SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Clarion softball team squared off with a pair of tough pitchers on Wednesday as the Golden Eagles dropped both ends of a doubleheader to Slippery Rock, falling by 6-0 and 3-0 scores in the twinbill.  With the losses the Golden Eagles fall to 3-16 overall on the season.
 
The respective pitchers of the two teams kept both games relatively close, with the hurlers for both the Golden Eagles and The Rock throwing well on Wednesday.  Sarah Gossard pitched 6.0 innings in the first game and allowed six runs, though only three were earned; her counterpart Brooke Dawson threw a complete game and limited the Golden Eagles to one hit.  The second game was also a pitchers' duel, with Rachel Hoffman and Carly DeRose trading zeroes for much of the day; other than a three-run second inning for the Rock, the rest of the game was scoreless.
 
Clarion had the opportunity to take an early lead in Game 1 when a pair of walks put Taylor Nonnenberg and Casey Wilcox on first and second with one out.  Dawson struck out the remaining Golden Eagles, though, to get out of the jam.  The other great scoring opportunity came in the fifth inning when Audrey Hummell smacked a one-out double to right field; Marissa Peterson sacrificed her over to third, but Nonnenberg was unable to bring her home and flied out to left.
 
All of the Slippery Rock damage in Game 2 took place in the second inning, as The Rock plated three runs with savvy baserunning and timely hitting.  Clarion had a chance to score in the top of the fourth inning after Nonnenberg reached on a leadoff single.  She moved on to second base after a groundout from Wilcox and was bunted to third by Paige Baker.  Christina Tressler engaged in a long battle at the plate, fouling off three straight pitches at one point before striking out on the tenth pitch.  The Golden Eagles put runners on first and second with one out in the top of the seventh, but the rally was dashed as Hummell grounded out to end the inning.