The closest either got through four innings was when Penns Valley loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth courtesy of a pair of walks and a single, all with having two outs on the board. However, pitcher Morgen Billotte would manage to get out of the jam thanks to a ground out from Miles Brooks.

In the top of the fifth, something happened with the Bison as the team would get the bats going.

Nick Domico got it started with a lead-off double into center field. Designated hitter Hunter Dixon then found a great spot for a bunt, as he connected enough to not only move Domico to third, but also put himself at first. No outs and runners on the corners gave Matt Bailor an opportunity to give Clearfield the lead. With Ryan Gearhart coming in as a pinch runner for Dixon, he would move to second on a wild pitch. Bailor loaded the count, waiting for a pitch to take a full-on swing at.

After a few foul offs, he connected deep into center field. Although it didn’t go over the wall, the ball sailed long enough for him to round all the way to third, pulling in an enormous two RBI-triple to put Clearfield ahead. One batter later, Cole Bloom hit a sacrifice fly into right field. Shane Coudriet, who came in as the courtesy runner for Bailor, took off from his tag up to score the third run, and gave the Bison the lead that never would change.

Rams pitcher Maclain Welshans would finish the inning, but would ultimately get tagged with the loss on the afternoon in his five innings of work, striking out just one and yielding the three earned runs.

On the opposite side, Billotte would hurl a solid four innings, despite only striking out two, he earned the victory in a solid outing.

Clearfield added one more run in the sixth inning due to the lone error by the Rams, courtesy of catcher Aiden Brinker. A mishandled catch allowed Blake Prestash to cross home plate to add the fourth run on the afternoon. Once the teams swapped sides, it was Karson Rumsky that came in and worked the final three innings on the mound, striking out six and walking just one.

The Bison finished their road portion of their schedule, but the season is not done. Sitting at 6-9-1, Clearfield still has a chance for a winning season as their final four games will be at the Bison field.

SCORE BY INNING

Clearfield 000 031 0 – 4 5 1
Penns Valley 000 000 0 – 0 4 1

Clearfield – 4

Morgen Billotte-P/CF 4000, Nolan Barr-2B 4010, Kyle Elensky-SS 2000, Blake Prestash-3B/1B 2100, Karson Rumsky-CF/P 4000, Nick Domico-1B 2110, Hunter Dixon-DH 2010, Shane Coudriet-CR 0100, Ryan Gearhart-LF/CR/RF/3B 1100, Matt Bailor-C 3022, Cole Bloom-RF 1001. TOTALS 25 4 5 3.

Penns Valley – 0

Miles Brooks-CF 4000, Ty Houtz-SS 2000, Mason Lieb-1B 4010, Aiden Brinker-C 3000, Owen Miller-DH 1000, Maclain Welshans-P/3B 3020, Kyle Niewinski-LF 2000, Colby Sweitzer-3B/P 1000, Hayden Houser-2B 3000, Malachi Thompson-RF 1010. TOTALS 24 0 4 0.

LOB: 7/10
E: Domico/Brinker
2B: Domico
3B: Bailor
SF: Bloom
HBP: Domico, Prestash/Thompson, Houtz
SB: Houtz
PIK: Brooks

Pitching

Clearfield: Billotte-4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 SO, 4 BB; Rumsky-3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 6 SO, 1 BB.

Penns Valley: Welshans-5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 SO, 1 BB; Sweitzer-2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 SO, 3 BB.

W: Billotte
L: Welshans