Tyrone wins Curve Classic Tournament 11-0 in final championship game against Bishop Guilfoyle. Congratulations! Front (L to R): Dylan Vipond, Zack LeGars, Aiden Coelman. Middle: Coach Dave Mease, Caiden Bonsell. Ryan Light, Balin Hand, Michael Buck, Bryce Hunter. Back: Coach Kevin Soellner, Brendan Grazier, Luke Brooks, Nick Lehner, David Lang, Rodney Shultz, Ross Gampe, Brandon Lucas, Blaine Hoover, Cortlynd Rhoades, Coach Jim Lang

Golden Eagles beat Altoona, BG to win Altoona Curve Classic

• By MICHAEL STONER Daily Herald Sports Writer

For the first time in program history, the Tyrone Golden Eagles were invited to the Altoona Curve Classic and wasted no time proving they belong. They blanked Bishop Guilfoyle in the championship game 10-0 to bring the trophy back to Tyrone.

They were led throughout the tournament by event MVP Brendan Grazier and their strong stable of pitching arms. Zack LeGars got the nod from manager Kevin Soellner and did not disappoint. He pitched a complete game one-hit shutout to propel the Eagles to victory.

Tyrone got the scoring started early in the first inning when the unquestioned captain of the Golden Eagles, Rodney Shultz, lined a double over the BG first baseman, scoring Blaine Hoover and Bryce Hunter and giving Tyrone a 2-0 lead. Tyrone added another run in the inning when a perfectly executed steal by Shultz, allowing Brandon Lucas to come home from third and gave Tyrone a 3-0 lead.

Grazier solidified his place for tournament MVP in the first inning when he hit the ball a mile high in the air and hit the bottom of the fence, nearly going over the fence and onto the iconic roller coaster just beyond the right field wall.

Even though LeGars was dominating the Marauder lineup, the offense refused to let up. In the bottom half of the second inning, Brandon Lucas drove a ball into left field for a double, driving in Aiden Coleman and Dylan Vipond. Lucas would later come in to score on another RBI double by Rodney Shultz.

BG got their only hit of the game in the top of the third inning, but the baserunner was quickly erased on a perfectly executed hidden ball trick by first basemen Ross Gampe. He acted like he was giving the ball back to his pitcher, waited for the BG runner to take his lead and then tagged him out, ending BG’s only opportunity to score.

The Eagle defense shined again in the top of the third inning when Michael Boston lifted a ball into foul territory that looked to be headed for the seats. Ross Gampe had other plans as he flew over the railing into the seats and snagged the ball out of the air for the first out of the inning.

The Golden Eagles walked it off in mercy-rule fashion in the bottom of the fifth inning, courtesy of the man who pitched them into the championship game. Gampe lined a ball down the left field line just out of the reach of left fielder Michael Lamb, allowing Shultz and Lucas to score and securing the championship for Tyrone.

The Golden Eagles will be back in action Monday afternoon as they travel to Bald Eagle in the battle of the Eagles in a Mountain League game where Tyrone looks to get back on the defense of their 2019 title. 

Semifinals

Tyrone 7,

Altoona 1

The Tyrone Golden Eagles stayed red hot in the semifinals of the Curve Classic Saturday morning as they defeated Altoona by a score of 7-1. They were led by the arm of Gampe and the power bat of Grazier.

Gampe went the distance, throwing a complete game and only allowing one run on four hits while striking out two. The Tyrone offense was a one-man wrecking crew led by Grazier. With Tyrone trailing 1-0 in the fourth inning and the bases loaded, Grazier roped a triple to center field, clearing the bases and giving Tyrone a 4-1 lead after a sac fly by Coleman scored Grazier.

The Eagle defense remained on point as well, not giving Altoona any free runs. A leadoff double in the bottom of the fourth gave the Lions some hope until a diving play by right fielder Aiden Coleman ended the inning and preserved the Golden Eagles 4-1 lead.

Grazier’s monster game at the plate continued in the top half of the fifth when he once again found himself up to bat with the bases loaded. He smoked a ball into the right field gap, once again clearing the bases as Shultz, Hoover, and Vipond crossed home.

