Philipsburg Legion outslugs league rival Clearfield, 13-8
Friday, June 22, 2012
By Jaclyn Yingling Sports Editor
PHILIPSBURG - With the annual Bellefonte Bandits Tournament looming this weekend, the Philipsburg and Clearfield American Legion faced off against each other in a Central Penn League matchup at the Don Womer Baseball Complex on Thursday evening.
The two teams combined for 23 hits and 21 runs, but it came down to pitching, and the Chiefs were the first to run out, falling to the Phils, 13-8.
Clearfield also had three errors in the contest, but it was the offensive prowess of Philipsburg that hurt the Chiefs in the long run.
"We had some errors that hurt us," said Clearfield head coach Sid Lansberry. "But we just ran out of pitching. We have to worry about the four games we have coming up this weekend."
Philipsburg also used three pitchers in the contest, but with a roster heavily loaded with throwers, the Phils weren't in as nearly dire shape as Clearfield.
"We didn't really want to go with three pitchers, but the guys need work, too," said Philipsburg head coach Dusty Minarchick. "We have a short season with a lot of games, so it was good to see those guys get going and get some work."
Caleb Pepperday started for the Phils, and got off to a rocky start, allowing three runs in the first inning. Clearfield's Tanner Ogden had a bases-clearing double to put the visitors up 3-0.
The Phils responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame. Aaron Lidgett had a two-run triple, then scored when the ball he hit was thrown off target to tie the game at 3-3.
Philipsburg came up with a four-run third inning to increase its lead to 7-3.
Parker Watson and Lidgett each had a triple in the frame, while Derek Greene had a two-run single.
"We got everybody hitting," said Minarchick. "We had a lot of runs on two outs, which is good to see because that's a big part of the game."
The Chiefs stormed back in the top of the fourth inning, scoring three runs and chasing Pepperday from the game.
The Phils hurler had just four walks in the game, all coming in the fourth.
He was replaced by Jake Belinda, who eventually got out of the inning after giving up two runs, which cut Philipsburg's lead to 7-6.
"We hit the ball pretty well the whole game," said Lansberry. "Philipsburg is loaded with talent. They are just loaded with lots of good players. They are as good as anybody in the league. I think they could win it."
The Phils added another run in the bottom of the fourth, as Watson scored when Cody Lee reached on an error. Chiefs reliever Kyler Kephart struck out three batters in the frame to get out of a jam, leaving Philipsburg with an 8-6 advantage.
Clearfield continued to fight back, tying the game in the top of the fifth by scoring two runs on two hits, a walk and a hit by pitch.
Kyler Kephart singled home both Tanner Ogden and Wyatt Westen to knot the game at 8-8.
"We both hit the ball well," Minarchick said. "It was more of a shootout than anything. Both teams played pretty well. I think it will be good for both teams going into tomorrow (in the Bellefonte Bandits Tournament)."
Philipsburg finally got to Kephart in the bottom of the fifth, scoring four runs on four hits. Robbie Smith knocked in two of the runs, while Watson and Lee each had an RBI to give the Phils back a 12-8 lead.
Phils pitcher Greg Belko pitched the final 2 1/3 innings for the hosts, allowing just three hits while striking out two batters to pick up the win on the mound.
"Belko always pitches well for us," Minarchick said. "I had the confidence in him to come out and throw strikes and keep us in the ballgame. And, he did that."
Philipsburg improved to 4-2 overall. The Phils were scheduled to play the Upper Deck Baseball Academy in the Bellefonte Bandits Tournament at Philipsburg this morning.
Clearfield fell to 4-4 overall. The Chiefs were scheduled to play the Upper Deck Baseball Academy in the Bellefonte Bandits Tournament at Philipsburg this morning. Clearfield-8
K. Kephart 1b-p 5122, Danver ss 3111, Redden c 3120, Janocko 3b-1b 4000, Jones 1b 0000, T. Ogden cf 4123, R. Ogden p-rf 3100, C. Kephart 2b 2010, Westen rf-3b 3200, Collins lf 1101, Josephson pf-lf 1010. Totals: 28-8-9-7.
Philipsburg-13
Smith 2b 4220, Watson cf 4331, Lee 3b 4221, Lidgett lf 4223, Baugh ss 3210, Hoover rf 2100, Edmiston rf 1011, Ammerman 1b 2000, Harlow 1b 1000, Matthews ph 1000, Greene c 3132, Dotts ph 1000, Golemboski dh 2000, Johns dh 2000, Pepperday p 0000, Belinda p 0000, Belko p 0000. Totals: 34-13-14-10.
Score by Innings
Clearfield 300 320 0- 8 9 3
Philipsburg 304 141 x-13 14 1
Errors-Janocko 2, T. Ogden; Smith. LOB-Clearfield 7, Philipsburg 4. 2B-Danver, Redden, T. Ogden; Smith, Edmiston. 3B-Lidgett 2, Watson. SF-Danver. SB-Baugh, Danver. HBP-C. Kephart 2 (by Belinda and Belko); Baugh (by R. Ogden).
Pitching
Clearfield: R. Ogden-3 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO; K. Kephart-3 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO.
Philipsburg: Pepperday-3+ IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO; Belinda-1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO; Belko-2 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO.
WP-Belko. LP-R. Ogden.
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