CLARION, Pa. The Clarion University softball team earned it's first conference win over the season after splitting a double-header with Pitt-Johnstown Sunday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. A 7-3 loss in game one and a 2-0 victory in game two moves the Golden Eagles to 4-28 (1-7 PSAC) on the season. The Blue and Gold return to action on April 12th when they host Edinboro at Memorial Stadium for a double-header with the Fighting Scotts.
Clarion found themselves digging out of a deep hole early on in game one as the Panthers went off for a massive six-hit, four-run first inning that saw UPJ bat completely through the order. Although Clarion starter
Kira Smith would work her way out of it and continue to battle into the fourth inning, she would give up six more hits before finally being relieved.
Clarion went to work cutting down that lead in the second inning, putting up a pair of runs courtesy of a Smith double and a
Cassidy Runyan RBI single, however the Panther bats were simply red-hot all game. They would add three more in the fourth to salt the game away and secure the win.
In game two, it was a Clarion pitcher who would steal the show, as junior hurler
Rachel Hoffman tossed a complete-game shutout against her former team to earn Clarion it's first PSAC Conference victory of the 2017 campaign.
After transferring to Clarion at the beginning of last season, Hoffman joined CU hoping to make an impact for the Golden Eagles, and that's exactly what she did Sunday afternoon. Coupled with a near-perfect defensive effort from her team, Hoffman was the driving force behind Clarion's success in game two, enjoying one of the best outings of her career.
The right-hander was dynamic, going a full seven innings of shut-out ball including five strikeouts that sparked CU and gave them the chance to win it with their bats, and those bats took advantage. Pitt-Johnstown managed just four hits after smacking 13 in game one.
Although a pair of RBI singles in the first and second inning was all the offensive output CU could muster, it was enough to win thanks to Hoffman's performance in the circle, and CU held on for it's first conference victory of 2017.
