BUTLER, Pa. – The Golden Eagle baseball team broke through with a two-out rally in the seventh inning to close out a three-game series with Lake Erie, defeating the Storm 5-4 at Pullman Park.
(Photo by Ben Jewart)
After a back-and-forth game for most of the afternoon, Clarion took the lead in the bottom of the seventh and never relinquished it, holding on for the win.
After a failed pickoff attempt and subsequent error allowed Zimba Cadiz to reach third in the top of the seventh inning, an RBI single by Michal Szymczak put the Storm ahead 3-1. The Golden Eagles responded in a big way, scoring three runs in the bottom of the inning, all of which came with two outs.
Scotty McManamon started the two-out rally with a single to right field, followed by a Kasey Shughart walk. Caden Content crushed a ball into the left-center gap to score the tying run.
The deciding runs came in the next at-bat as Will Martinez cleared the bases with a laser to right field, putting Clarion ahead 5-3.
The Storm had plenty of opportunities to score, but the Golden Eagles made multiple timely plays in the field to save runs. In the second inning, the play came from Contant, who snared a hard line drive and dove to beat the runner scrambling back to third base.
The next inning featured another outstanding defensive sequence when Clarion converted a perfect relay off the left-field wall, with Tyson Gill reading the ball and McManamon throwing a perfect strike to Connor Booth, who tagged out the runner coming from second base.
The Golden Eagles matched anytime the Storm scored with a run of their own. McManamon matched the Storm with an RBI in the bottom of the third after a Gill sacrifice bunt moved Jacob Patterson into scoring position.
Patterson, in his first action at Pullman Park, had a big day with an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, scoring Mason Kepler from third base.
Bobby Curry earned the win after coming in relief in the seventh, immediately facing a pressure situation after walking the first batter he faced to load the bases. He forced Justin Major to fly out to center field to defuse the situation.
Curry shut the door on the Storm in the top of the ninth, retiring them 1-2-3 in the final frame.
The Golden Eagles had nine hits on the day, with Clarion’s first eight hitters each having a hit.
McManamon was the lone Golden Eagle to have multiple hits with two singles, and he finished with six hits in the three-game series with Lake Erie.
