MEADVILLE, Pa. (EYT) — Behind the pitching of Grady Galiczynski and Mason Dinkfelt, DuBois forced a winner-take-all championship game in the 10-and-under Section 1 Tournament with a 5-1 victory over Clarion Thursday evening in Meadville.
DuBois, which lost to Clarion, 6-3, Monday, has gone through the loser’s bracket winning three straight to force the Section championship game at 6 p.m. Friday in Meadville. A Clarion win Thursday would have sent the boys in blue to the state tournament. Now, Friday’s winner will represent Section 1 in Indiana, Pa., next week.
“We didn’t know what to expect going into this (Section Tournament),” Clarion manager Luke Huwar said. “Like I told the kids, I would be more than happy to take a one-game playoff for the Sectional championship. That is where we are at. That is why we worked hard to win the first two games because we got this advantage. We are still coming back (Friday). I think we are only down one pitcher. DuBois has three pitchers out. We will do our best to get in there and fight tomorrow.”
Huwar said he hopes the loss, Clarion’s first at either the District or Section tournament, can be a positive.
“I think the kids realize they enjoy winning a little bit more than losing,” Huwar said. “Maybe that will give them something to sleep on today. Losing is part of baseball, and it is part of every sport you play. Similar to when you are down, you have to be able to get back up and be ready to fight. It’s okay to be disappointed for a few hours, but I have confidence these kids are going to come back tomorrow and play their best game. Win or lose, I am proud of them, and I think we will be ready to play tomorrow.”
Thursday was a really all about Galiczynski, DuBois’ starting pitcher.
The right-hander went 4 ⅓ innings allowing just two hits and one run. He walked three, hit a batter and struck out eight. Galiczynski did a great job of taking advantage of a high strike zone constantly pounding the ball in the zone for strikes.
“He is the best pitcher we have seen,” Huwar said. “He was throwing it in there pretty hard. I think it took us a time or two through the lineup. I think we settled down there by the fifth and sixth innings. We were starting to put the bat on the ball a little better. But, he was a tough pitcher. Give him credit, he shut us down pretty well.”
DuBois gave Galiczynski early support with a pair of runs in the first inning thanks to three straight hits after two outs.
Ben Yale singled to center with Madix Clark following with a double to right. Dinkfelt then singled home both runners with a hit to center to make it 2-0.
The game remained 2-0 until the fourth when DuBois loaded the bases with one out against Clarion starter Parker Miller, who pitched well in the loss allowing three runs on four hits.
Huwar turned to Paul Craig, his lefty who has been clutch in such situations, and Craig struck out Landon Pawl before Galiczynski lined a single to left scoring a run. Craig then got Yale to ground back to the mound.
Clarion tried to rally in the top of the fifth when, with one out, Liam Huwar walked and Dylan Smail doubled to center. That ended the day for Galiczynski with Dinkfelt replacing him.
Miller greeted Dinkfelt with an RBI single to left scoring Huwar and moving Smail to third with Miller going to second on the throw.
But Dinkfelt struck out Nathan Frederick and then got Ethan Rex to line out on a hard-hit ball to centerfield ending the threat.
“That was definitely our biggest threat,” Luke Huwar said. “We had some guys on base, and we were at the top of the order. Ethan hit a shot to centerfielder. He hit the ball pretty hard. He squared it up. If that ball falls, if it goes 15 feet to the right, its a 3-3 ball game and it could be a little different That is the way baseball works. We have been getting the plays and the hits. That didn’t go our way in that situation.”
DuBois added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth with Clark scoring on a single to left by Dinkfelt and a two-base error and Dinkfelt coming home on a single to center by Seth Wilmoth.
DUBOIS 5, CLARION 1
Score by Innings
Clarion 000 010 — 1
DuBois 200 12x — 5
CLARION — 1
Liam Huwar lf 2100, Dylan Smail ss 2010, Parker Miller p/1b 3011, Nathan Frederick cf 3000, Ethan Rex 2b 3010, Hayden Hindman 3b 1000, Alex Love ph 0000, Reese Runyan ph 1000, Hunter Lechner rf 1000, Gabe Anderson ph 0000, Wyatt Watterson c 3010, Paul Craig 1b/p 2000, Drew Martz ph 1000. Totals 22-1-4-1.
DUBOIS — 5
Landon Pawl 2b 3000, Grady Galiczynski p 3011, Ben Yale c 3110, Madix Clark 3b 2220, Mason Dinkfelt ss/p 3122, Seth Wilmoth cf 2011, Wes Clyde rf/pr 1000, Ike Dennison lf 1100, Hunter Ho lf 1000, Walker Thomas rf/lf 2000, Maddox Bennett 1b 1000, Brayden Zatsier 1b 2010. Totals 24-5-8-4.
LOB: Clarion 8. DuBois 7. Errors: Clarion 4. DuBois 1. 2B: Smail, Clark. SB: Rex, Anderson. SAC: Love. HBP: Anderson by Galiczynski. Dennison by Miller.
PITCHING
Clarion
Parker Miller 3 ⅓ IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 HP
Paul Craig 1 ⅔ IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 HP
Totals: 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HP
DuBois
Grady Galiczynski 4 ⅓ IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 1 HP
Mason Dinkfelt 1 ⅔ IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0 HP
6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 12 K, 1 HP ‘
Winning pitcher: Grady Galiczynski
Losing pitcher: Parker Miller
Save: Mason Dinkfelt
