GLENVILLE, W.Va. --- The Golden Eagle baseball team lost a pair of hard-fought games in a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon, falling by scores of 5-3 and 5-4 to Glenville State at the Sue Morris Complex.
 
Game 1 – Glenville State 5, Clarion 3
 
Recap: The first game of the day was one where the Golden Eagles fell behind early before making a late push, scoring three runs in the top of the seventh inning to put a scare into the hosting Pioneers. Glenville State scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning after an error by Caden Contant, with Carlos De Jesus plating the third run on a sacrifice fly.
 
 
The Pioneers scored a run apiece in the third and sixth innings, taking a 5-0 lead into the top of the seventh inning. That was when the Golden Eagles chipped away at the lead and made their biggest threat to Glenville State. Tyson Gill and Scott McManamon led off the inning with singles to left field, and Will Martinez loaded the bases with a walk. Pitcher Grant Landis retired the next two Clarion batters via strikeout but Clarion managed to score a trio of runs on a Pioneer miscue. Facing a 1-2 count and two outs, Ethan Giangiulio lifted a fly ball to left field that was misjudged by Sebastian Collender, allowing the three Golden Eagle baserunners to score and putting Giangiulio on first base. Mason Kepler lifted a fly ball to center field but could not keep the threat going, flying out to end the inning.
 
Giangiulio went 2-for-4 at the plate in addition to the play in the seventh inning, while Scotty McManamon, Caden Contant and Gill all added base hits. Errors played an significant part of the game as the Golden Eagles committed five in the game, contributing to just two earned runs against. Griffin Snyder took the loss, allowing three runs – one earned – 1.1 innings, while Ryan Gallagher threw 3.1 innings of one-run ball.
 
Game 2 – Glenville State 5, Clarion 4
 
Recap: The second game played out in something of a funhouse mirror version of the first game, as this time Clarion struck early and before the Pioneers came back for the win. Contant was at his best at the plate this time around, going 2-for-4 with a pair of two-run home runs and four total RBIs to show for it.
 
Both of Contant's home runs came early in the game, and they gave the Golden Eagles a 4-0 lead. In the top of the first inning, McManamon hit a leadoff single to get things going before stealing second. Contant made it a moot point, lifting a ball over the outfield fence to give Clarion a 2-0 lead in their first trip to the plate. Martinez led off the top of the third inning with a walk and Contant did it again, crushing a pitch over the fence to make it 4-0.
 
Despite a total of eight hits, that was the extent of the scoring for the Golden Eagles. Meanwhile, the Pioneers rallied for a big five-run output in the bottom of the fourth inning, touching up Nolan Just and Isaac Schleich in the process. Zach Laurie provided the back breaker with two outs, hitting a two-run single to center field to score a pair and give his team a 5-4 lead. Clarion put a runner in scoring position in the sixth inning, with Kasey Shughart hitting a one-out single and advancing to second on a single by McManamon, but a sharp lineout by Martinez ended the threat.
 
In the top of the seventh inning, Contant led off with a walk, but Mason Kepler was retired via strikeout and pinch runner Gill was thrown out stealing on the same play. Lenny Piccini grounded out to end the game.
 
McManamon finished with three hits, including a double and a stolen base.
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