CALIFORNIA, Pa. – The Golden Eagle softball team ran into a difficult day on the road on Saturday, dropping both ends of a division doubleheader to Cal U at Lilley Field. Clarion (3-7, 1-7 PSAC West) fell by an 11-3 score in six innings in the first game, and by a 9-1 score in a five-inning second game in the late edition.
 
Clarion will have the opportunity to avenge their losses to the Vulcans on Tuesday, March 23, when they host Cal U at Memorial Stadium.
 
Game 1 Recap
Through the early going of the first game, it seemed like Clarion might keep level of pace with the Vulcans, and in fact Clarion took the lead in the top of the first inning. Carissa Giordano improved her team-leading on-base percentage to north of .500 with a leadoff walk and swiped her team-leading eighth bag of the year to reach second. She eventually scored when Makenzie Wolfe lifted a pitch to deep center field to score her on a sacrifice fly, making it 1-0. The Vulcans responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the first inning, but it was a three-run third inning off Rebecca Kelley (1-2) that gave them the lead for good.
 
Megan Anderson drove in Kelley in the top of the fourth to make it 4-2, and Kelley scored Giordano in the fifth with an RBI double to left center field, but by that point the Vulcans had a 7-3 lead heading into the home half of the sixth inning. They scored four runs to close out the contest.
 
Kelley finished the first game 3-of-3 at the plate with an RBI. She allowed four runs in 3.0 innings in the pitching loss.
 
Game 2 Recap
The second game of the day started out close as Anderson (0-2) pitched a scoreless first and allowed just one run apiece in the next two innings. The Golden Eagles finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning when Giordano drove a leadoff double to deep right field. She advanced to third on a wild pitch and then used her speed to score on an RBI groundout by Brooke Cline.
 
Cal U added another run in the fourth inning to take a 3-1 lead, and in the fifth inning they tallied six runs thanks in part to a number of defensive miscues by the Golden Eagles. Only two of those runs were charged as earned runs as Clarion committed two errors, with Alyssa Young scoring the game-winning run on a sac fly.
 
Anderson was charged with nine runs allowed – three earned – in 4.0 innings pitched. Kelley entered to pitch the remainder of the game, retiring both batters she faced. Giordano's double was the only hit the Golden Eagles mustered off starter Kelsey Barron.