CALIFORNIA, Pa. – The Golden Eagle softball team returned to conference play with a tough result on Wednesday afternoon, falling in both ends of a doubleheader to Cal U at Lilley Field. Clarion fell by a 10-0 score in the first game of the doubleheader, and by a 5-4 mark in the nightcap.
Cal U 10, Clarion 0 (5 inn.)
Recap: The Vulcans exploded for a huge first inning, scoring eight runs – four of them unearned, due to a pair of fielding errors in the frame – to jump out to a big lead over the Golden Eagles. Cal U added two more runs in the bottom of the second inning to increase their lead to 10-0, but from that point on the teams' respective pitching staffs put the clamps on their opponents. Senior
Chelsea Liroff entered the circle with one out in the second inning and proceeded to shut down the Vulcans, holding them to just one hit over the final 2.2 innings of action.
The Golden Eagles had a chance to extend the game in the top of the fifth inning, but could not push across the runs necessary to do so.
Alyssa Stitt led off the inning with a single, pulling one through the left side of the infield, and
Nicole Collins advanced her to second with a productive groundout.
Billie Aguglia rapped a single to left-center to put Stitt on third, but Stitt was doubled up trying to score on a fly ball to right by
Desi Allen, ending the game.
Cal U 5, Clarion 4
Recap: Early on it seemed like the Golden Eagles might earn the split in Wednesday's doubleheader, as the Golden Eagles opened up a 2-0 lead on the Vulcans in the first inning.
Makenzie Wolfe hit a two-out double and advanced to third on Hannah Nortn's single to left field.
Allison Gilliam and Stitt followed that up with back-to-back singles to score the runners, giving Clarion a two-run edge on the Vulcans.
Pitcher
Amber Gilliam held Cal U scoreless through the first five innings, giving the Golden Eagles the chance to tack on more runs in the fourth inning. Stitt scored a run on a throwing error by Salena Jaquay, crossing the plate as
Brooke Cline made her way to first base.
Rachel Helsley added an RBI single to left field to score
Brooke McCanna, making it a 4-0 game.
The Vulcans got two runs back in the bottom of the sixth inning, after Britney Wilson hit a two-run homer over the left field wall to cut the deficit in half.
Allison Gilliam and Stitt hit back-to-back singles in the top of the seventh, and managed to put runners on second and third with two outs, but the Vulcans halted the rally with a strikeout. Back-to-back doubles by Brooke Wilson and Kaitlyn Achtermeier cut the lead to 4-3, and Charity Henderson ended the game with a walk-off home run.
