CLARION, Pa. --- In their final tune-up before the start of conference play, the Clarion Golden Eagles softball team hosted their home-opening doubleheader against Frostburg State, splitting the series one game apiece at Memorial Stadium.
 
Game 1: Clarion 6, Frostburg State 4
 
RECAP: Clarion's bats were silent for the first two innings as the Bobcats took a 3-0 advantage early on, including two runs in the top of the third. That would be all they would get until the top of the seventh though, as Emma Hipps - the reigning PSAC West Pitcher of the Week – settled in for the complete game win. She allowed four runs – three earned – and fanned nine Bobcats.
 
In the bottom of the third inning, the Golden Eagles hitters came up huge with multiple extra-base hits and tied the score at 3-3. Desi Allen crushed a double into center field that took an odd bounce, allowing Emily Buchleitner to cross home plate after the latter led off the inning with a hit. With two outs, Rachel Helsley drove a single just past the second baseman, and Allen hustled home to add another Golden Eagle run. The tying run was brought in by the very next batter as freshman Haylie Rimmey swatted an opposite-field triple, her first of the year, to tie the score and seize the momentum for Clarion.
 
Annika Smith got the bottom of the fourth started by roping a leadoff double into the left-center field gap. From there it was all situational baseball for the Golden Eagles, as Smith moved over on a bunt single from Alexis Valencia.  The latter stole a base to give Clarion a pair in scoring position. Smith crossed the plate on a passed ball while Valencia and Buchleitner advanced to second and third, and Tori Martrano hit a sacrifice fly just far enough to allow Valencia to cross home plate, giving Clarion a 5-3 lead.
 
Rimmey continued her strong day in the fifth inning with a leadoff double, before getting to third on a passed ball. Billie Aguglia drove Rimmey home in the next at-bat with a sacrifice fly out to right field.
 
Hipps struck out the first three batters of the seventh, the first of which reached first base on a dropped third strike, but the Bobcats did not fold easily. Hipps walked and hit the next two batters before Hanna Binek drove in a run with an RBI single. The game ended when Martrano knocked down a hard grounder diving to touch third base before the runner got there.
 
Clarion finished with nine hits led by Rimmey going 2-for-3 and an RBI, and every Golden Eagle starter but one had gotten a base hit.
 
Game 2: Frostburg State 11, Clarion 3
 
RECAP: The second game was almost the inverse of the first game, featuring a pitching duel throughout the first half of the game before the runs came in bunches late. In the top of the fifth inning, the Bobcats brought four runners around the bases, with Ryann Darling contributing the most damage with a two-RBI double.
 
The Golden Eagles got their first hit of the game in the bottom half of the fifth, on Annika Smith's two-out double. She advanced to third on a wild pitch but was unable to score as Valencia flew out to left field.
 
Clarion's bats woke up in the sixth with three runs on two hits in the inning. Rachel Helsley contributed the big hit with a double into left field, allowing Kathryn O'Horo and Desi Allen to score. Helsley lated scored on an error by the center fielder cutting the Frostburg State advantage to 6-3.
 
As the threat of rain started to loom, Frostburg State put up five runs in the top of the seventh inning to halt the comeback. The runs were aided by multiple wild pitches and a couple of errors that extended the inning.
 
The Golden Eagles finished with four hits, led by Helsley's two-run double. Megan Anderson went six innings, allowing five earned runs on 11 hits.
 
 
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