Gabi Vasi vs. Clarion
Bryce Dolak
1
Clarion CLAR-S 10-23, 5-12 PSACW
2
Winner Gannon GAN-SB 17-10, 12-5 PSACW
Clarion CLAR-S
10-23, 5-12 PSACW
1
Final
2
Gannon GAN-SB
17-10, 12-5 PSACW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Clarion CLAR-S 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 9 0
Gannon GAN-SB 0 0 0 0 0 2 X 2 3 0

W: Lenda, Maggie (10-2) L: Emma Hipps (9-7)

8
Clarion CLAR-S 10-24, 5-13 PSACW
11
Winner Gannon GAN-SB 18-10, 13-5 PSACW
Clarion CLAR-S
10-24, 5-13 PSACW
8
Final
11
Gannon GAN-SB
18-10, 13-5 PSACW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Clarion CLAR-S 0 4 2 0 1 0 1 8 10 1
Gannon GAN-SB 1 1 1 1 1 6 X 11 15 2

W: Vasi, Gabi (4-5) L: Ashley DeWeese (1-7)

Game Recap: Softball | | Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Late-Inning Magic Fuels Second Sweep of Clarion in Three Days

ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon and Clarion softball teams met on the diamond for their second doubleheader in three days. On Tuesday Gannon coasted to 14-0 and 10-1 wins over the Golden Eagles in Clarion.

Circumstances were entirely different on Thursday at McConnell Family Stadium, but the end result was the same. Gannon swept the Golden Eagles by scores of 2-1 and 11-8. The Golden Knights are in the midst of a stretch of four doubleheaders in five days and remained in the thick of the PSAC West playoff chase while improving to 18-10 overall and 13-5 in the division. Clarion is 10-25 and 5-14, respectively.

Gannon is right back in action hosting the frontrunner in the Western Division, Seton Hill. The Griffins come in at 31-9 and are 19-3 in the PSAC West. The doubleheader gets underway at 2:00 p.m. On Saturday California (Pa.) visits McConnell Family Stadium.

Game 1 – Gannon 2, Clarion 1
Team aces Maggie Lenda (East Aurora, N.Y./Iroquois) and Emma Hipps of Clarion engaged in a pitcher's duel in the opener. The game was scoreless into the bottom of the sixth inning, with Hipps limiting Gannon to just one hit up to that point. Lenda was nearly as dominant, scattering nine hits while tossing the complete game. Five of Clarion's first six hits did not leave the infield. Gannon had just three baserunners into the bottom of the sixth before finally breaking through.  With one out Alaina Whipkey (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) coaxed a walk. Jules Ryan (Collegeville, Pa./Spring Ford) sacrificed Whipkey to second, bringing Natalia Mallozzi (Woodbridge, Ontario/Father Bressani Catholic) to the plate. The redshirt junior, who had Gannon's lone hit to that point with a double, drove a 1-2 pitch into the gap in left center for a double to score Whipkey. Gabi Vasi (Tonawanda, N.Y./Kenmore East) followed with a single to center, again on a 1-2 pitch, to make it 2-0. Clarion things more than a bit interesting in the top of the seventh. With one out the Golden Eagles cut the lead to 2-1 with a double and single and had the tying run at second base. Lenda induced a foul popup to first on a tough play along the fence by Mallozzi, followed by a groundout to short. The junior won her ninth straight decision to improve to 10-2. She struck out six and did not walk a batter.

Game 2 – Gannon 11, Clarion 8
The second game turned into a slugfest and required a big comeback by the Golden Knights after they trailed 6-2 in the top of the third. Clarion still held a 7-4 lead in the top of the fifth when the Golden Knights began their comeback. Bella Atherton (Kittanning, Pa./Armstrong) drove in Josie Spano (Hudson, Ohio/Western Reserve Academy) with a two-out single in the fifth to close the gap to 7-5. Gabi Vasi (Tonawanda, N.Y./Kenmore East) set the Golden Eagles down in order in the sixth on three ground balls then keyed a six-run sixth inning that featured seven hits. The inning began with back-to-back singles by Emma Smerick (Ford City, Pa./Armstrong) and Alaina Whipkey (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny). Jules Ryan's (Collegeville, Pa./Spring Ford) sacrifice fly pulled the Golden Knights within a run. Natalia Mallozzi (Woodbridge, Ontario/Father Bressani Catholic) was walked and Vasi followed with a two-run double to right center, giving Gannon its first lead at 8-7. The Golden Knights weren't done, however. Abbey Girman (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) followed with a double over the left fielder's head and Josie Spano (Hudson, Ohio/Western Reserve Academy) singled to put runners on first and third. Atherton hit a hard comebacker to the mound for a base hit, scoring Girman. With two outs Smerick had her second hit of the inning, a single to left, to plate Spano for Gannon's 11th run. As it turned out Gannon needed almost every run. Clarion opened the inning with a single and a double. The Golden Knights were able to come up with the first out of the inning when Whipkey's perfectly relay through from Girma to Atherton nailed the Clarion runner at the plate. Clarion ended up pulling within 11-8 and had the bases loaded with one out before Vasi induced a popup and struck out her final batter to end the game. She improved to 4-5 in the circle while going 4.2 innings and allowing two runs with four strikeouts. In addition she drove in three runs. Smerick paced Gannon's 15-hit attack with the freshman's first four-hit game of her career, going 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Spano was 3-for-4 while Whipkey was 3-for-5. Atherton added a 2-for-4 effort with a pair of RBIs.      
Print Friendly Version