ERIE, Pa. --- The Golden Eagles kicked off their conference season with the first half of a four-game series with Gannon on Friday afternoon, splitting a road doubleheader with the Golden Knights at McConnell Family Stadium. Clarion lost the first game 6-2 before authoring a come from behind 5-3 victory in the late game.
 
Game 1: Gannon 6, Clarion 2
RECAP: What started as a close game devolved over the course of seven innings as Gannon added insurance to their early lead, starting in the fourth inning with Wes Parker's solo home run to left field. Alex Bemis added another hit a solo shot of his own in the sixth inning to make it 5-1, and all this came after Connor Smith's two-run home run to start the day.
 
The Golden Eagles' first run of the game came in the top of the third inning, when they cut the Golden Knights' lead in half. Tyler Boraski led off with a walk and moved around the basepaths on two wild pitches, putting him on third with just one out. Ethan Giangiulio hit a grounder to second base allowing him to score. It was still a two-run game heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, before an RBI double by Frank Kula.
 
Clarion did tack on one more run in the game, with Randy Carlo hitting his fourth home run of the season in the top of the seventh inning. He drove a solo shot over the fence in right field to move into a tie for third in the PSAC West division in home runs this season.
 
Carter Barrett allowed five runs in five innings but struck out eight batters and walked none. He currently ranks seventh in the PSAC West in strikeouts with 23.
 
Game 2: Clarion 5, Gannon 3
RECAP: The Golden Eagles did all of their damage in the second game after falling behind by a 3-0 score, first tying the game with a three-spot in the top of the fifth inning and then scoring a pair in the top of the seventh to take the lead. Reilly Shafer earned the save, coming on in the seventh and making the lead stick with a hitless, scoreless inning. The only Golden Knight to reach in the bottom of the seventh came when Shafer hit Brady Gavula with a pitch; all three others were retired via groundout.
 
Trailing 3-0 heading into the top of the fifth inning, Clarion got things going with Cole Yeager's leadoff double to left field. Doran Mast followed with a single and a miscue in right field allowed him to advance another base and for Yeager to score. Boraski plated Mast with a sacrifice fly and Giangiulio rammed a double into center field to even the score at 3-3.
 
Braden Fetherolf took the ball in the bottom of the fifth inning and escaped a bases loaded jam, inducing a 6-4-3 ground ball double play to keep the game even at 3-3. He followed up with a scoreless sixth inning, inducing three groundouts and giving his team a chance to take the lead in the top of the seventh inning.
 
The lineup seized upon that chance. Mast led off with a single and Ethan McNally pushed him ahead 90 feet with a sacrifice bunt, setting up an RBI single for Boraski in the next at-bat. Tyson Gill lifted a single to left field to put runners on first and second, and an error at third base with two outs allowed Boraski to score and make it a two-run lead. Shafer shut the door in the seventh for the save.
 
Gill went 3-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, while Mast had two hits and two runs scored.
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