CLERMONT, Fla. – The Clarion softball team dropped a close decision early in the day and fell in the nightcap as well, as the Golden Eagles lost 3-2 to Fairmont State and 8-1 to Bemidji State at the PFX Spring Games on Tuesday.  Clarion will enjoy an off day tomorrow before retaking the field on Thursday.
 
The first game of the day was the closest as the Golden Eagles built a 2-0 lead on Fairmont State early in the game.  Clarion held that lead until the very end of the game, giving up three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to ultimately drop the decision to the Falcons.  The game against the Beavers was close early on, until Bemidji State tacked on runs in six straight innings to close.
 
Rachel Hoffman took the hard-luck loss in the first game, allowing no earned runs but three unearned ones to take the L.  Macy Rubin took the loss in the second game, allowing three runs – two earned – in 3.0 innings pitched.
 
Clarion tacked on a pair of runs in the top of the first inning against Fairmont State, opening the game with a walk by Casey Wilcox.  Taylor Nonnenberg was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with one out, and Autumn Babcock rapped a two-out, two-RBI single to give the Golden Eagles the lead.  Fairmont State had just one hit the rest of the way, but walks and errors in the bottom of the sixth allowed them to come back.  The go-ahead runs came on an error that scored two with two outs, giving the Falcons a 3-2 lead. 
 
Natalie Else ripped an RBI single in the nightcap against Bemidji State, scoring Cassidy Runyan in the bottom of the second inning.  That would be the last time the score was tied, however, as the Beavers tacked on a run in the third inning and added two more in the fourth.