Howard evens CCBL finals with Blanchard

By PAT ROTHDEUTSCH
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Howard pitcher Dylan Womer pitched a complete game shutout as the Hawks evened the Centre County Baseball League Final Series at 1-1 with a 6-0 victory over Blanchard on July 27.

Playing at home in Game 2 of the series after a 2-1 loss in Game 1 on Sunday, Womer delivered in a game the Hawks knew they could not afford to lose.

He gave up five hits — all singles — and although the Bees put runners on base in almost every inning, a solid defense and some clutch strikeouts kept the Bees off the scoreboard.

And, unlike in Game 1, Howard was able stroke some big hits and push across much-needed runs.

The Hawks sent eight men to the plate in the second inning and scored two runs on RBI hits by Hunter Emenhizer and Tyler Schall.

Three innings later in the fifth, Kyle Womer made it 3-0 with a solo home run, and then Howard put it essentially out of reach with three more runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Jaden Jones plated the first one in that inning with an RBI double, and Dan Cole finished it with a two-run double that scored Jones and leadoff hitter Bryce Greene.

The Bees were not silent in the game. They loaded the bases in the second inning and had runners in scoring position in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.

But two runners thrown out on the bases and three key strikeouts by Womer, who had eight in the game, quelled all of the Bees’ threats.

The series is now even after Blanchard’s win on Sunday in a game that turned out to be unexpectedly heavy on pitching and defense.

Based on the way Blanchard and Howard were scoring runs during the season and into the playoffs, no one expected the series to start with a low-scoring pitchers’ duel, but that’s what happened.

Both Blanchard’s Brandon Orsich and Howard’s Brian Pelka pitched out of numerous fixes in the game, but neither broke.

Orsich, however, got the best of things as he allowed just a sixth-inning run and came away with the razor-thin 2-1 victory.

Pelka, for his part, looked shaky at the start — he faced seven batters in the first inning — but he eventually settled down and didn’t allow a run past the third inning.

His team, though, just could not get that breakthrough hit against Orsich.

The Hawks had runners on base in five innings and loaded the bases in the fourth. But their only run came in the sixth after a leadoff single by Justin Taylor, a fielder’s choice, and an RBI hit by Dan Cole. After that, with Cole still on second base, Orsich got the final two outs on a fly out and a strikeout to end the threat.

Blanchard scored a run in the first inning on an RBI single by Toner Corl, but the Bees also got two hit batters and a walk in the inning. Pelka was helped with a force out and then evaded further trouble by getting the final two outs on fly balls.

In the third, the Bees took a 2-0 lead after singles by Asher Corl and Toner Corl followed by an RBI double by Talon Falls that scored Asher Corl.

Pelka again avoided more trouble by getting a strikeout and then a ground out by Cy Probst. Toner Corl, however, tried to score on Probst’s grounder and was thrown out at the plate in a close play which ended the inning with the score just 2-0.

Pelka allowed just three more hits in the game, but Orsich, and then closer Kenny Heverly, kept the Hawks from tying the game.

For the night, Orsich pitched six innings and gave up six hits, one run, and struck out five. Pelka pitched six innings, giving up two runs, eight hits, and striking out three.

Heverly gave up a leadoff walk, but then went 1-2-3 with two strikeouts.

The series will now move back to Blanchard on Thursday, July 29, for Game 3, and then Game 4 will be played on Aug. 1 in Blanchard.