CLARION, Pa. — The Golden Eagle baseball team closed out their home slate with a split on Thursday afternoon, falling 9-1 to Slippery Rock in the first game of the day before coming back for a 4-3 walkoff win in the second.
(Pictured: Kasey Shughart, left, celebrates with Ethan Giangiulio after the latter’s walkoff hit in the second game. Photo by Billie Aguglia.)
Game 1: Slippery Rock 9, Clarion 1
The first game of the day was defined by the effectiveness of Slippery Rock starter Gage Gillott, who carried a perfect game into the bottom of the seventh inning. The Rock hurler struck out seven Golden Eagles in as many innings and did not allow a baserunner until one out in the seventh, when Caden Contant dropped a double between right fielder Eddie Morris and second baseman Koby Bubash.
That broke up the perfect game as well as the no-hitter, and the Golden Eagles fractured Gillott’s shutout by stringing together a number of hits in the seventh. Scotty McManamon advanced Contant to third base with a flyout to deep right field, and Kasey Shughart drove an RBI single through the pitcher’s mound and the middle of the infield to score Contant and make it a 9-1 game. Ethan Giangiulio kept the game going with a single, but Griffin Snyder grounded into a game-ending 4-6-3 double-play to end the threat.
The Rock struck first in the top of the first inning, taking advantage of an error to plate their first run. With Joey Purcell on second base, Michael Kitko hit a grounder to Contant at second base with out one. Contant overthrew first baseman Daren Byers, allowing Kitko to reach first and Purcell to score, but Byers quickly picked up the loose ball and fired to Contant at second to get Kitko at the bag.
Slippery Rock scored four runs in the top of the third inning, including a solo home run by Brandon Butler to lead off the inning. The Rock put up a quartet of runs against pitchers Danny Fox and Nolan Just, but Shughart helped to prevent further damage when he fired a bullet into catcher Connor Booth to get Morris at the plate. Another four Slippery Rock runs came across in the fifth, giving SRU a 9-0 lead.
Game 2: Clarion 4, Slippery Rock 3
The Golden Eagles recovered from a 3-2 deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning with a pair of runs, bouncing back in the second half of the doubleheader to split the Thursday twinbill with The Rock. Fittingly a couple of Golden Eagle seniors played crucial parts in the win, while a freshman provided the game-winning hit with two outs.
Things got going when Tyler Meachum hit a one-out single to right field. With two outs in the frame, McManamon lined a single into center field, putting runners on first and second and setting the table for Shughart. The senior outfielder drove a ball deep into the corner in left field, bringing the speedy Meachum around from second base but keeping McManamon on third. The freshman Giangiulio made sure extra innings were not necessary, lining a ball into left field to plate McManamon and give the Golden Eagles a win in their final home game of the season.
Slippery Rock took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a Koby Bubash single to center field. Shughart misplayed the ball for an error as Kitko and Gillott scored to make it a 2-0 game. Clarion cut the lead in half with Giangiulio’s first RBI of the game, when the freshman stroked a single to right field to bring McManamon home and make it 2-1.
Joey Purcell added an RBI double for the Rock in the top of the second to make it 3-1, and that was the score until the bottom of the fourth when Clarion cut into the lead again. Griffin Snyder hit a one-out single and advanced to third on an error at third base on Connor Booth’s at-bat. Sam Felner drove an RBI single into center field to score Snyder, cutting the lead down to 3-2.
Starting pitcher Reilly Shafer took a no-decision but broke two single-season records in the process. The junior right-hander broke the program record for innings pitched, hitting 76.0 on the year, and whiffed five batters to reach 77 Ks on the season.
Bobby Curry tied the program record for appearances with his 22nd of the season, throwing 1.2 innings of scoreless relief for the win.
