Clark lifts Freeport over East Butler in BCABL playoffs
All it took was some time.
In a home Butler County Area Baseball League playoff matchup with East Butler, things weren’t going all that well at first for Freeport’s Braden Clark.
The tides turned, however, and his effort ended up being key in his team’s 4-3 win over the guests at Freeport Community Park’s Laube Hall Thursday night.
Starting on the mound, Clark walked three batters and plunked another in the initial two frames. Despite the early struggles, he wound up going the distance, outlasting East Butler’s Brayden Hageter, who was yanked after 4.1 innings.
“A win’s a win,” Freeport coach Joe Hotalski said. “Brad hasn’t pitched for a week and a half, so he’s just working it out ... We trust him.”
East Butler leadoff man Clayton Holt rolled a ball to short, and a bases-loaded, inning-ending double play looked to be in order in the second inning.
After stepping on second base, Johnathan Hotalski’s relay to first baseman Logan Jendrejewski sailed wide, letting a pair of the visitors’ runners come home.
Freeport left the bases full in consecutive innings when Brady Stivenson struck out in the bottom second and Logan Jendrejewski fanned in the third.
While things looked to be going his team’s way, East Butler coach Paul Patten knew what Freeport was capable of.
“They’re a good team,” he said. “They’re not going to budge ... It just came down to who was going to break, and they had more hits than us.”
The hosts pulled things even with their turn in the fourth.
Alec Asti led that frame off with a single and stole second soon after. Noah Fryer, who opened Freeport’s scoring by grounding into a fielder’s choice, was the next to bat. He reached on an error, setting the table for Jacob Boris’ RBI single.
From third, Asti came home with ease. Fryer tried to follow suit, yet the relay throw — along with a roadblock in the form of East Butler backstop Clay Collins — kept him from doing so.
With some two-out magic in the half inning that followed, East Butler climbed ahead again. After Colton Collins and Justice Schmedier grounded out on back-to-back offerings from Clark, Alex Collins singled with a full count. Cam Cygan’s double to the right center field gap plated him.
Not to be outdone, Clark roped a double all the way to the outfield fence, bringing in Johnathan Hotalski, who singled right before him to lead off the home fifth. Gabriel Colengeli, Clark’s courtesy runner, registered the go-ahead run on Jack Zigo’s extra-base hit two batters later.
“You can always count on Brad,” Joe Hotalski said. “Whenever he played for them, he was a big hitter for Freeport (High School), as well. When you need a hit, he’s one of the guys you want out there.”
Clark finally settled down on the bump, too, retiring the last seven East Butler challengers without a whimper.
In the league’s other postseason game on Thursday night, Cranberry dispatched Pine Richland, 10-3. Cranberry Township will play Butler Township at Butler High School at 12:15 p.m. Saturday.
Freeport will play Slippery Rock next, the time and location yet to be determined.
East Butler 020 010 0 — 3 4 1
Freeport 010 120 X — 4 7 1
W: Braden Clark 7IP (7K, 4BB). L: Brayden Hageter 4.1IP (4K, 6BB).
East Butler (3-11): Clayton Holt RBI, Colton Collins 1B, Alex Collins 1B, Cam Cygan 2B RBI, Ayden Kurt 1B
Freeport (10-6): Johnathan Hotalski 1B, Braden Clark 2-2B RBI, Ryan Claypoole 1B, Jack Zigo 1B 2B RBI, Alec Asti 1B, Jacob Boris 1B RBI
