CLERMONT, Fla. --- The Golden Eagles softball team played their penultimate day at THE Spring Games on Thursday, dropping a tight 3-2 contest to Lynn in the early game before falling 16-2 to Northwood in the late contest.
Game 1: Lynn 3, Clarion 2
RECAP: The first game of the day saw the two teams displaying heads-up baserunning, putting pressure on their opponents and turning them into runs. The first such instance went Clarion's way, as the Golden Eagles executed a double steal in the top of the first inning with
Alexis Valencia and
Emily Buchleitner. The throw to attempt to get Buchleitner at second base sailed into center field, allowing Valencia to score and give Clarion a 1-0 lead.
Emma Hipps largely kept the Knights off balance for the game, but Lynn did eventually break through with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. One of those runs came on a fielding error after Lynn attempted a steal from first to second, with an off-target throw allowing Teagan Riley to score from third.
The Golden Eagles got one of those runs back in the top of the fifth inning by stringing together a series of hits.
Kathryn O'Horo and Valencia hit back-to-back singles, putting runners on first and second. Buchleitner pulled a single into left-center that scored O'Horo and evened things up at 2-2. The Knights took advantage of an error in the home half of the inning, though, taking a 3-2 lead on a hit by Aiyana Hicks. That proved to be the game-winner as the Golden Eagles were retired in order in the sixth and seventh innings.
Game 2: Northwood 16, Clarion 2 (5 inn.)
RECAP: The second game of the day was the Timberwolves' from the very start, with Northwood scoring nine combined runs over the course of the first two innings. They added another seven runs in the fourth and fifth innings, giving Northwood the five-inning lead.
The offensive bright spot of the game came in the fifth inning, when Clarion put a pair of runs on the board.
Delanie Davison led off the inning with a single and eventually advanced to third base on a single to right field by
Brooke Dobson. With runners on the corners, Clarion took advantage of two errors on the same play to bring both runners across; Dobson took off for second base and the attempt to get her sailed into center field, allowing Davison to score. The center fielder booted the ball in the outfield, allowing Dobson to come around all the way from first base.
