CENTRE COUNTY — In local high school baseball action, Bald Eagle Area and Bellefonte both added to their winning streaks with two wins each this week, and St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy evened its record at 8-8 with two conference wins.
Penns Valley took its second win on May 2 with a victory over Bishop Guilfoyle, and Philipsburg-Osceola won its 10th game on May 4, also with a win over Guilfoyle.
Here is a closer look at each of our local teams:
BALD EAGLE AREA
May 3, BEA 9, Penn Cambria 5
May 4, BEA 11, Tyrone 8
The Bald Eagles took a little while to get warmed up this season, but once they did, they have been tough to beat.
On Monday, BEA moved to 12-4 for the year — after starting 1-3 — with an 11-8 LHAC victory over Tyrone at home.
Riley Bucha had four hits and drove in six runs as the Eagles jumped out to a 10-1 lead after the first two innings and held on from there.
Tyrone did close to within 10-7 with a five-run rally in the fifth inning and then to 10-8 in the sixth, but Bucha singled in an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth to wrap up the victory.
Takoda Ripka and Luke Hosband also had multiple hits for BEA, and Hayden Stimer drove in two runs.
On the mound, Kaleb Irion took the win, and Ripka earned a save with two innings in relief with a run on two hits and a walk.
The win was the team’s fourth in a row after a 9-5 win at Penn Cambria on May 3.
Bucha and Ripka each had two RBIs in the win, and Teagun Runkle took the win on the mound.
RBI hits by Kaden Clark and Bucha in the top of the sixth inning put BEA ahead 9-2 and gave the Eagles their 11th win.
At 12-4 BEA is presently ranked No. 2 in the District 6, AAA bracket behind 11-4 Richland.
BEA will finish its regular season with games against Hughesville, Hollidaysburg and Huntingdon.
BELLEFONTE
April 30, Bellefonte 19, Bedford 0
May 4, Bellefonte 3, Clearfield 2
Singles by Zach Lehman and Parker VanGunden led to two runs in the top of the seventh inning at Clearfield on May 4, and the Bellefonte Raiders came from behind to take an exciting 3-2 win over the Bison.
The Raiders were holding a tenuous 1-0 lead heading into the sixth inning, but Clearfield scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 lead in the final inning.
With the game on the line, Lehman and VanGunden came through and then reliever Triston Heeman struck out the side in the bottom of the inning and closed out the game.
Braeden Fortney, Austin Houser, Lehman, Quentin Crouthamel, and VonGunden each had a hit, and VonGunden, Houser and Lehman had the RBIs for the Raiders.
The win was No. 13 for Bellefonte, against three losses, and it strengthened the Raiders’ hold on the No. 1 seed in the D6, AAAA rankings.
Bellefonte has Tyrone, Westmont-Hilltop and Central still left on the schedule.
PENNS VALLEY
May 2, PV 4, Bishop Guilfoyle 1
May 4, Central 16, PV 6
Penns Valley scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth inning added to an RBI by Gavin Neideigh and the Rams held on for their second win of the season, 4-1 over Bishop Guilfoyle on May 2.
Neideigh, who also took the win on the mound with 3.2 innings and one run, drove in the Rams’ first run on a fielder’s choice grounder in the fourth and then scored the team’s third run in the inning.
Then ahead by three runs, reliever Isaac Harpster threw a scoreless seventh inning to insure the win for the Rams.
PV could not keep the momentum from the win going on Monday in a 16-6 loss to Central, but the Rams did get nine hits including three from Harpster and two hit and two RBIs from Parker Feltenberger.
PV has Westmont-Hilltop, Chestnut Ridge and Huntingdon coming up on its schedule.
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
May 1, Bishop McCort 5, P-O 3
May 4, P-O 4, Bishop Guilfoyle 2
The Philipsburg-Osceola Mounties got sixth-inning RBIs from Warren Rafferty and Archer Baughman and then survived a last-ditch Bishop Guilfoyle rally to finally take their 10th win, 4-2, on Monday afternoon.
Ahead 2-0 in the sixth, Rafferty and Baughman gave P-O a 4-0 lead, but Guilfoyle was not done.
The Mauraders scored two runs on three hits and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs in the top of the seventh, but Rafferty, on the mound in relief, was able to get the final out on a grounder to second.
The save improved P-O’s record to 10-5 and broke a two-game losing streak.
On May 1, P-O lost a tough one at Bishop McCort as the team’s last-inning rally fell just short in a 5-3 loss. P-O had the tying runs on base but could not get the breakthrough hit.
Now at No. 4 in the D6, AAA rankings behind Huntingdon and ahead of Tyrone, P-O will finish its LHAC regular season with games against Penn Cambria, Bellwood-Antis, and Hollidaysburg.
ST. JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC ACADEMY
May 1, SJCA 13, Susquenita, 3
May 4, SJCA 16, East Juniata 6
The Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy put its offense in gear this past week in two victories that evened its record at 8-8 for the season.
On May 1, SJCA scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning at home and closed out Susquenita, 13-3, under the 10-run rule for win No. 7.
Then on May 4 at East Juniata, another seven-run inning propelled the WolfPack to a 16-6 victory and an even 8-8 record.
Against Susquenita, the ‘Pack had just four hits, but they took advantage of 11 walks, especially in the deciding fifth inning.
Caleb Foytack, Will Balazik and Ben Ranio had the hits for SJCA, while Braeden Miller, CJ Grove, Foytack, and Isaiah Crispin each scored two runs in the game.
In the East Juniata win, Foytack and Grove each had four hits and four RBIs, and Foytack hit a seventh inning home run, as SJCA knocked out 13 hits altogether.
Foytack also hit a triple, as did Grove, and the two combined to score nine runs in what was the team’s eighth win.
Foytack also took the win on the mound with relief help from Miller.
The WolfPack is presently No. 4 in the D6, Single-A rankings behind Claysburg-Kimmel. The team has Bucktail, Halifax and Glendale still on the schedule.
STATE COLLEGE
April 30, Mechanicsburg 8, SC 3
May 4, Cumberland Valley 4, SC 1
Mid-Penn foe Cumberland Valley scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on Monday and then held off State College in a 4-1 conference victory at Cumberland Valley.
A walk, two errors and a sac fly accounted for the CV runs, and then SC could not surmount a rally in the seventh inning.
SC’s run came on Jack Bierly RBI single in the top of the fifth inning that scored Jack Hall and drew the Lions to within 2-1.
But the CV pitchers shut out State College from there and secured the win.
On April 30 in Mechanicsburg, State College suffered a similar fate.
The Lions drew to within a run, 4-3, on a two-run single by Michael Powell, but Mechanicsburg responded with two runs of its own in the bottom of the inning.
From there, SC was unable to challenge and took an 8-3 loss.
Powell, Connon Kukla, Kellen Williams and Ryden Walker had the hits for the Lions.
SC is now 7-10 for the season and at No. 3 in the D6, AAAAAA rankings behind Mifflin County and Altoona.
The Lions have Central Dauphin, non-league Hazleton, and non-league DuBois left on their regular-season schedule.
