JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Ending their 2019 season on the road against Pitt-Johnstown, the Clarion baseball team split the twinbill against the Mountain Cats, winning game one by a final score of 8-3 and dropping game two 7-0. The Golden Eagles finish the year 19-29 overall and 9-19 in the PSAC West. The Blue and Gold's 19 wins this season are the second best total in Clarion history, ranking only behind the 2005 Golden Eagles who ended the year with 25 wins.
 
Game 1
The Golden Eagles took the lead early after racking up two runs in the top of the first inning to give Clarion all the momentum. Ben Barth started the inning off with a double down the left field line and Alex Ficorilli followed that up with a single to left field. Bryce Jackson plated the first two runs when he doubled to right center field scoring both Barth and Ficorilli.

UPJ pulled back within one thanks to a solo homer to left field making the score 2-1. The Golden Eagles would tack on two more runs in the top of the fourth inning when Thomas Lavin launched a towering two run bomb over the left field fence to give Clarion the lead for good at 4-2.

The Mountain Cats wouldn't go away without a fight though, scoring two runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth to pull back within one, making it 4-3.

After Barth and Ficorilli were both hit by a pitch and Brian Casper reached on an error, Nick Fugh would add one run in the top of the fifth inning when he plated Barth from third on a fielder's choice pushing the Clarion lead to 5-3.

Clarion would add one run in the sixth courtesy of a Dan Fox single that scored Cole Shaffer from second after a throwing error allowed him to advance an extra 90 feet and two more runs in the top of the seventh for good measures when Jackson homered down the right field line to give Clarion the 8-3 victory.

Freshman Bryan Layton picked up his first collegiate win, tossing 4.0 innings of four hit baseball, while striking out two.

Dereck Pritchard earned the save, pitching 3.0 innings in relief allowing just two hits and no runs.
 
Game 2
Clarion dropped the second game falling 7-0 in the second contest with Pitt-Johnstown. 

The Mountain Cats took a 2-0 lead after the bottom of the first inning on a double to left center from Scott Thompson and a single from Nico Pecora. UPJ added two more runs in the bottom of the second making it 4-0 after a fielder's choice scored one and Dylan Conrad stole home.

From that point on it was all UPJ. Pecora added one more run in the third with a solo homer to center making it 5-0. The Mountain Cats would go on to score two more runs, one in the fifth and on in the sixth to give them the 7-0 victory.

Four Golden Eagles picked up hits in the game but Clarion was unable to bring any runs across the plate. The Golden Eagles went deep into the bullpen after starter Jeremy
Frazier was chased from the game after just 1.0 innings.

Relievers Nate Torbich, Josh Kirwin, Joe Rossi and Patrick McGinley were all solid out of the pen. As a group they only surrendered three runs on four hits and walking just five.