The new guys on the block from Blanchard will have their shot at Centre County Baseball League gold.
After rejoining the league just this year, the young and very surprising Bees outlasted Howard 5-0 in the fifth game of the semifinal series against the Hawks on Aug. 5 at Blanchard.
The win closed out the series and earned Blanchard a place in the 2018 finals against a Clarence team looking to sweep through to its third consecutive CCBL title. It is a classic matchup of talented upstarts trying to take down venerable, long-time champions.
Clarence and Blanchard arrived at this juncture traveling very different roads.
Blanchard won the first game of the series on Aug. 7, 4-3.
The Mounties, despite a few hiccups, were pretty much themselves throughout the 2018 season. They took the No. 1 playoff seed and then promptly eliminated the Clarence Coyotes with two lopsided wins in the first round. Spring Mills in the semifinals proved to be a different matter, however. After a Mountie win in Game 1, the Braves tied the series with a 10-run, six-inning win in Game 2. It was Clarence’s first playoff loss since 2015.
But the Mounties pulled it back together and outlasted the Braves with wins in both games 3 and 4 to take the series.
No. 2 seed Blanchard, on the other hand, had to survive elimination games against both Lemont and Howard. The Bees finally prevailed over the Ducks in Game 3 after Lemont tied the series at 1-1 with a win at Spring Mills Park.
Things looked like they might go a little better against Howard after Blanchard won the first two games to go up 2-0. The Bees were thinking sweep until the Hawks rallied in the last inning to take Game 3, and then everything got really interesting when Howard tied it all with an 11-4 win in Game 4.
The two teams then returned to Blanchard for the winner-take-all fifth game Aug. 5.
And on that day, with uncharacteristically beautiful weather (at least for this year), Blanchard proved it belonged.
In a game that saw three of the league’s best pitchers, the Bees scored two early unearned runs that proved to be more than enough for right hander Toner Corl.
Corl threw a two-hit shutout in the biggest game of the season, striking out three and walking just two. He allowed just four Hawks to reach base all day and none of them reached third base. Going into the final innings and protecting a slim lead, Corl retired nine of the final 10 batters he faced and didn’t allow a Howard hit after the fourth inning.
“I tried to hold them to the fewest hits I could,” Corl said, “and we scored some runs and that was the solution.
“We changed the lineup up and defensively we kept it the same. And we had everyone here, which helped a lot. Being new in the league, and being the underdogs, it’s huge making it to the finals.”
Blanchard took the lead in the first inning after an RBI single by Wyatt Koch and then made it 2-0 in the second inning when Collin Treaster walked with the bases loaded.
The Bees upped it to 4-0 in the third inning after an unearned run and an RBI hit by Corl. Dylan Kerstetter singled to lead off the inning and then eventually rounded the bases after two costly Howard errors. Corl’s hit scored Clayton Butler with the Bees fourth run.
“That was big, getting the early lead there,” Blanchard coach Bryce Hanley said. “Especially with Toner on the mound. Toner doesn’t give up many runs, and he has pitched great all year.
“We just wanted to come out and hit it hard at them and make them field the ball. Fortunately, a couple things went our way, they made a few errors, and we were able to capitalize on them.”
Howard’s biggest threat came in the third inning with the Hawks down 1-0. Pitcher Dylan Wormer singled with one out and Clay Smith walked to put two runners on. But Corl escaped any further trouble with a strikeout and then a groundout by Ryan Dyke to end the inning.
Howard would manage just two more baserunners and one more hit the rest of the day.
“We have nothing to hang our heads about,” Howard’s Brian Pelka said. “We were down two games to none and came back and got all the way back to Game 5. Tip your hat to Blanchard. They are an up-and-coming new team and it was great for the league to have them back.
“I’ll definitely be a fan of the finals watching two great teams going at it.”
Game 2 was scheduled for Aug. 8, after the Gazette’s press time. Game 3 will be back in Clarence on Sunday, Aug. 12.
“I feel good about our odds here,” Hanley said. “They (Clarence) took two close games from us early and then we put it to them 16-1 in the last game. We are capable of out hitting anybody and playing solid defense so I feel pretty good.”
