CLERMONT, Fla. – The Clarion softball team concluded its stay in Florida with a high-scoring slugfest on Friday morning, but ultimately fell to Nyack 12-8 on the final day of the PFX Spring Games.  The Golden Eagles (0-15) will return to Clarion for their home opener next week, currently scheduled for Friday, March 15 against Gannon.
 
The teams combined for 20 runs on 15 hits and six errors, as both squads benefited from errors and timely hitting to light up the scoreboard.  The Warriors scored seven of those runs in the first inning but the Golden Eagles outscored them from there, outpacing them 8-5 in the final six innings but never quite getting over the top. 
 
Makenzie Wolfe and Haley Pszyk each went 2-for-4 at the plate, with Pszyk driving in a pair of runs and Wolfe scoring twice.  Hannah Norton got the start at first base and responded with a two-run single in the fourth inning to get the Golden Eagles on the scoreboard.  Clarion scored six unanswered runs over the course of the fourth and fifth innings to pull within 7-6 of the Warriors, and later pulled to within 10-8 in the sixth.
 
After falling behind by seven runs early on, Norton opened the floodgates with her two-run single, and came around to score on a groundout by Macy Rubin.  In the fifth inning, Pszyk ripped a single to score Moriah Lynn and Aryn Boyer, and Natalie Else checked into the game to score Wolfe on a groundout that made it 7-6.  Nyack scored three runs in the top of the sixth to put distance between them and Clarion, but Nicole Collins lifted a sac fly and Molly Cowden scored on a wild pitch in the home half to make it 10-8.
 
The Golden Eagles got no closer, however, as Nyack added two runs in the seventh.  Clarion went down in order in the bottom of the inning to end the game.
 
Rebecca Kelley (0-7) took the loss, while Macy Rubin entered the circle in relief and proved effective.  She allowed five runs, though only one earned, in 6.1 innings pitched.