BUTLER, Pa. – The Clarion baseball team split a pair of games at Kelly Automotive Park on Sunday, falling 2-1 in the early game to West Virginia State before taking the nightcap by a 13-7 score. The Golden Eagles (3-4) will commence their spring break trip this weekend, starting with a doubleheader against Goldey-Beacom on Friday.
Chandler Palyas drove the offense on Sunday, including a blistering 4-for-6 performance in the second game that included a three-RBI triple to bust the game open for the Golden Eagles. He drove in a total of five runs on the day while also scoring of his own.
Nick Fugh provided several of the big highlights of the day, hitting a game-tying RBI single in the first game and going 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, two runs and an RBI in the nightcap.
Chance Miranda got a no-decision in the first game after allowing just one run in 4.0 innings pitched, with Tom Connell (0-1) taking the hard-luck loss on a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning.
Kyle Thompson (1-2) took the win in the late game, throwing 6.0 innings and allowing four runs.
The first game was a pitchers' duel, with neither team plating more than one runner in the first seven combined innings. The Yellow Jackets struck first, scoring on an RBI double in the top of the fifth inning, but the Golden Eagles did not get on the board until the bottom of the seventh.
Devin Beverly walked with one out and advanced to second on
Cole Shaffer's fielder's choice. Fugh came in to pinch hit and drove him in with a single through the left side to make it 1-1. Neither team added on until a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning, and the Golden Eagles were retired in order in the home half of the inning to close it.
Clarion's bats exploded in the second game, though, as the Golden Eagles racked up 13 runs on as many hits. They took the early lead in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI groundout by
Bryce Jackson and made it 2-0 on an RBI single from Shaffer. Beverly rapped an RBI single through the middle in the third inning to make it 3-0, but the Yellow Jackets scored three in the fifth inning to tie the score.
The explosion came in the bottom of the seventh inning with the game tied at 4-4.
Will Constantin walked with the bases loaded to break the deadlock, and Palyas followed up with a bases-clearing triple down the right field line to make it a five-run game. Clarion tacked on four insurance runs in the eighth, with Palyas hitting a two-RBI single to make it 13-6. The Yellow Jackets got a run back in the top of the ninth, but
Tyler Hall shut the door to complete the win.
