May 30 District 9/10 Class 1A baseball semifinal recaps.
(Cover photo of Clarion’s Ryan Anthony. Photo courtesy of Christie Datko)
CLARION 7, JAMESTOWN 0
SENECA, Pa. – Ryan Anthony threw six shutout innings and also drove in a pair of runs, as District 9 top-seeded Clarion rolled past District 10 champion Jamestown, 7-0, at Cranberry High School.
Listen to the game:
Anthony allowed just two hits and three baserunners over six innings of work. He struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter.
On offense, the senior was 1-for-3 with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly.
Anthony talked about the victory.
Clarion (18-2), who will face Oswayo Valley in the championship game at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Berwind Park in St. Marys, scored its seven runs on only five hits but took advantage of five walks, two hit batter and a pair of Jamestown errors.
Spencer Miller had a two-run single to cap off a three-run second inning that saw the Bobcats draw four straight walks off Jamestown starter Cole Potase, making his first start of the year. That single put Clarion up 4-0.
It became 6-0 in the third when Sterling Conner doubled with one out and scored on a single by Cam Craig, who went to second on the throw to the plate and then hustled home from second on a groundout to second by Skylar Rhoades.
Anthony, who drove in Miller with a single in the first, then lofted a sacrifice fly to center in the sixth to close out the scoring.
Jamestown (4-10) only had three runners in scoring position on the day.
The Muskies biggest threat came in the third when back-to-back two-out singles by Shane McLaughlin and Potase, the only hits of the day for Jamestown, loaded the bases. But Anthony got Michael Westcott looking to end the threat.
After Anthony went six innings, Conner came in and threw a scoreless seventh getting the first two outs on two pitches before walking Jed Goodlin. He then got Richard Graham to ground back to the mound to end the game.
Clarion is in the title game for only the second time in its history. The Bobcats lost to Oswayo Valley, 10-0 in six innings, in 2015. The win also clinched a PIAA playoff berth for Clarion, the fourth in school history.
Jamestown will face Elk County Catholic in the District 9/10 consolation game at 7 p.m. Friday at Showers Field in DuBois with the winner moving to the PIAA playoffs and the loser’s season ending.
OSWAYO VALLEY 3, ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC 1
BRADFORD, Pa. – Justice Rees’ fifth-inning double spearheaded a three-run inning for Oswayo Valley, which went on to beat Elk County Catholic 3-1 at Pitt-Bradford.
The third-seeded Green Wave trailed 1-0 heading to fifth before Ryan Graves walked and Theo Henry was hit by a pitch bringing up Rees, who was 2-for-3 in the game. Both runners stole bases before Rees doubled to left scoring the two runs. Rees then scored on a groundout by Garret Babcock.
That was all Oswayo Valley (18-2) needed, as Garren Black was shutting down the Crusaders.
Black went 6 ⅓ innings allowing one run on four hits and a walk while striking out six.
ECC’s run came in the fourth on an Eric Gerber single.
The Crusaders (17-5) did get the tying run to the plate in the seventh following a one-out single by Nate DaCanal, but Ryan Graves came in and got out of it when Gabe Kraus grounded into a fielder’s choice and was then called out on offensive interference.
Brad Dippold pitched well in a losing effort. He went five innings allowing the three runs on three hits and a walk while striking out three.
DaCanal led the ECC offense going 2-for-3.
Oswayo Valley, which is making its third straight appearance in the title game, will take on Clarion at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Berwind Park in St. Marys. The Green Wave, which earned another trip to the PIAA playoffs with the win, won the 2015 title, 10-0 in six innings, over Clarion before losing last year, 2-1, to DuBois Central Catholic.
ECC faces District 10 champion Jamestown in the consolation game at 7 p.m. Friday at Showers Field in DuBois. The winner moves into the PIAA playoffs, while the loser’s season is over.
