ERIE, Pa. – The Golden Eagle softball team wrapped a long road swing with a pair of losses on Saturday afternoon, falling by 8-5 and 9-7 scores to Gannon at McConnell Family Stadium.
Game 1: Gannon 8, Clarion 5
Recap: The Golden Knights did all of their damage in the middle innings, scoring eight runs combined in the second through fourth innings to take the lead on Clarion. The Golden Eagles were the first ones on the scoreboard, with
Brooke Cline taking off and scoring on a wild pitch by Gannon's Kennedy DeMatteis.
After the Golden Knights opened up a 5-1 lead, it was the Golden Eagles' turn to stack up the runs.
Brooke McCanna led off the top of the fourth inning with a walk and
Carissa Giordano was hit by a pitch, setting up a two-run single by Cline to make it 5-3.
Alyssa Stitt later tapped an infield single to first base, allowing
Chelsea Liroff to score to cut Gannon's lead to 5-4.
The Golden Knights picked up three runs in the bottom of the fourth, extending their lead to 8-4. Clarion got one of those runs back in the top of the seventh inning, when McCanna struck a ball to shortstop that brought
Beka McClymonds across for a run. Rebecca Tatone ended the threat when she induced
Desi Allen into a flyout, wrapping the seventh inning and the game.
Cline went 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs, while Liroff was 2-for-4 with a run.
Game 2: Gannon 9, Clarion 7
Recap: This seesaw battle featured the teams trading leads in the fifth and sixth innings after neither side scored a run in the first four frames. Clarion opened the scoring in the top of the fifth inning on an RBI double by
Nicole Collins that scored Allen, and
Beka McClymonds drove in
Billie Aguglia to make it a 2-0 game.
Gannon erupted for six runs in the home half of the fifth, including a bases-clearing double by Gabi Vasi that made it a 6-2 game. The Golden Eagles went off for a similar explosion in the sixth inning, including sacrifice flies by
Rachel Helsley and Aguglia to cut the lead to 6-4. Collins drove a single up the middle to load the bases, which was followed by consecutive RBI singles from McClymonds, Stitt and Cline to put Clarion back on top 7-6.
The Golden Eagles held that lead until the bottom of the seventh inning, when Gannon's Lea Coffman led off the inning with a double. Jules Ryan ended the game with a three-run walk-off homer, giving the Golden Knights a 9-7 win at home.
Cline went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI, while Allen finished the game 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two walks drawn.
Beka McClymonds also drew two walks.
