CLARION, Pa. --- Sending off their seniors in the final home games of their college careers, the Golden Eagle softball team earned a split against Mercyhurst at Memorial Stadium on Friday afternoon. The Lakers won the first game 11-0 in five innings but Clarion rallied to take a rollercoaster nightcap, winning the second 9-8.
 
Mercyhurst 11, Clarion 0 (5 inn.)
 
RECAP: Mercyhurst struck the first blow in the opening game of the day, scoring a run on a sacrifice fly by Bailey Cannon with one out in the first inning, but the real damage done came as the game moved into the middle innings. The Lakers posted five runs in the top of the third inning, benefitting from a pair of Clarion fielding errors to add to their total. Francesca Latino hit a two-run, two-out triple to make it a 5-0 game, and Marisa Cartellone brought her home on an error by Kathryn O'Horo to make it 6-0.
 
Clarion's best chance to cut into the deficit came in the bottom of the third. Billie Aguglia drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third base on Annika Smith's double to deep center field, giving the Golden Eagles a pair of runners in scoring position with no outs. Alexa North buckled down and retired the next three Golden Eagles, including a hard liner by Alexis Valencia for the second out and a flyout from Rachel Helsley for the third.
 
The Lakers put the game more or less out of reach in the fourth inning, scoring four more runs to built up a 10-0 lead. Cannon hit a two-run triple and then scored on a passed ball to give the Lakers the double-digit advantage. Clarion again had runners in scoring position in the bottom of the fifth, after Aguglia reached on an infield single and Emily Buchleitner drove a ball to center field, but North again worked out of the jam to keep the Golden Eagles scoreless.
 
Taylor Eckles allowed six runs in three innings though only one was earned. Ashley DeWeese and Kailey Vaillancourt combined to finish the final two innings in relief.
 
Clarion 9, Mercyhurst 8
 
RECAP: The Golden Eagles made sure that they could wrap their Senior Day on a high note, winning an up-and-down battle with the Lakers to pick up the split on Friday. Clarion bounced back from an early 5-3 deficit and fought off a valiant rally effort from Mercyhurst in the later innings.
 
The Lakers struck first, with Brianne Egelston ripping a single up the middle of the infield to score a pair of runners in the top of the first inning. Clarion responded with three runs in the bottom of the third inning, turning the momentum of the game. Lauren Hartman led off the inning with a single and Alexis Valencia followed up with an infield single, and the Golden Eagles put runners on second and third with one out. Rachel Helsley lined a single into left field to score Emily Buchleitner, putting Clarion on the board, and Tori Martrano hit a double down the right field line to score Helsley and Valencia.
 
That gave Clarion a 3-2 lead, but it did not last long. The Lakers responded with three runs themselves in the top of the fourth, including a two-run single by Kacie Irwin to make it 5-3. The Golden Eagles were not deterred, though, re-taking the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Aguglia and Hartman both reached to start the inning, and Buchleitner drove in a run with a single to center field. Hartman later scored on a passed ball, and Martrano hit a grounder to second that allowed Buchleitner to score and make it 6-5.
 
Mercyhurst tied the game at 6-6 in the fifth inning but Clarion again punched back, with Buchleitner hitting an RBI double and Valencia bashing a triple to deep left field to make it 8-6. Eliza Reynolds hit a two-run triple in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game, but Clarion had one more trick up their sleeve in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Desi Allen hit a liner down the right field line, and Haylie Rimmey slid under a tag at home plate for the go-ahead run. Taylor Eckles tossed a scoreless seventh for the save, inducing a 4-6-3 ground ball double-play for the win.