CLARION, Pa. – The Lock Haven softball team returned to action this afternoon by traveling to Clarion in an PSAC East-West non-conference doubleheader. The Bald Eagles earned the sweep over Clarion on the day, 15-3 (5 innings) and 9-6 (8 innings).
The Haven improves to 4-4 on the season and Clarion falls to 4-12.
Game 1: Lock Haven 15, Clarion 3 (5 innings)
Lock Haven's game-one victory was ignited by two long balls and a pair of five-run rallies in the third and fourth innings.
Maria Fratangelo led the offense with five RBIs on three hits, including two doubles, scoring three times, including a solo home run in the second.
Madison Hardy kick-started the offense by hitting a three-run homer to open the scoring in the first.
Fratangelo drove in three runs in the third inning with a double, while
Madison Melius also picked up an RBI.
In the fourth inning the Bald Eagles produced another five-run rally with singles by
Abby Robertson, Hardy, Irwin,
Evelyn Osborne and Melius, with Fratangelo adding a double to the mix.
Talia Ross (1-1) pitched four out of the five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits to secure her first collegiate win.
Game 2: Lock Haven 9, Clarion 6 (8 innings)
It was a back-and-forth game as the Bald Eagles and the Golden Eagles traded the lead multiple times, but The Haven scored three runs in the eighth to secure the game-two victory.
Hardy hit a two-run home run in the first, which was her second on the day. She ended the game with three hits and two RBIs. Irwin also hit a two-run home run in the fourth.
Riley Best became the third Bald Eagle to hit a home run, after belting a two-run blast in game two to help clinch the sweep for The Haven.
Other run contributors in game two were
Blaire Balestrini with two RBIs on two hits and
Bella Schmitt with one RBI on two hits.
In the circle,
Abby Robertson entered the game in the fourth and earned her first collegiate win after pitching a scoreless sixth and eighth inning.
Next up for The Haven:
The Bald Eagles will stay on the road as they travel to take on Holy Family in a doubleheader at Bensalem High School (Bensalem, Pa.) on March 16 at 1 & 3 p.m.
