PUNXSUTAWNEY — The Clearfield Junior American Legion baseball team used some timely hitting and a dominant pitching performance by Jayce Brothers to beat Erie City, 5-0, in the opening game of the Region 8 Tournament in Punxsutawney Friday morning.

Brothers tossed a one-hit shutout while striking out 14 and walking a pair against the No. 3 seed from the Erie League for the regional.

Clearfield (16-2), the No. 2 seed from the Elk/Mckean League, managed just five hits itself but put together a pair of two-run innings in the third and fifth to come away with the win before rain started to wreak havoc on the tournament.

Millcreek upended Brookville, 7-3, in the second game of the day to send the No. 3 seed from Elk/McKean League into the loser’s bracket. That contest was played largely in a steady rain, and with the field condition at that point coupled with potential for rain to fall in the afternoon, the decision was made to not play the final two winners’ bracket games of the day.

Clearfield was set to take on South County (No. 1 seed from Erie), while Mahoning Valley (Elk/Mckean champ) was scheduled to play Millcreek. Those games will now be played today at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., with three more games to follow — including the winner’s bracket final at approximately 8 p.m.

No team will play more than twice today, with the region champion could be crowned on Sunday, with the if-necessary title game currently scheduled to be played on Monday.

Both starters — Brothers and Erie City’s Jack Martz III — both put up zeros in the first two innings, although Clearfield threatened in the bottom of the first.

The Eagles loaded the bases with no outs as Brothers singled. Griffin Briskar walked and Landon Brady was hit by a pitch. However, Clearfeld couldn’t push a run across as Martz worked out of the early jam.

Martz wasn’t so lucky in the third though.

Briskar got things started with a one-out walk, then Brady reached on an error that put runners on the corners. Brady then took second without a throw before Jake Bloom ripped a two-run single to right to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead. They proved to be the only runs Clearfield needed on the day.

Brothers saw his no-hit bid broken up with one out in the fourth when Xavier Przbylski doubled to center. However, Brothers stranded him at third to keep it a 2-0 game.

Erie City mustered just one more base runner the rest of the way — a one-out walk by Alexander Rose in the sixth — as Brothers retired 11 of the final 12 batters he faced.

Meanwhile, Clearfield doubled its lead with two more runs in the fifth.

Brady started that rally when he reached on an error to open the inning. After a flyout, Dylan Foust was hit by a pitch before Martz recorded a strikeout for out No. 2. Clearfield’s didn’t let him off the hook though, as Brady and Foust each scored on two-out wild pitches to put the Eagles up 4-0.

Clearfield tacked on a fifth and final run in the bottom of the sixth.

Gerald Shipley smacked a single to leadoff the inning but was erased at second when Brothers hit into a fielder’s choice. Brothers promptly stole second before scoring on a two-out single to right by Briskar that set the final score at 5-0.

CLEARFIELD 5,

ERIE CITY 0

Score by Innings

Erie 000 000 0 — 0

Clearfield 002 021 x — 5

Erie City—0

Michael Darling ss-2b 2000, Xavier Pryzbylski c 3010, Talon Butcher cf 3000, Johnathan Romero 2b-p 3000, Jacob Yauger 3b-ss 3000, Jack Martz III p-1b 2000, Benjamin McGranor 1b-3b 2000, Nicholas Lastowski rf 1000, Alexander Rose lf 1000. Totals: 20-0-1-0.

Clearfield—5

Jayce Brothers p 4110, Griffin Briskar ss 2111, Landon Brady cf 3200, Jake Bloom c 4012, Dylan Foust 1b 2110, JT Strishock lf 3000, Avery Schenk lf 0000, Matt Rowles 2b-3b 2000, Landen Peters rf 3000, Cooper Stone rf 0000, Gunnar Duckett 3b 1000, Gerald Shipley 2b 1010. Totals: 25-5-5-3.

Errors: Erie 3 (McGranor 2, Przybylski), Clearfield 2 (Brothers 2). 2B: Przybylski. HBP: Lastowski (by Brothers); Brady (by Mertz III), Foust (by Mertz III). SB: Rose; Brothers, Briskar 2, Brady, Duckett. CS: Darling (by Bloom).

Pitching

Erie: Jack Martz III-5 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 SO, 2 HB; Johnathan Romero-1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.

Clearfield: Jayce Brothers-7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 14 SO, 1 HB.

WP: Brothers. LP: Martz.