BUTLER, Pa. – The Clarion baseball team dropped a 12-4 decision to Point Park University on Wednesday afternoon at Kelly Automotive Park.
The Pioneers, ranked 15
th nationally in NAIA, improved to an impressive 30-2 on the season while the Golden Eagles drop to 7-21 on the season.
Point Park struck first in the bottom of the 2
nd with a pair of unearned runs off Clarion starter
Josh Kirwin.
The Clarion bats would strike back in the bottom of the third as
Cole Shaffer laced an RBI single through the left side, scoring
Nick Fugh to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Freshman
Kyle Thompson pitched a clean third inning but was tagged for four runs, three earned in the top of the fourth as Point Park stretched their lead to 7-1.
The Pioneers would add four more in the top of the sixth to put it out of reach.
Clarion's
Mike Connell would drive a bases clearing double to right field, knocking in three, however he was thrown out at third on the play, ending the game at 12-4.
Clarion and Point Park each recorded eight hits on the afternoon, however the Golden Eagles pitching staff surrendered nine walks while their defense committed a season-high six errors.
Kirwin suffers the loss, allowing just one earned run over two innings.
The Golden Eagles will take on Indiana University of Pennsylvania this weekend in a four-game PSAC series starting Friday afternoon.