Pelka reaches CCBL milestone as playoffs loom

With just two weeks remaining before the start of the 2022 playoffs, Center County Baseball League teams are forging ahead with their regularly scheduled games as well as trying to take care of a large number of make-up dates.

At this point in the season, Blanchard is still holding a ½ game lead over the Lewistown Foxpro, while Howard, with two wins over the last weekend, strengthened its hold on third place. Spring Mills is fourth, Spring Creek, fifth, and Lemont is sixth.

HOWARD SWEEPS SPRING CREEK

The Howard Hawks brought their bats with them on Sunday afternoon when they squared off for a double header with the Spring Creek Shockers at Spring Creek Park.

Howard scored 12 runs in the top of the fourth inning in Game 1 and cruised to a 18-3, four-inning win, and then they kept it going in Game 2 with a 15-3, five-inning win that improved their record for the season to 6-5.

In the first game, Howard took an early 6-2 lead in the second inning after five RBIs by center fielder Dylan Womer.

Spring Creek crept back to make it 6-3 after a run in the bottom of the third, but that close score was not going to last very long.

In the top of the fourth, the Hawks sent 17 men to the plate, scored 12 runs and essentially put the game into the win column.

The big blows were a grand-slam home run by Bryce Greene (his second hit in the inning and fifth RBI), two hits and two more RBIs by Dylan Womer (seven for the day) and two hits and an RBI by Kyle Womer.

On the mound, Brian Pelka got the win, his 130th in 25 years of pitching in the CCBL. The win tied him for second place on the all-time County League list of winning pitchers with Gay Hanley Jr. Ward Whitehill is first with a total of 178 wins.

The win improved the Hawks’ record to 5-5 — good for third place behind Blanchard and Lewistown.

The second game was more of the same for the Hawks.

Another first-inning RBI by Dylan Womer got Howard on the board, and then the Hawks added four more runs in the second inning after hits by Hunter Emenhizer, Jaden Jones and Bryan Greene.

In the fourth, Bryce Greene was at it again with a two-run single and, with an RBI hit by Gage Gardner, the Hawks increased their lead to 8-2.

The Hawks made it 10-2 with two more in the fifth, and then put up five more in the top of the sixth, making the score 15-2.

Spring Creek needed to score at least four runs in the bottom of the sixth to keep the game alive, but the Shockers could get just one and the game ended under the 10-run rule with the score 15-3.

Cole Bernier got the win on the mound for the Hawks and the team improved to 6-5 for the season.

Next up for Howard will be a home game against Blanchard on June 28, while Spring Creek will also take on Blanchard on June 23 in Blanchard.

BLANCHARD, LEWISTOWN SPLIT DOUBLEHEADER

The Blanchard Bees and the Lewistown Foxpro met for the first time this season on Saturday afternoon in a doubleheader in Blanchard.

And after two tense, close encounters, the teams left the field in the same positions as they were previously after they split the two games.

Blanchard took the first game, 5-2, after breaking a 2-2 tie in the fourth inning and then locking up the victory with two more runs in the fifth.

In the second game, Blanchard took another lead, 6-5, after the third inning, but the Foxpro rallied for six runs in the next two innings to take an 11-6 lead.

Blanchard did rally in the seventh with two runs, but the Bees came up short and Lewistown prevailed, 11-8.

In the first game, Wyatt Koch doubled in two runs in the first inning, and then Tyler Broderick hit a solo home run in the third that put the Bees ahead for good.

In the fifth, Blanchard put up two insurance runs after hits by Trevor Hanna and Toner Corl, and then the Bees were able to hold on for the 5-2 win. The win extended the team’s undefeated streak to eight games.

In the nightcap, both teams came out swinging and combined for 11 runs in the first three innings.

But after 10 batters and three runs in the fourth and then another three in the fifth, the Foxpro took control of the game.

The big blow for Lewistown was a three-run home run in the fifth by Isaiah Kearns, along with hits by Evan Pupo, Kearns and Ty Hunter in the fourth.

Blanchard rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Bees eventually came up short and the Foxpro took the game.

Lewistown is now 9-2 for the season with games still remaining against Lemont, Spring Mills, Blanchard and Spring Mills again.

Blanchard will face Spring Mills, Spring Creek, Lewistown again and Howard.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

n Thursday, June 23 — Spring Creek at Blanchard (6 p.m.), Spring Mills at Lewistown (6 p.m.) n Sunday, June 26 — Blanchard at Lewistown (2 p.m.), n Tuesday, June 28 — Blanchard at Howard (6 p.m.) n Thursday, June 30 — Lewistown at Spring Mills (6 p.m.)