CUP Baseball and Softball Weekend Wrap Up: Golden Eagles Have Tough Weekend

Chris Rossetti

Chris Rossetti

Published April 10, 2017 4:19 am
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CLARION, Pa. — The Clarion University softball team earned its first conference win of the season after splitting a doubleheader with Pitt-Johnstown Sunday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

(Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)

A 7-3 loss in game one and a 2-0 victory in game two moves the Golden Eagles to 4-28 (1-7 PSAC) on the season. The Blue and Gold return to action on April 12th when they host Edinboro at Memorial Stadium for a double-header with the Fighting Scotts.

Clarion found themselves digging out of a deep hole early on in game one as the Panthers went off for a massive six-hit, four-run first inning that saw UPJ bat completely through the order. Although Clarion starter Kira Smith would work her way out of it and continue to battle into the fourth inning, she would give up six more hits before finally being relieved.

Clarion went to work cutting down that lead in the second inning, putting up a pair of runs courtesy of a Smith double and a Cassidy Runyan RBI single, however, the Panther bats were simply red-hot all game. They would add three more in the fourth to salt the game away and secure the win.

In game two, it was a Clarion pitcher who would steal the show, as junior hurler Rachel Hoffman tossed a complete-game shutout against her former team to earn Clarion it’s first PSAC Conference victory of the 2017 campaign.

After transferring to Clarion at the beginning of last season, Hoffman joined CU hoping to make an impact for the Golden Eagles, and that’s exactly what she did Sunday afternoon. Coupled with a near-perfect defensive effort from her team, Hoffman was the driving force behind Clarion’s success in game two, enjoying one of the best outings of her career.

The right-hander was dynamic, going a full seven innings of shutout ball including five strikeouts that sparked CU and gave them the chance to win it with their bats, and those bats took advantage. Pitt-Johnstown managed just four hits after smacking 13 in game one.

Although a pair of RBI singles in the first and second inning was all the offensive output CU could muster, it was enough to win thanks to Hoffman’s performance in the circle, and CU held on for its first conference victory of 2017.

SOFTBALL DROPS TWO TO MANSFIELD SATURDAY

MANSFIELD, Pa. — The Clarion University softball team dropped both games of a Saturday afternoon doubleheader to Mansfield University by scores of 9-0 and 5-2.

Mansfield jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in game one thanks to a four-hit bottom of the first. Clarion, on the other hand, struggled to find an answer to MU pitcher Arianna Young, who gave up just three hits on the afternoon. Mansfield would tack on four more in the fourth inning to put the game completely out of reach for the Eagles and secure a five-inning victory for Mansfield.

Game two started in a much better fashion for the Blue and Gold when a Kimberly Burdett single drove in Taylor Nonnenberg to give Clarion an early 1-0 lead. A Casey Wilcox solo homer in the second put Clarion up 2-0, however, Mansfield wasted no time in getting their comeback effort started.

An RBI single in the bottom of the second cut Clarion’s lead in half before MU took a 3-2 lead after left-fielder Laura Lawson tripled to score one before scoring herself on an errant throw at the plate.

Mansfield would add one each in the fourth and fifth to secure their second win of the day.

IUP TAKES FOUR FROM CLARION BASEBALL OVER WEEKEND

SUNDAY

INDIANA, Pa. – The Clarion baseball team swung the bats well in two games on Sunday but were unable to keep up with the IUP Crimson Hawks in dropping both ends of a doubleheader by scores of 14-5 and 8-6. The Golden Eagles (7-16, 3-9 PSAC West) will be at Bloomsburg on Tuesday.

John Finke went 2-of-6 at the plate with a home run and three RBI’s, hitting a two-run bomb in the sixth inning of the early game. Joe Lopez went 3-of-7 with two runs scored and an RBI, and Thomas Connell also drove in a pair of runs on the afternoon. Lopez took the pitching loss in the second game, allowing four runs in two innings pitched, while Kyler Mellott was dealt the loss in the early game.

The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first game, scoring in the first on an RBI single from Garrett Goslaw and twice in the second thanks to some aggressive baserunning. The Crimson Hawks came back with 11 unanswered runs to take the advantage, though, and Clarion didn’t get back on the scoreboard until Finke’s clout in the sixth inning. That made the score 11-5, but IUP’s Matt Swartz hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to take a 14-5 advantage.

Clarion again held an early lead in the second game, this time by hanging crooked numbers on the scoreboard in the third and fourth innings to take an advantage. With the bases loaded in the third inning, Lopez rapped a single to the outfield to score Matt Kamenicky, and Finke followed up with another single to cut IUP’s lead to 4-2. Connell then drove in a pair with a single through the right side, tying the game at 4-4.

Mitch Holmberg gave Clarion a 5-4 lead in the fourth inning when he pulled a single through the left side to make it 5-4, and Tyler Falk put the Golden Eagles ahead 6-4 with a long double to right center. The Crimson Hawks tacked on four runs in the fourth inning to take the win, with Swartz punctuating the frame with an RBI single.

SATURDAY

BUTLER, Pa. – The Clarion baseball team suffered a run of bad luck on Saturday, with two big innings making the difference as they fell by scores of 7-1 and 5-2 to IUP at Kelly Automotive Park.

Indeed, the final scores of the two games were not necessarily indicative of how close the competitions actually were, as the fates of both games were decided by one big offensive inning by the Crimson Hawks. IUP scored four runs in the top of the second inning in the first game to take a 4-1 lead but were otherwise held in check by starting pitcher Kane McCall. In the second game, the Crimson Hawks scored four runs in the third inning but again were mostly neutralized at the plate.

Mitch Holmberg went 2-for-5 at the dish over the two games with a home run and two total runs scored. He led off the first game with a solo shot over the left field wall, crushing an offering from Jeff Allen to put Clarion ahead 1-0. It came on the heels of a hot start by McCall, who whiffed the first three Crimson Hawks of the game on just 14 pitches.

However, McCall labored through the second inning, allowing four runs after recording the first two outs on an unassisted double play by Joey Lopez. Two late-game rally attempts by Clarion were quashed by the double play, as well, with Tom Connell grounding into one to end the fourth inning and Austin Mike doing so in the seventh inning. Tiler Sadowski pitched two innings of relief, allowing an inherited runner to score but otherwise shutting down the Crimson Hawks.

The four-run third inning made the difference in the second game, with the Golden Eagles coming close but falling just short of rallying back. Lopez scored Holmberg on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning to score Clarion’s first run, and John Finke drove in Tyler Falk with a flare to right field to cut it to 5-2. Mike represented the tying run at the plate with two outs, but he fanned on a pitch by Dillon Swanger to end the threat. Swanger threw two more scoreless innings to end the game.

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