April 22 scores and recaps.
(Archived Photo of Clarion’s Cole Slaugenhoup)
Baseball Recaps
Clarion 6, Moniteau 5
Clarion rode solid pitching performances and big top-of-the-order hitting to prevail over Moniteau, 6-5. Clarion trailed 3-2 after three innings but scored four in the fourth to surge into the lead. After a pair of walks, a single by Dawson Smail tied the game, and an infield single by Devon Lauer put Clarion ahead 4-3. A Cole Slaugenhoup base hit scored another run for Clarion, and a sacrifice fly by Cameron Lapinto concluded Clarion’s big four-run inning.
Moniteau threatened to tie the game in the sixth, scoring two runs on a single by Williams to cut the lead to 6-5. With Williams on third base, Daunte Girvan got Mason Mershimer to pop up to end the inning. A scoreless seventh by Girvan sealed the deal for the Bobcats, with Moniteau stranding the winning run on first.
Lauer started on the mound and received the win for Clarion, using good location and clever off-speed pitches to give up three runs in four innings, giving out four hits and only walking one. Girvan pitched the final three innings to secure the save, painting the outside corner to stave off Moniteau’s dangerous bats. Each of Clarion’s top four hitters had two-hit nights, with Smail, Lauer, Slaugenhoup, and Lapinto also driving in runs.
Cooper Boozel took the loss for Moniteau, pitching 3 1/3 innings, giving up four runs on five hits. Williams and Dawson Wallace had two-hit nights for Moniteau, and Mershimer went 1-for-3 with two RBI and a walk.
Cranberry 19, Keystone 17
Cranberry held on to win in a wild and frantic 19-17 battle with Keystone. The Berries led 17-2 after four and a half innings, with Cranberry doing most of their damage in the top of the fifth inning, scoring 10 runs in the frame. Cranberry made use of walks, hits, and errors in the inning, with Austin Fento and Austin Shoup each contributing two-RBI doubles.
After getting two quick outs early in the bottom of the fifth, the Berries appeared poised to close out the mercy-rule win. Instead, Keystone rallied for eight runs in the frame to keep the game alive. A clutch single by Tye Elder cut Cranberry’s lead to nine, and the Panthers scored three more runs to end the inning trailing 17-10.
Cranberry put up two in the top of the sixth, but Keystone scored four in the bottom of the inning to pull within five. After shutting out the Berries in the seventh, Keystone scored three runs to cut the deficit to two. With two outs and the tying run at the plate, Colin Zerbe struck out Cole Henry to end the game.
Fento got the win for Cranberry, pitching 4 2/3 innings, giving up seven runs, and striking out five. Keenan Heeter took the loss for Keystone, giving up six runs (all unearned) while striking out six. Preston Forrest went 3-for-6 for Cranberry, while Shoup, Kenneth Lavrich, and Travis Carbaugh each had multi-hit nights for the Berries. Tye Elder stole the show for Keystone, going 6-for-6 with two doubles and five RBI. Seth Apel also had three hits for the Panthers.
Softball Recaps
Moniteau 15, Clarion 10
13 runs in the first two innings propelled Moniteau to a 15-10 win over Clarion. The Warriors responded to Clarion’s three-run opening frame with five runs in the bottom of the first. Moniteau built onto their lead in the second by scoring eight more runs to break the game open. Clarion scored four in the fourth, but the Warriors kept Clarion an arm’s length away all game, as Clarion never pulled the deficit to within five runs after the second inning.
Three Warriors had multi-hit evenings, with Courtney Stewart, Emily Staab, and Rylee Hoffman each notching two hits apiece. Stewart and Hoffman each added three RBI. Stewart pitched all seven innings for Moniteau, allowing seven earned runs and striking out 14, but walking 13.
Clarion was paced by Kylee Beers, who had two hits and five RBI, including a home run. Noel Anthony went 1-for-2 for Clarion with three walks. Payton Simko and Beers each pitched for Clarion, with Simko taking the loss for the Bobcats.
Cranberry 7, Keystone 5
Cranberry got the bats going late, coming from behind to win 7-5 over Keystone. The Panthers put up two runs in both the first and second innings, using a two-run single by Maddie Dunlap to up their advantage to 4-0. The Berries got back into the game in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. An RBI triple from Olivia Plummer started the action in the fifth, and RBI singles from Kendall Findlay and Rylee Koe tied the score at four.
Both teams exchanged runs in their next at-bats, but the Berries broke the deadlock in the top of the seventh to take the win, courtesy of a two-run home run by Alisha Beggs. Beggs went 2-for-4 with a home run for the Berries, and Plummer went 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI. Coe got the win in the circle for Cranberry, pitching 4 1/3 innings, giving up one earned run, and striking out six. Alexandria Johnston reached base three times for Keystone in the loss.