The career game from Grazier was all Tyrone needed to move into the championship game.

Championship

Tyrone – 10

Hoover lf 410, Hunter cf 310, Lucas 3b 342, Shultz ss 323, Gampe 1b 301 , Grazier dh 301, Buck 201, Coleman 312, Legars p 201

Bishop Guilfoyle- 0

Rother ss 200, Boston 1b 200, Lewis p-cf-ss 200, Beauchamp 2b 200, Swineford 3b 200, McNelly 3b 200, Dombrosky 200, Wydant 101, Harbaugh rf 100

Score by Innings

Bishop Guilfoyle  000   00 –  0     1   3

Tyrone               331   22 – 11   11   1

Errors: Lucas 1, Beauchamp 1, Rother 1, Boston 1

Pitching

Tyrone: Legars: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO.

Bishop Guilfoyle: Lewis: 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO; Dombrosky: 2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO; Degerinaro: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO; Negola, 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO

Winning pitcher: LeGars. Losing pitcher: Lewis.

Semifinals

Tyrone – 7

Hoover lf 310, Lucas 3b 410, Shultz ss 321, Gampe p 210, Grazier 1b 412, Lehner dh 200, Lang 2b 300, Hunter cf 200, Coleman rf 100

Altoona- 1

Green cf 300, Steinbugl ss 311, Day rf 200, Manley 1b 301, Muffie 2b 301, Wilson eh 301, Rhodes p-lf 300, Moyer 3b 200, Carothers c 200

Score by Innings

Tyrone  000   430   0 – 7   3   1

Altoona 100   000   0 – 1   4   1

Errors: Lang 1, Steinbugl 1

Pitching

Tyrone: Gampe 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO.

Altoona: Rhodes 4 IP 2 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO; Alwine, 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO; Weyandt 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 SO

Winning pitcher: Gampe. Losing pitcher: Rhodes.

Tyrone’s Rodney Shultz swings at a pitch during Tuesday’s game against Philipsburg-Osceola. The Golden Eagles fell to the Mounties, 6-2. (The Daily Herald/Terry McCaulley)

Thank you to Sports Editor Andy Stine and the Herald for recognizing our youth.

By MICHAEL STONER Daily Herald Sports Writer Apr 7, 2021

The Tyrone Golden Eagles found themselves in another pitcher’s duel the day after an 11-inning outing the night before, but on Tuesday they found themselves on the short end of the stick as they dropped to rival Philipsburg-Osceola by a score of 6-2.

Golden Eagle ace Rodney Shultz took the mound for the first time of the 2021 campaign. He gave up a run early in the first inning, but was able to hold the P-O bats in check until the sixth inning when their bats came alive, exploding for four runs.

Shultz provided an impressive stat line, even though he recorded a loss. He recorded nine strikeouts over his 5 1/3 innings. Out of the five runs given up on his watch, only two of them were earned runs.P-O opened the scoring in the top of the opening frame when they perfectly executed a rundown between first and second, which allowed Gustkey to break the scoreless tie.

Blaine Hoover led the Golden Eagle offense as he got the scoring started in the first inning after an infield single led to him standing on third base because a throwing error allowed him to use his speed to advance. He was later scored on a line drive base hit by Brandon Lucas.

Tyrone had a chance to add on to their lead later in the first when Ross Gampe hit a line drive out into left field, but Jeremy Whitehead made an impressive diving catch able to double up the runner getting back to second making it harder to score with two outs.

In the top of the fourth inning, Shultz had a rising pitch count looking to be on his way out of the game till he retired the Mountie hitters 1-2-3 all by way of the strikeout.

White was able to keep the high-powered Eagles in check, not giving them many chances to break the tie. The tie was finally broken in the top of the sixth inning when some balls found holes in the Eagle defense leading to four Mountie Runs giving them a 6-1 lead the Golden Eagles were not capable of coming back from.

Tyrone added one more run in the bottom of the seventh inning after Cortlynd Rhoades led off the inning with a hit by a pitch and later came around to score on an RBI fielder’s choice by David Lang.

