Coming into the Altoona Curve Classic riding a 3–5 record, the Tyrone Golden Eagles looked like a team still searching for its identity.
Three days later, they walked off PNG Field as champions, giving the Eagles a signature moment and some much-needed momentum for the final stretch of the regular season.
Tyrone defeated Bishop Guilfoyle easily in the first round, beat previously undefeated Hollidaysburg in a walk-off thriller in the second round, and beat the three-time defending champion Altoona Mountain Lions 6–3 in Friday night’s rain-shortened title game. Tyrone catcher Brayden Parsons was named tournament MVP.
For Parsons, the road to that trophy started long before the first pitch of the Classic.
“We had a rough start to the season, as everybody knows. Coming into the week with a 2–5 record and getting that win against undefeated Somerset really flipped the switch for us,” Parsons said, “we came into this tournament to dominate and believe in each other, we couldn’t afford to lose another game.”
The spark Parsons referenced was a midweek win over Somerset that snapped a four-game skid and gave the Eagles new life. Entering the Classic at 3–5, what followed was something not even the players themselves could have scripted.
Round 1: Tyrone 13, Bishop Guilfoyle 3
Tyrone attacked early in their first tournament game, crushing Bishop Guilfoyle Academy 13–3. Tyrone’s Jon Stroup went 4-for-4, bringing home five while crossing the plate himself four times.
Other key contributors were Wyatt Kustenbauder, who swung his way into the hit column three separate times. Meanwhile, Parsons slipped two more runs batted in, shaping a win that felt solid before it even ended.
Sophomore pitcher Griffan Adams threw a complete game, which would be a huge factor in the Golden Eagles’ tournament run, allowing them to throw their older and harder-throwing pitchers against Hollidaysburg and Altoona.
Head Coach Kevin Sollener sensed something had changed in the Tyrone dugout right away.
“We’re starting to find our rhythm,” Soellner said, “The bats are waking up, and our pitching is getting stronger. We just need to clean things up defensively.”
BOX SCORE:
TYRONE (13): Parsons c 402, Stroup ss 444, Kustenbauder cf 513, C. McClure 1b 400, Hoover 1b 110, Oakes rf 300, Pierce rf 101, Zupon 3b 300, Starr 3b 200, Hunter dh 211, Wilson dh 000, Walk dh 100, B. McClure 2b 110, Frye 2b 120, Plummer lf 422. Totals — 36-13-13.
BISHOP GUILFOYLE (3): Chwatek p 311, Simanski ph 100, Georgiana 2b 300, Houaling ph 100, Cacciotti 3b 301, Knorr lf 210, Farabaugh ss 201, Marasco 2b 100, Lechner 1b 200, Kowalski rf 101, Hofer dh 301, Imler cf 311, Walters c 200, Gioiosa c 100. Totals — 28-3-6.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Tyrone 240 103 3–13 13 3
Bishop Guilfoyle 001 001 1– 3 6 5
E–Cacciotti 3, Farabaugh 2, Adams, Starr. 2B–Plummer, Imler. RBI–Simanski, Cacciotti, Kowalski, Stroup 5, Parsons 2, C. McClure, Hoover, Starr. WP–Adams. LP–Chwatek. SO–Chwatek 3, Imler 1, Adams 3. BB–Chwatek 2, Imler 3, Adams 1.
Records: Tyrone (4-5); Bishop Guilfoyle (0-5).
Semifinal: Tyrone 4, Hollidaysburg 3 (walk-off)
If the opener was a statement, the semifinal was a masterpiece. Down three runs early, facing a team that hadn’t lost all season, ranked number four in the state, and powered by pitcher Vince Boland, who struck out nine through nearly six innings, Tyrone seemed done before they began.
However, Tyrone starting pitcher Jon Stroup also took control on the mound throughout the entire game, adding 11 strikeouts over six and a third strong frames. He also chipped in offensively, going two for four with one RBI.
All game long, Parsons stayed hot, racking up three hits and an RBI that pushed the rally forward.
Carter Price took the mound from the bullpen, stepping up to grab the last two outs in the seventh’s top half, giving the Golden Eagles a chance to win it in walk-off fashion.
In the seventh inning with bases loaded, Owen Oakes cracked a single that ended it. The bench emptied. Cheers exploded. Tournament play continued.
Funny how one win could shift an entire season. Soellner felt it deep in his bones.
“Beating Hollidaysburg, that’s when belief starts to grow,” Soellner said, “I asked them to fight, and they answered.”
Simple words from Oakes closed it, though silence might have done the same. His one remark carried every weight required.
“In a moment like that, you just see the ball and react,” Oakes said, “The guys had been grinding all game to get us back in it, I just wanted to put something in play and make something happen.”
BOX SCORE
HOLLIDAYSBURG (3): Banks rf 412, Mierley ss 411, McGough 2b 200, Miller 3b 301, Phillips cf 300, Rossman dh 200, Hartman 1b 311, Layton lf 301, Hatch c 300. Totals — 27-3-6.
TYRONE (4): Parsons c 413, Stroup p 412, Kustenbauder cf 301, C. McClure 1b 300, Oakes rf 301, Plummer lf 200, Starr 3b 300, Price p 000, Frye 2b 210, B. McClure ss 200. Totals — 26-4-7.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Hollidaysburg 002 100 0–3 6 2
Tyrone 000 030 1–4 7 1
E–B. McClure, Banks, Mierley. 2B–Mierley, Stroup. 3B–Layton. RBI–Parsons, Stroup, Oakes, Layton, Miller, McGough. WP–Price. LP–McGough. SO–Boland 9, McGough 1, Stroup 11. BB–Boland 2, McGough 1, Stroup 1.
