BUTLER, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle baseball team celebrated its Senior Day on Saturday afternoon, but Clarion dropped a pair of games to Slippery Rock in Butler's Historic Pullman Park. The Rock won the first game 8-0, and then took the second game by an 8-2 mark.
 
Slippery Rock 8, Clarion 0
Recap: The vast majority of the damage done in the first game came as a result of Golden Eagle errors, to the point that only one of the eight runs surrendered by Clarion pitchers counted as an earned run. Those mistakes finally came to a head in the fourth inning, when Slippery Rock was able to load the bases in part because of two fielding errors. With two outs and the bases loaded, pitcher Luke Trueman hit a grand slam to right field, turning what had been a relatively close 2-0 game into a 6-0 competition.
 
The Golden Eagles had their best opportunity to score in the bottom of the sixth inning. Tyler Meachum beat out an infield single to third base, and ended up on third two batters later on Caden Contant's line drive to left center field. Clarion had runners on the corners and two outs, but Trueman induced Mason Kepler into a groundout to second base to end the threat.
 
The Slippery Rock defense did a good job neutralizing Clarion on the basepaths as well. Both Meachum and Scott McManamon were thrown out attempting to steal bases in the first inning, and the Rock turned an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play in the second. Brett Pitzer was also thrown at second base in the third inning, after leading off the frame with a base hit to right field and trying to stretch it out.
 
Meachum finished the first game 2-for-2 with a walk, leading the way for the Golden Eagle batters. Reilly Shafer allowed six runs in four innings of work, though none of his runs allowed were earned, while Sam Rice threw two innings and allowed two runs. Joe Rossi worked a scoreless sixth inning in relief.
 
Slippery Rock 8, Clarion 2
Recap: The second game hinged on the hard contact made by the Rock in the early innings, with Slippery Rock taking a 5-0 lead by the end of the third inning. Trueman once again played a part, hitting an RBI single to center in the third inning. Robert Herr and Joey Purcell added RBIs in the early innings as well.
 
Clarion did strike back in the fourth inning, pulling to within 5-2 after finally stringing together some hits against starter Nate Malak. McManamon drilled a double down the left field line to lead off the inning, eventually scoring on Michael Proios' own double to center field. Proios advanced to third on a grounder by Daren Byers and Lenny Piccini finished it off, hitting an opposite field single to score Proios.
 
The momentum was briefly in the corner of the Golden Eagles, but Slippery Rock posted two runs in the top of the sixth inning off Clarion reliever Ryan Gallagher. The Golden Eagles tried to chip away in the bottom of the sixth when Contant walked with one out, and Proios followed with a line drive single to center field, but Byers and Piccini were retired to end the inning.
 
Proios finished 2-for-2 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored. Starter Anthony Tucci went three innings, allowing five runs – three earned – while striking out five batters. Gallagher went four innings in relief.
  Read Full Article