The Golden Eagles will be back in action this Thursday at 3 p.m. when they face off against the Central Dragons in the Curve Classic.

Philipsburg-Osceola 6, Tyrone 2

Tyrone – 2

Hoover 2b-lf 312, Shultz p-ss 301, Lucas lf 201, Lehner 3b 200, Buck c 301, Coleman rf 200, Rhoades 2b 010, Hunter cf 301, Legars p 100, Lang ss-2b 300.

Philipsburg-Osceola – 6

DeSimone cf 400, White p 410, Gustkey c 323, J Whitehead lf 210, Wildman ss 311, Meersand 3b 301, R Whitehead rf 310, Pellerite 1b 301, Coudrite 2b 300.

Score by Innings

P-O      100   005   0 – 6   6   1

Tyrone 100   000   1 – 2   6   4

Errors: Lang 1, Shultz 2, Hoover 1 Meersand 1

Pitching

Tyrone: Shultz – 5 1/3IP, 4 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 SO; LeGars – 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.

Penns Valley: White – 7 IP 6 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO.

Winning pitcher: White. Losing pitcher: Shultz.

Caption: Ashton Walk earns the Save for Junior High Eagles

April 7, 2021

With back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday, Tyrone’s Junior High A Team pulled in two more victories giving them a 3 and 0 season start. Traveling to Philipsburg on Tuesday, Landen Hamer pitched over two innings followed by Ashton Walk who held the Mounties scoreless until the fifth. Drew Irons came in to stop the PO run earning the save and securing Tyrone’s 5 to 3 victory. Hamer, Irons, and Walk along with Owen Oakes and Kendall Lehner each had one run. The Eagle B Team battled back from a PO 8 to 2 lead after the first to finish with a 10 to 11 loss. Cian Hockenberry, Billy Rudden, Dylan Ewing, and Logan Seeger all had time on the mound. Bryden Parsons and Cole Hunter had two runs with Rudden, John Stanton, Eli Riling, Kaleb Fink, Caden Harris, and Dylan McKinney each adding one.

Pitcher Sam Crilly started against Central in the first home game on Wednesday keeping the Mounties scoreless through the third and Tyrone ahead by one. A Philipsburg score in the fourth brought a pitching change with  Ashton Walk holding the Mounties scoreless through the sixth earning the save. Scoring runs for the A Team were Walk with two and Lincoln Shirey and Kendall Lehner each with one. The B Team game was rained out at the bottom of the first.  On April 9 the Junior High will be hosting Bellefonte.

Caption: Ryan Light opened as pitcher for the start of the 2021 Golden Eagle JV season

April 6, 2021

Tyrone’s Junior Varsity baseball squad opened the season this week with two games that both went into extra innings. Monday’s game ended with a 14 to 15 loss to Penns Valley after 8 innings and Wednesday saw a tied 6 to 6 game against Philipsburg that was called due to darkness in the ninth. At Penns Valley Ryan Light occupied the mound for the first three innings holding PV to only three runs. Nate Patterson took over for the next three and AJ Coleman finished out the final two.  By the end of the fourth Tyrone had a 9 to 7 lead, but the two teams battled for the next 4 innings exchanging the lead two more times. Coleman scored four runs, Light three, Caiden Bonsell two, and Josh Patterson, Nate Patterson, Connor Harris, Landon Postreich, and Stephen Buck each with one.

A defensive battle took shape in the game against Philipsburg, with the Mounties scoring two runs in the third and not another until the sixth inning. Tyrone was held scoreless until the fifth with four more coming in the sixth setting up a 5 to 5 tie. PO came with the leading run in the top of the ninth only to have Tyrone match it at which point play was suspended due to darkness. Caiden Bonsell pitched five innings for the Eagles with Landon Postreich finishing out the game. Josh Patterson had two runs with Nate Patterson, Postreich, Ryan Seeger, and Cyrus Ahlert each with one.  Tyrone travels to Bald Eagle for their next matchup on April 12.