CLERMONT, Fla. --- The Golden Eagle softball team went off for their second straight doubleheader sweep in Florida, picking up a 7-5 win over St. Cloud State in the early game and an 8-3 victory over Wheeling in the late game. Clarion has now won four straight games for the first time since the 2021 season, and improves to 7-5 on the season.
Game 1: Clarion 7, St. Cloud State 5
Recap: The Golden Eagles capitalized on seemingly every opening presented to them by the Huskies, and ultimately came out on top of a back-and-forth game. One such series of opportunities came about in the bottom of the first inning, after Alyssa Stitt reached on a throwing error by the pitcher. Rachel Helsley ripped a hard single through the left side of the infield to put runners on first and second, and a throwing error by the third baseman on Desi Allen's hard grounder allowed Stitt to score.
Annika Smith scored in the bottom of the second after Kathryn O'Horo's sacrifice bunt attempt resulted in a throwing error by the pitcher, but the Huskies responded with two runs in the top of the third to take the lead. Clarion broke through with a big inning in the home half of that frame, thanks in large part to patient approaches at the plate. After Helsley led off the inning with a single, Allen, Tori Martrano and Smith drew walks in succession to tie the game at 3-3. Carissa Giordano drew a two-out walk to score Allen, and Stitt hit a hard shot to third base that resulted in an infield hit and scored Martrano to make it 5-3.
St. Cloud State scored twice in the fourth inning to tie the game again, but the Golden Eagles shut the door on the Husky offense the rest of the way. Kendyl Switzer threw three scoreless innings to end the game, limiting the opponent to just three baserunners the rest of the game. Stitt broke the tie in the bottom of the fifth inning with a double to deep center field, hitting the bottom of the fence to score O'Horo, and Helsley added a solo home run in the sixth inning to make it 7-5.
Switzer threw four total innings of relief, allowing two runs – one earned – for the win. Stitt went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run, and Helsley finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Game 2: Clarion 8, Wheeling 3
Recap: The second game started with a barrage of offense on both sides, with Wheeling taking a 3-2 lead after the first inning and holding that advantage until the top of the fifth. Allen stroke an RBI double to left center field to score Helsley, and came across the plate herself on Martrano's RBI single. That gave Clarion a 2-0 lead but the Cardinals responded with three in the bottom of the inning.
The Golden Eagles locked things down after that, with relief pitcher Emma Hipps retiring 15 straight batters at one point to keep her team in the game. Clarion finally got the offense humming again in the fifth inning, with Giordano and Stitt on first and second with one out. The duo advanced on a wild pitch and Allen did the rest, hitting a hard opposite field single to bring them home and make it 4-3.
Hipps made that lead stand up with more zeroes on the scoreboard, but Clarion was still clinging to just a one-run lead heading into the seventh inning. The dam finally broke for the Golden Eagles as they put up a four-spot in the final frame with a persistent effort. With the bases loaded and no one out, Martrano lined a sharp single up the middle to score Helsley and Stitt, making it 6-3. Annika Smith lined a base hit to left field to score Allen, and Martrano came around to score on an error by the shortstop that made it 8-3. Hipps shut the door in the bottom of the inning, striking out two to close out the win.
Entering in the first inning, Hipps retired 15 straight batters at one point and allowed just three hits and no walks in 7.0 innings of action. She struck out seven batters in that span.
Allen went 3-for-4 at the dish with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Martrano went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Stitt went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
