CLARION, Pa. – Scotty McManamon broke the program’s career home runs record in the second half of a doubleheader with Seton Hill, but the Griffins finished off a series win with the Golden Eagle baseball team in winning both ends of the twinbill at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Seton Hill won the first game 7-2 and later rallied for a 10-5 win in the nightcap.
McManamon’s record-breaking home run came in the bottom of the first inning of the second game. He crushed a 2-0 pitch over the fence in left field for a two-run homer, the 21st of his career. That broke a record he had shared with Matt Rossi since March 28, when he tied the previous record of 20 home runs in a win over IUP. Rossi’s career record had stood since 2012.
Game 1: Seton Hill 7, Clarion 2
RECAP: Seton Hill’s Aidan Layton was sharp in the opening game of the day, holding the Golden Eagles without a baserunner until
Caden Contant’s leadoff double in the bottom of the fifth inning. He got all the run support he needed in the top of the third inning, when Owen Mandler hit a two-out, three-run homer run to make it a 3-0 game.
Max Mandler added another home run in the top of the fourth inning, giving the Griffins a 4-0 lead, and he was later part of a three-run fifth inning with a two-run single that put Seton Hill ahead 7-0.
Clarion got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning, starting this time with a leadoff double by Steve Scarfone. McManamon brought him home with some two-out lightning, striking an RBI double to deep center field. The Golden Eagles got another run back in the bottom of the seventh inning when they strung together consecutive singles from Daren Byers, Ethan Giangiulio, and Lenny Piccini, with the last of those driving in Byers from third base. With runners on the corners and just one out, Clarion was unable to cut the gap down any further as Scarfone and Mason Kepler recorded the final outs.
Game 2: Seton Hill 10, Clarion 5
RECAP: The second game of the day was back-and-forth in terms of momentum as well as the score, with both sides taking and relinquishing the lead at different times. Max Mandler and Elijah Snider took advantage of an error by Contant in the top of the first inning, each notching RBI singles to put the Griffins ahead 2-0.
Tyler Meachum helped to prevent the deficit from getting any larger on a terrific double play, traveling a great distance to track down a fly ball in shallow right field and then throwing out Braden Durham as he attempted to tag up and reach second. McManamon quickly erased that deficit in the home half with his record-breaking home run, evening the score at 2-2.
Owen Mandler hit his second home run of the day in the top of the third inning, a one-out solo shot off Ryan Gallagher, and another error allowed Snider to score to make it 4-2. Once again the Golden Eagles responded, piling up five hits and three runs in the bottom of the third. The first five batters of the inning all recorded hits, with Griffin Snyder and McManamon leading off with back-to-back singles. Contant slashed a ball deep into right field to score Snyder from second base and Kasey Shughart followed up with an opposite-field single, evening the game at 4-4. Piccini struck for another RBI in the next at-bat, going the other way on the first pitch he saw to score Contant and give Clarion a 5-4 advantage. Clarion loaded the bases in that inning with no outs, but Michael Marinchak entered in relief and escaped the jam with three straight strikeouts.
Seton Hill benefited from another Clarion error in the top of the fifth inning, scoring two unearned runs to make the score 7-5. The Golden Eagles put two aboard in the bottom of the fifth but could not take advantage, and the Griffins scored three more insurance runs to build a five-run lead.
