LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- The Golden Eagle softball team dropped both ends of a road doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon, falling by scores of 9-1 and 14-13 to Lock Haven at Lawrence Field.
Lock Haven 9, Clarion 1 (6 inn.)
Recap: The Bald Eagles went off for seven home runs in the first inning of action against the Golden Eagles, building a commanding lead and setting themselves up for their first win of the day. The inning featured three home runs for Lock Haven.
Clarion got one of those runs back in the top of the fourth inning on a home run of their own, with sophomore
Rachel Helsley belting her fourth of the season. Helsley led off the inning with a solo home run, driving a pitch from Madison Waltman over the center field fence to cut the lead to 7-1.
The Golden Eagles had a chance to cut into the lead a bit more in the sixth inning, with
Ashley DeWeese leading off the inning with a base hit and Helsley advancing her to second on a groundout. However, Waltman retired
Makenzie Wolfe and
Hannah Norton to end the threat. Lock Haven added two more runs in the home half of the inning to close out the game 9-1.
Lock Haven 14, Clarion 13
Recap: The second game of the doubleheader was a seesaw battle that saw both teams open up leads at one point or another. The Bald Eagles led by a 6-4 score after three innings but Clarion responded with nine unanswered runs to take a 13-6 lead of their own, before Lock Haven scored eight runs in the final three innings to clinch the win.
Alyssa Stitt led off the scoring with her first RBI of the day, driving a pitch into center field to bring home Helsley and make it a 1-0 game. Helsley and Wolfe smacked RBI singles in the second inning to make it 3-0, and Stitt drove in another run when she drew a bases loaded walk to bring
Chelsea Liroff home.
The Bald Eagles ripped off six runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 6-4 lead, but Clarion responded with a huge rally of their own. Liroff and Helsley drove in runs in the top of the third, including a sac fly by the latter to tie the game at 6-6. The big push came in the top of the fourth when the Golden Eagles led off the frame with three straight singles.
Kathryn O'Horo was hit by a pitch to drive in Norton, and
Carissa Giordano reached on an error in the next at-bat, allowing Stitt to score. Helsley cleared the bases loaded with a triple to deep right field, making it 11-6, and Wolfe brought her home with an RBI single to make it 12-6.
Desi Allen closed the scoring for Clarion in the fifth inning when she reached on a double to left field and came around to score on two straight wild pitches. The Bald Eagles took two runs back in the bottom of the fifth to pull within 13-8, and added five in the sixth inning to tie the game. An error in the bottom of the seventh allowed Delaney Good to reach base to lead off, and an RBI single eventually brought her around to score.
