GLENVILLE, W.Va. --- The Golden Eagle softball team picked up a split on their final day in Glenville, falling 8-7 in a marathon extra-innings contest to West Virginia Wesleyan before beating Fairmont State 9-1 in five innings.
 
Game 1: West Virginia Wesleyan 8, Clarion 7 (11 inn.)
Recap: The Golden Eagles came back from a 4-1 deficit with a three-run outburst in the seventh inning, forcing the Bobcats to extra innings after they had taken a 4-1 lead in the previous half inning. With two outs in top of the seventh, Kathryn O'Horo lined a double to deep right field to score Lauren Hartman, cutting the deficit in half. Two batters later, Alyssa Stitt hit a ball to deep left field, scoring O'Horo and Carissa Giordano and tying the score.
 
The extra innings session was a back-and-forth battle, with each team scoring a run in each of the first three innings. Tori Martrano hit an RBI single to score Emily Buchleitner and load the bases, but the Bobcats escaped with no further damage and tied it up in the bottom of the eighth. Giordano hit a leadoff RBI double to score O'Horo in the ninth but she too was stranded, and again the Bobcats brought a run across to extend the game.
 
Angelina Pepe added a two-out RBI single in the 10^th inning, but that would be the last time Clarion brought home a runner. West Virginia Wesleyan scored once in the bottom of the 10^th and then got a 1-2-3 in the 11^th, giving them the opportunity to win on an RBI single by Taylor Swart.
 
Rachel Helsley put the Golden Eagles on the scoreboard first, breaking a scoreless tie with a solo home run to right field in the top of the fourth inning. She finished the game 1-for-4. Giordano went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI, while Stitt had two RBIs on a 1-for-6 game. Kendyl Switzer threw 5.1 innings in the start, allowing four runs, while Angelina Pepe tossed 5.1 innings of her own.
 
Game 2: Clarion 9, Fairmont State 1 (5 inn.)
Recap: The second game of the day was a polar opposite of the first, as the Golden Eagles racked up eight runs between the third and fourth innings to put themselves in position to end the game early. It all started with a leadoff double by Billie Aguglia, which was followed by an RBI double from Brooke McCanna. With runners on second and third and two outs, Emily Buchleitner lined a two-run single to center field to score Giordano and McCanna, and Desi Allen brought her around with an RBI single to make it 4-0. Tori Martrano closed the rush at 5-0, when an error at shortstop allowed Helsley to score and make it 5-0.
 
The barrage continued in the bottom of the fourth inning, with the Golden Eagles benefitting from several errors by the Falcons. McCanna scored on a single to center field by Giordano, reaching home on an errant play in the outfield. Stitt reached base on an error at second, allowing O'Horo to score, and Giordano made it 8-0 after Allen reached via error.
 
The decisive run came across in the bottom of the fifth inning, after the Falcons pulled to within 8-1. With runners on first and second with two outs, Buchleitner hit an infield single to shortstop, beating out the throw and allowing Giordano to race around from second to make it 9-1.
 
Buchleitner went 3-for-4 at the dish with three RBIs and a run scored, while McCanna sent 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Megan Anderson was highly effective in the pitching circle, tossing five innings of one-run ball by allowing six hits but walking none and striking out four. That was good enough to give Anderson her first win of the season.
 
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