CLARION, Pa. - The Clarion University softball team lost both games of a Wednesday double-header, falling 15-7 and 8-3 to Slippery Rock at Memorial Stadium. The losses move the Golden Eagles to 5-35 (1-11 PSAC) on the season. The Blue and Gold will return to action on April 21st when they head to Johnstown, Pa. for a double-header with Pitt-Johnstown.
Paige Baker got the nod in the circle in game one for the Blue and Gold and was eventually assigned the loss after Slippery Rock put up an offensive explosion in the opening frame of the game. Six runs off of six hits plus an error for SRU in the first left the Blue and Gold in a big hole to dig out of the rest of the afternoon.
Taylor Nonnenberg got the comeback started for Clarion in the bottom half of the first, smacking a leadoff triple to right field. Two at-bats later, second basemen
Casey Wilcox managed a deep flyball to right that allowed Nonnenberg to tag up a score to cut the lead down to five.
Clarion continued the comeback attempt in the fourth, launching three hits for four runs.
Autumn Babcock crushed a moonshot double before
Alexis Boie cleared the bases with a double of her own a few moments later. Nonnenberg would add another RBI on a fielders choice before the end of the inning, however it was SRU's bats that could not be stopped as the game went on. The Rock added three each in the sixth and seventh to close things out a secure the win.
Game two followed a similar script, as Slippery Rock opened up a three run lead in the first that put CU in the hole again early. After allowing a single and a walk to start the first, catcher Lauren Hawley cranked a three-run homer over teh left-field wall to make it 3-0.
Wilcox added another RBI single in the bottom half of the first, however it was about all the offense the Golden Eagles could muster. Starter
Rachel Hoffman was strong through five innings, giving up just seven hits on the afternoon, however SRU took advantage of some crafty base running to manufacture offense, stealing two bases and drawing five walks on the evening.
SRU added three more in the second before a pair in the sixth for good measure to seal it's second win of the day.
