CLARION, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle softball team returned home for a conference doubleheader at Memorial Stadium on Tuesday, dropping both ends of a doubleheader to Seton Hill. The Griffins exploded for a 19-3 win in the first game of the day, before taking an 8-1 decision in the nightcap.
 
Game 1: Seton Hill 19, Clarion 3 (5 inn.)
 
RECAP: It seemed that the Griffins simply could not miss in the first action of the day, as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's (PSAC) most explosive offense combined for four home runs and 17 total hits in a five-inning win. Seton Hill scored early and often in the first game, putting up two or more runs in all five innings as they amassed a significant lead.
 
Early in the game, though, it appeared the Golden Eagles might keep pace, as they met the three runs the Griffins scored in the top of the first with two of their own in the bottom of the inning. Emily Buchleitner singled up the middle to lead off the frame and Kathryn O'Horo took advantage of an errant throw from catcher Mackenzie Zang on a sacrifice bunt, putting runners on the corners. A well-executed double steal allowed Buchleitner to score from third, and Rachel Helsley lifted a double to the wall in center field to plate O'Horo and make it 3-2.
 
Clarion was still in striking distance after the Griffins scored two runs in the second inning, but things got away in the third inning when Seton Hill put up five more runs to make it 10-2. It was 13-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning when Helsley struck again, hitting a ball on roughly the same line as her RBI double but this time driving it over the fence in center field for her first home run of the season.
 
Seton Hill tacked on six more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, including a pinch hit grand slam for Angelina LaMarca that made it 19-3.
 
Game 2: Seton Hill 8, Clarion 1
 
RECAP: Unlike the first game, this one was still within the Golden Eagles' grasp in the later innings, largely because of an effective pitching performance from Ashley DeWeese. The junior limited the Griffins to three runs in the first five innings of her start, with the lone blemish on her ledger to that point a three-run homer to Camryn Murphy in the third inning. Things slipped away with two outs in the fifth inning, as the Griffins scored five runs in that frame to build an 8-1 lead.
 
Alexis Valencia accounted for the lone run against Seton Hill starter Logan Hartman, making it happen almost entirely on her own. Billie Aguglia led off the bottom of the third inning with a single, and Valencia followed with a grounder to third base that led to her reaching on a fielder's choice. She proceeded to steal both second and third base, and an errant throw by the catcher on the latter attempt led to her rushing home for a run.
 
That cut the Griffins' lead to 3-1, but Hartman buckled down from there and did not permit another Clarion runner to reach scoring position. Grace Paredes broke the game open with a three-run bases-clearing double in the top of the sixth inning, giving Seton Hill an 8-1 lead.
 
 
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