MEADVILLE, Pa. (EYT) — The Clarion 9-and-10-years old Little League All-Star team rode a five-run first inning to a 6-3 win over DuBois in the opening round of the Section 1 Tournament Monday afternoon in Meadville.
(Clarion’s players hanging out after their opening-round win Monday in Meadville. Photo courtesy of Jami Smail)
“At nine and 10, you forget these kids haven’t seen this stuff before,” Clarion manager Luke Huwar said. “You come back here in the future, and you have been through it. These kids haven’t been through it. I think it (getting a win) builds their confidence. I think it shows them they belong at this level. I don’t think there was any doubt about that, but it is nice to come out here and prove it.”
In the five-run first, Clarion, which won the coin toss prior to the game and elected to be the home team, sent nine boys to the plate and had five hits to score the five runs.
Nathan Frederick and Ethan Rex had RBI doubles in the inning with Frederick getting the scoring started with a two-run double to left scoring Liam Huwar and Parker Miller, and Rex bringing home Frederick with a double to right.
“We had some guys driving the ball,” Luke Huwar said. “Nathan Frederick had a big hit in the first inning that keyed that rally and a couple of other guys put the ball in play pretty well.”
Hayden Hindman and Hunter Lechner added RBI singles in the inning for Clarion.
“Jumping on the board (early) is pretty important,” Luke Huwar said. “It lets our guys get some confidence, and playing with a lead is always nice.”
DuBois got a run back in the bottom of the second when Ben Yale walked, took second on a wild pitch and third on another wild pitch before Seth Wilmoth also walked. Wilmoth then stole second, and when the throw went through to second, Yale scampered home to cut the Clarion lead to 5-1.
A wild pitch moved Wilmoth to third, and Ike Dennison walked with one out, but Frederick, who relieved Liam Huwar after Yale reached leading off the inning, got Wes Clyde to pop back to the mound and Landon Pawl to ground out to third to end the threat.
Clarion got the run back in the bottom of the second when Dylan Smail drove a pitch into the right-field corner and ended up coming all the way home on an inside-the-park home run.
DuBois looked primed to get right back in the game in the top of the third when it loaded the bases off Frederick on a single, a hit batter and a walk with no one out.
Luke Huwar summoned Paul Craig from center-field to take over on the mound, and the lefty Craig, Clarion’s unquestioned stopper at this point, worked his magic again striking out Yale before giving up a sac fly to Hunter Ho and then getting Wilmoth to line back to the mound to end the inning with Clarion still leading 6-2.
“Paul is our man for those situations,” Luke Huwar said. “I was going to start him today because he has been our most consistent pitcher. But the reason I didn’t start him was for that situation exactly. It’s a tough spot to come in, and he has performed three times (in like situations) now.”
Paul Craig
After the top of the third, neither team scored again until DuBois got the first two batters on in the sixth thanks to a Brayden Zatsick single to left and a Pawl single to center. But Parker Miller, who had replaced Craig in the fourth with two outs, got a line out to second and a fly out to left before Mason Dinkfelt drove home Zatsick with an infield single. But Craig made a nice diving catch in foul territory in front of Clarion’s first-base dugout to retire Yale for the game’s final out.
“Our defense continues to carry us,” Luke Huwar said of his team’s one-error game with a couple of really nice plays in the field. “I think it is the strong point of our team. We didn’t make too many mistakes out there. They were hitting the ball. We weren’t striking kids out. Our kids responded in the field today.”
After allowing the six runs in his first 1 ⅓ innings, Madix Clark settled in and didn’t allow a hit and just two bases runners over the final 10 batters he faced for DuBois, and Maddox Bennett came in and threw a scoreless inning of relief striking out two. Clark ended up with six strikeouts as well.
Both teams are scheduled to be back in action Tuesday. DuBois will play at 3 p.m. in the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament against either Meadville or Harborcreek, while Clarion will play the winner of the Meadville/Harborcreek game in the winner’s bracket final at 6 p.m.
CLARION 6, DUBOIS 3
Score by Innings
DuBois 011 001 — 3
Clarion 510 000 — 6
DUBOIS — 3
Landon Pawl 2b/rf 3010, Grady Galiczynski ss 3110, Madix Clark p/3b 3000, Mason Dinkfelt 3b/1b 3021, Ben Yale 1b/c 3110, Walker Thomas rf 1000, Hunter Ho ph/lf 1001, Seth Wilmoth cf 1000, Ike Dennison c 0000, Maddox Bennett ph/1b/p 2000, Wes Clyde lf/pr 1000, Brayden Zatsick 2b 2110. Totals 23-3-6-2.
CLARION — 6
Liam Huwar 3110, Dylan Smail ss 3111, Parker Miller 1b/p 1100, Nathan Frederick cf/p 3112, Ethan Rex 2b 3111, Wyatt Waterson c/3b 2000, Alex Love ph 1000, Hayden Hindman 3b/c 1111, Rylie Runyan ph 1000, Hunter Lechner lf 1011, Gabe Anderson ph 0000, Paul Craig rf/cf/p/1b 1000, Drew Martz ph 1000. Totals 21-6-6-6.
LOB: DuBois 11. Clarion 3. Errors: DuBois 0. Clarion 1. 2B: Frederick, Rex. HR: Smail (Inside-the-park). SB: Yale, Wilmoth. Miller. SF: Ho. HBP: Clark by Frederick. Miller by Clark.
PITCHING
DuBois
Madix Clark 4 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HP
Maddox Bennett 1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 HP
Totals: 5 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 1 HP
Clarion
Liam Huwar 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 0 HP
Nathan Frederick 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 HP
Paul Craig 1 ⅔ IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 HP
Parker Miller 2 ⅓ IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 HP
Totals: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 7 BB, 3 K, 1 HP
Huwar faced 1 batter in the second
Frederick faced 3 batters in the third
Winning pitcher: Paul Craig
Losing pitcher: Madix Clark
