AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Golden Eagle softball team nearly rallied all the way back from a five-run deficit, but Clarion could not make up the entire difference in falling by a 7-6 score to Nyack on Sunday.
 
A big third inning gave Nyack a 7-2 lead, but the Golden Eagles were able to chip away at that deficit little by little. Clarion put up three runs in the fourth inning to pull within 7-5, and then added another in the fifth inning to cut it to one lead. The Warriors worked out of the jam in that inning to maintain their lead, and the Golden Eagles came up just short in the seventh inning.
 
Hannah Norton had her second four-hit game of the season, going 4-for-4 with a couple of RBI singles to boot. Her first hit of the game gave Clarion the lead in the top of the first inning. After Alyssa Stitt reached on a one-out walk, Makenzie Wolfe advanced her to second with a hard grounder to shortstop. Norton scored her on a two-out RBI single, driving the ball up the middle of the infield to bring Stitt home.
 
The Warriors took a 2-1 lead in the home half of the inning, but Clarion responded by taking advantage of a defensive miscue to tie the game. Brooke McCanna drew a walk with two outs to start the action, and Chelsea Liroff singled up the middle to keep it going. Rachel Helsley drove a grounder over third base that was booted by the defender, allowing McCanna to come around to score. McCanna would later smack an RBI double in the fifth inning to pull Clarion within a run.
 
Nyack scored five runs in the third inning to take a 7-2 lead, but the Golden Eagles got three of them back in the fourth to keep it close. McCanna led off the inning with a triple and scored on an RBI single down the left field line by Stitt. Wolfe loaded the bases when a bloop shot landed between two fielders behind second base, and Norton followed with a hard single through the left side to make it 7-4. Desi Allen came to the plate and nearly blasted a grand slam, but center fielder Erin O'Brien robbed her of the homer with a diving catch through the fence. It was still enough for a sac fly and an RBI, but the Warriors were able to get out of the inning without further damage.
 
Liroff got the start in the circle and allowed seven runs – just three earned – in 2.2 innings. Ashley DeWeese threw 3.1 innings of shutout relief.
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