ERIE, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle baseball team split with Gannon for the second time in as many days, taking one half of a doubleheader with the Golden Knights at McConnell Family Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Clarion dropped the first game of the day by a 7-3 score before taking the second 5-1, behind a dominant pitching performance from Reilly Shafer.
 
Gannon 7, Clarion 3
 
RECAP: The Golden Knights took the first game of the doubleheader, scoring six of their seven runs in the first two innings to take a sizable lead over the Golden Eagles. Kieran Gagnon did the biggest bit of damage on his own, hitting a grand slam off Isaac Schleich in the bottom of the first inning to give Gannon a 4-0 lead.
 
Vinnie Markulin allowed two runs in the bottom of the second inning, including an RBI single by Jared Bielanin, but after that the Golden Eagle pitchers were able to more or less keep the Golden Knights in check. Gannon pitcher Jake Boynar was solid, shutting out the Golden Eagles through five innings until Clarion broke through in the top of the sixth.
 
With Clarion trailing 7-0, the rally started when Scotty McManamon and Kasey Shughart drew back-to-back walks to lead off the frame. Ethan Giangiulio hit a one-out double down the left field line, scoring McManamon from second base, and Griffin Snyder followed up with a base hit up the middle of the infield to make it 7-2.  Connor Booth kept the rally going with another hit, singling to center field to plate Giangiulio. Relief pitcher Cam Ward entered and halted the rally, inducing Daren Byers to fly out to right field and striking out Nate Petke.
 
Ward finished off the win in the seventh inning, allowing one baserunner via error but otherwise shutting out the Golden Eagles.
 
Snyder went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
 
Clarion 5, Gannon 1
 
RECAP: ­In the second game of the doubleheader, Reilly Shafer benefited from an early lead from his offense and made it stand up. The junior righthander allowed five hits but just one run in the victory, giving up a run in the first inning before putting up six straight zeroes on the scoreboard. He struck out nine batters and walked none.
 
Shafer got all the runs he would need in the top of the first inning, after Clarion loaded the bases and scored a pair of runs. With the bases full of Golden Eagles and no outs on the board, Ethan Giangiulio drew a walk to score Caden Contant from third base. Snyder followed up with a sacrifice fly, plating McManamon and making it 2-0. The Golden Knights got one of those runs back in the bottom of the first off an RBI double from Alex Bemis, but Shafer whiffed Justin Kerestes for the third out to prevent additional damage.
 
Clarion manufactured a run in the top of the third inning, starting with Snyder's one-out double to deep center field. Byers moved him up a base with a grounder to second and Lenny Piccini finished things off, singling through the left side to make it a 3-1 game. Snyder accounted for yet another run in the top of the fifth, stealing home on a well-executed double steal alongside Mason Kepler, and Kepler scored Byers with a bunt in the top of the seventh for additional insurance.
 
After allowing two hits apiece in the first and second innings, Shafer held the Golden Knights to just one more hit the rest of the way, a one-out single by Reece Colvin in the bottom of the fifth. He quickly erased Colvin from the basepaths, picking him off at first base. All told, Shafer retired the last seven batters he faced, and faced the minimum in the last four innings.