HARROGATE, Tenn. --- The Golden Eagle softball team kicked off their 2024 season with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, falling in games to Saginaw Valley State and Lincoln Memorial. Clarion lost the game to the Cardinals 10-7, and fell by a 12-4 score to the Railsplitters in five innings.
 
Saginaw Valley State 10, Clarion 7
 
Recap: In the Golden Eagles' season opener, Clarion started out with an early lead before the Cardinals exploded for eight runs in the top of the fifth inning. Neither side scored through one and a half innings, but the Golden Eagles broke through in the bottom of the second to take a slim 1-0 lead. Delanie Davison reached on a one-out single to center field and Billie Aguglia did the rest, drilling a single to right field to bring her home.
 
Clarion added another run in the bottom of the third when Desi Allen crushed a double to left-center field, scoring Kathryn O'Horo to take a 2-0 lead. Aalana Kimble hit a solo home run off Emma Hipps in the top of the fourth inning to cut the lead in half, but the big damage came one inning later. The Cardinals totaled eight runs in the top of the fifth inning, though only three of those runs were earned as a pair of Golden Eagle errors contributed to the conflagration.
 
The Golden Eagles weren't done, though. Rachel Helsley smacked an RBI single to left field to score Emily Buchleitner in the home half of the inning to cut the lead to 9-3, and O'Horo blasted a three-run home run in the sixth inning to cut SVSU's advantage to 10-6. Allen led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run and Helsley reached on an error in the next plate appearance, with the latter then advancing to second on a wild pitch to reach scoring position. Clarion got no closer though as the final three batters were retired via strikeout.
 
Allen finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Aguglia finished 3-for-4 at the dish with an RBI and a run scored. Emma Hipps started the game and allowed five runs – three earned – in 4.1 innings.
 
Lincoln Memorial 12, Clarion 4 (5 inn.)
 
Recap: The Golden Eagles once again got off to a good start on offense, but an offensive flourish by the Railsplitters over the course of the second and third innings put Lincoln Memorial in position to end the game after just five innings.
 
Allen once again brought some extra-base power to the lineup, lifting a double to deep center field to score Buchleitner in the top of the first inning. She later came around to score on an error at third base, giving the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead by the end of the first inning. The Railsplitters countered with three runs in the bottom of the second inning, starting with a two-run double by Hannah McMeen. She later came around to score on a passed ball to put her team ahead by a run.
 
Things began to go awry in the bottom of the third inning, when the Railsplitters rallied for seven runs. Hanna Bogoski hit a three-run home run to cap things off, making it 10-2, but Hipps entered in relief and secured the final two outs to end the inning. Hannah Powierza and O'Horo each reached on singles in the top of the fourth inning and Buchleitner brought them both home, drilling a two-out triple to score them both to make it 10-4.
 
Lincoln Memorial chipped in one run apiece in the top of the fourth and fifth innings respectively, clinching the game after Madison Henry's RBI single in the latter.
 
Buchleitner finished 2-for-3 at the dish with two RBIs and a run scored, while Powierza also notched a pair of hits. Ashley DeWeese started the game in the circle, allowing five runs in the loss.
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