BUTLER, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Matt Alston poured fastball after fastball into the strike zone.
Inside corner. Outside corner. Up and down.
He got called strikes. Swinging strikes. He kept hitters off balance or just straight up overpowered them.
Alston struck out the first seven batters he faced in relief of Devon Lauer and got the win, fanning nine in four innings of no-hit work, as the Clarion baseball team downed Karns City in a key KSAC matchup, 5-1, on Monday evening at Michelle Krill Field at Historic Pullman Park.
(Pictured above, Matt Alston)
“I felt good on the mound all day,” Alston said. “I didn’t have too good of a day hitting the ball, but I figured out how to help my team in a certain way and just kept pounding the strike zone.”
That was the philosophy for both Clarion pitchers in the victory.
Lauer got the start and struck out six in three innings. He gave up just one hit — the only one on the night for Karns City — on a RBI double in the bottom of the first inning by Jacob Jones.
Lauer looked like the Lauer of last year when the right-hander had an epic campaign and a scintillating late-season run to help the Bobcats to the Class A state title.
Lauer gave up just four earned runs all of last season in going 9-1 with a microscopic 0.50 ERA. This year, the going has been a little rougher for the senior. He came into the game with an ERA over six.
“Mentally, I think he’s actually fine,” Jewett said. “It was actually a little bit mechanical. We worked on some things and he got a lot better today staying on top of the ball. He was dropping a little bit. I don’t think he’s in season shape yet with his arm. So we’re trying to get him three innings here, two innings there and build up his stamina so when it comes playoffs, we’ll have him at full tilt.”
That made Alston’s effort even more important for Clarion (9-1 overall, 4-0 in the KSAC), which just played Saturday night at PNC Park and used three pitchers in that 3-3 suspended game against DuBois Central Catholic.
Alston had pitched just three innings this year before going four against Karns City (8-2, 4-2).
“Dev did a really nice job on the mound starting and then, luckily, I was able to come in and back him up and we didn’t have to use too many pitchers,” Alston said. “It was a good day for us.”
Alston picked up right where Lauer left off against what has been a potent Gremlin lineup this year.
“They were living on the corners,” Jewett said of Lauer and Alston. “They were hitting their spots and trusting their stuff. I thought (catcher Hayden Weber) did a good job setting up. (Karns City) is a very good team, so hats off to those two. They pitched a heck of a game.”
Clarion took a 2-1 lead in the top of the second on an error and then tacked on three more runs in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Weber, a hard-single for a RBI by Dawson Smail and a sharp single up the middle by Bryce Brinkley that plated a run for some breathing room.
“We tend to start a little slow sometimes,” Alston said. “It was nice to get a lead like that.”
For Karns City, it was a disappointing day all around, especially at the plate.
“That’s not our game,” said Gremlin coach Josh “Sluggo” Smith. “If anything, we hit with teams and stay right with them offensively. But, you know, they have a couple of pretty good arms over there. I don’t know what was up. We’ve been playing good baseball and it can happen to anybody. That’s the beauty of this game. That’s why you play more than one game. We’ll get back to work tomorrow.”
Jones got the loss, giving up five runs (four earned) in four innings.
He struggled with his command, walking four.
“We’ve yet to probably see his best stuff,” Smith said. “But he’s a guy who’s good enough to get by. He just made a couple of mistakes. Like I said, we just have to play a little tougher, a little more for each other. We have to do a better job putting balls in play.”
Colton Christie came in, though, and shut down the Bobcats for three scoreless innings, including a three-pitch top of the sixth.
He kept Karns City in it. The Gremlins got two runners on in the bottom of the seventh, but fittingly, Alston ended the game with a strikeout.
“He’s a tough little lefty,” Smith said. “You hate to second guess yourself, but Jones earned the right to battle it out and try to get where he needs to be. But Colton is tough. He knows the game. He studies the game. His dad is one of our coaches and does a lot with baseball. He did his job. I wish we could have rallied around him a little bit, but that’s baseball.”
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