BUTLER, Pa. – The Clarion baseball team extended both a winning and a shutout streak on Sunday, claiming their fourth straight win in the process of splitting a doubleheader with California (Pa.) at Kelly Automotive Park.  The Golden Eagles (7-12, 3-5 PSAC West) won the first game of the doubleheader by a 6-0 score, but fell in the second by an 11-3 mark.
 
With the shutout in the first game, Clarion extended their shutout streak to 24 straight innings, dating back to a 4-2 win over Lock Haven last Wednesday.  That was also the start of their four-game win streak punctuated by the 6-0 decision over the Vulcans, including three shutouts in a row.
 
Freshman Kyler Mellott improved to 3-1 with a victory in the early game, tossing five shutout innings against the Vulcans.  Chance Miranda and Jay Moog each contributed scoreless innings of relief to shut the door on California.  John Finke suffered the loss in the nightcap, falling to 0-1 after giving up three runs, all earned.
 
However, Finke played a big part in giving Clarion the lead and the win in the first game.  He went 2-of-3 at the dish, banging an RBI double off the left field wall in the third inning to up the Golden Eagles' lead to 4-0.  He also scored a run in the sixth inning, crossing the plate on Cole Shaffer's sacrifice fly to make it 5-0.
 
Clarion got the only run it needed to win the early game in the bottom of the first inning.  Mitch Holmberg got things started with a leadoff single and eventually made his way to third.  Garrett Goslaw stroked a single to left field to plate Holmberg and make it 1-0.  Dillon Wolbert led the second inning off with a double and scored on a Thomas Connell single to right field, and from there the Golden Eagles were off to the races.
 
Miranda entered for Mellott in the sixth and neutralized a California threat, inducing three pop-ups while the Vulcans had runners on first and second.  Moog fanned the final two batters of the game to lock up the win.
 
The Golden Eagles danced between the raindrops early in the second game, falling behind 2-0 in the third but avoiding heavy damage despite control issues.  The Vulcans opened things up in the fourth, though, scoring five runs in that frame to take a 7-0 lead.  Wes Lang, Brady Andrews and Wolbert all contributed RBI singles, but the closest the game got was 8-2 in the fifth inning.