CLARION, Pa. --- The Golden Eagles softball team kicked off the home schedule on Friday with a doubleheader against Lock Haven at Memorial Stadium, dropping both ends of the twinbill to the Bald Eagles. Clarion lost the first game 15-3 and the second game by a 9-6 score, with the latter going to extra innings.
 
Game 1: Lock Haven 15, Clarion 3 (5 inn.)
 
RECAP: The Bald Eagles were relentless at the plate in the first game, belting two home runs and five doubles as part of their 15-run outburst. Madison Hardy hit a three-run shot in the top of the first inning and Maria Fratangelo followed up with a solo home run in the second, giving Lock Haven an early 4-0 lead. That eventually ballooned into a 14-0 advantage.
 
That advantage expanded through the rest of the opening game, with Fratangelo ultimately driving in five runs and the trio of Madison Melius, Hailey Irwin and Hardy bringing home three apiece.
 
Clarion got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth inning, manufacturing a run and using heads up baserunning. Haylie Rimmey drew a base when she was hit by a pitch to lead off, and Annika Smith moved up her a base with a single through the left side. Emma Houk grounded into a double play to put two outs on the board but Malina Serrano – pinch running for Rimmey – advanced to third, and the freshman ultimately scored on a passed ball.
 
The Golden Eagles scored twice more in the bottom of the fifth inning but could not put together enough runs to hold off the eight-run rule. Clarion strung together three straight hits to start the inning, with Emily Buchleitner singling through the left side of the infield to kick things off. Delanie Davison and Desi Allen paired up for back-to-back doubles, with the latter bringing home a pair of runs.
 
Game 2: Lock Haven 9, Clarion 6 (8 inn.)
 
RECAP: The second game of the day saw the two sides trade runs and leads throughout, requiring extra innings to sort out the victor. The Golden Eagles and the Bald Eagles combined for five home runs, with Lock Haven hitting three and Clarion two.
 
The first of those home runs came in the top of the first inning, with Hardy again slamming one over the fence, this time to make it 2-0. Clarion responded in the bottom of the first thanks to an error by the Bald Eagles. Alexis Valencia led off with a single and proceeded to steal two bases to reach third with one out. Buchleitner walked to put runners on the corners and then proceeded to take off for second base, with the catcher Satangelo instead attempting to hold Valencia at third. Her throw sailed down the left field line, allowing Valencia to score and Buchleitner to advance to third base. 
 
Davison lifted a sac fly to right field to score the second run and tie the game at 2-2. It stayed that way until Hailey Irwin hit a two-run home run to deep left field in the top of the fourth, giving the Bald Eagles a 4-2 advantage.
 
The Golden Eagles rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, briefly taking the lead. Buchleitner and Davison hit back-to-back two-out home runs, with the former bringing Brooke Dobson home from first base to tie the game, and the latter putting Clarion up 5-4.
 
Lock Haven got that lead back int the top of the seventh on a two-run single from Blaire Balestrini but Clarion wasn't done just yet. Dobson led off the bottom of the seventh with a single and eventually came around to score when Allen's two-out fly ball to right field was dropped, allowing her to score from second base. That knotted the game up at 6-6, but the Bald Eagles scored three runs in the top of the eighth to take the lead for good.
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