Records: Hollidaysburg (7-1); Tyrone (5-5).
Championship: Tyrone 6, Altoona 3
Friday night’s title game had everything: a Division I pitcher on the mound, a rain-soaked field, clutch defense, a 3A underdog vs a 6A favorite defending champ, and a championship banner on the line. Tyrone delivered on all counts.
The Golden Eagles drew first blood in the opening inning after Parsons led off with a single. When Altoona’s ace Tanner Stroup, a committed pitcher for Division I Marshall, sailed a pickoff throw to first base, courtesy runner Colton Frye took off and stole both second and third in sequence. A subsequent wild pitch brought Frye home, and Tyrone was on the board before many fans had settled into their seats.
The game turned in the third inning, when Tyrone erupted for five runs to build a commanding 6–0 lead. After Stroup was pulled with the bases loaded, the Eagles capitalized on wild pitches, a sacrifice fly, and an Oakes single to shallow left-center that blew the game open.
An errant throw to third base allowed Frye to score in Parsons’ place, extending the rally.
Connor Zupon added to the lead with a groundball that bounced off the glove of shortstop Eric McAllister, allowing Oakes to score and cap the decisive five-run frame.
Carter Price started on the mound for Tyrome and delivered his best outing of the season.
Price threw four and one-third innings, allowing three runs, two earned on seven hits, walking three, and striking out three.
Fanning Stroup at the plate ignited the Tyrone dugout and set the tone for the entire night.
Middle infielders Brandon McClure at shortstop and Jon Stroup at second base were equally crucial, turning two double plays to escape jams with runners in scoring position, plays that kept the Altoona offense off balance and sent the Tyrone fans to their feet.
When Price ran into trouble in the fifth, Altoona had clawed back to 6–3 on an RBI single from Brayden Pike and a Connor Waite RBI double. Logan Seeger entered from the bullpen into brutal conditions: steady rain, a muddy mound, and the bases loaded after he walked his first batter.
Seeger retired the next two batters on groundouts to strand all three runners and slam the door.
Soellner has leaned on Seeger in tough spots before, and Friday was no different.
“Any time it’s muddy, Seeger’s our guy,” Soellner said, “He’s kind of our mudder, he just grinds through it.”
After the fifth inning, umpires ruled the field unplayable, making the game official and Tyrone the 2026 Altoona Curve Classic champions. Altoona coach Tom Smith didn’t make excuses.
“We didn’t pitch well. We didn’t field well,” Smith said to the Altoona Mirror. “We didn’t make plays. They did. They turned two double plays. Their pitcher threw well and gutted it out. They made another diving play on a grounder that saved some runs. The only positive was that we were down 6-0, and we battled. We couldn’t get that clutch hit, but we had a ton of guys on. It could have been a different situation if we got that clutch hit. To Tyrone’s credit, they got big outs.”
Soellner pointed to the offensive turnaround as a key driver of the championship run, singling out his top two hitters.
“They’ve been swinging it really well,” Soellner said, “Brayden and Jon started off the season a little cold, but now they’re squaring the ball up, and hitting is contagious.”
Stroup, who dominated opposing lineups all weekend both at the plate and on the mound, echoed his coach’s belief that this group is only getting started.
“This team has the talent to do something special,” Stroup said, “Once we all locked in and trusted each other out there, you saw what we’re capable of. This is just the beginning.”
For Parsons, the MVP award capped a weekend he said he never saw coming, but one he believes is a sign of things to come.
“I never thought in my entire life that we would win the Curve Classic, definitely didn’t think I’d ever win MVP,” Parsons said, “But our boys came to play the past two days, and if we hit and play like this the rest of the season, we should win a lot more games.”
The hardware is nice. But Parsons made clear the Golden Eagles aren’t satisfied just yet.
“It’s hard to not play your best in the Classic. The field, the atmosphere, and the search for the championship are all huge sparks to our guys,” Parsons said, “We just need to find how to keep that spark for the rest of the season and not let off the gas pedal.”
The Golden Eagles will continue their season in search of a District 6 championship and have already added onto their record with wins over Bellwood and Forrest Hills despite a rematch loss to Hollidaysburg.
BOX SCORE
TYRONE (6): Parsons c 202, Frye cr 020, Stroup 2b 110, Kustenbauder cf 311, C. McClure 1b 200, Oakes rf 312, Plummer lf 300, Zupon 3b 201, Price p 000, Seeger p 000, Hunter dh 200, B. McClure ss 110. Totals — 19-6-6.
ALTOONA (3): C. Pike cf-p 301, Kraft c 302, Webster cr 000, Stroup p-cf 200, McAllister ss 310, Baer lf 000, Waite dh 301, Glasgow 3b 201, Staines 1b 210, McConnell rf 301, B. Pike 2b 212. Totals — 23-3-8.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Tyrone 105 00X X–6 6 1
Altoona 001 11X X–3 8 4
E–Zupon, Baer 2, Stroup, McAllister. 2B–Parsons, Waite. RBI–Kustenbauder, C. McClure, Oakes, Waite, Kraft. WP–Price. LP–Stroup. SO–Stroup 1, C. Pike 2, Price 3. BB–Price 3, Seeger 1.
Records: Tyrone (6-5); Altoona (4-3).
