LHU SB: McClellan’s homer lifts Bald Eagles to split at Goldey-Beacom
WILMINGTON, Del. – A game-tying home run by Riley McClellan (Granville Summit, Pa./Troy) and shutout relief pitching by Faith Persing (Montgomery, Pa./Bloomsburg) led the Lock Haven softball team to an 8-7 victory over Goldey-Beacom in game two of a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon (March 13). The Bald Eagles fell in game one, 6-3.
With the split, the Bald Eagles move to 4-8 overall, while Goldey-Beacom is now 6-16 through the early spring.
Game Two: Lock Haven 8, Goldey-Beacom 7
The Bald Eagles took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to RBIs by Schmitt and Peters.
In the bottom half, the Lightning countered with two runs to knot things at 2-2 after one inning of play.
Lock Haven immediately regained the lead (2-1) in the top of the second after Madison Melius (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte) drove in McClellan with an infield single.
However, Goldey-Beacom matched its efforts from the first inning with two runs in the bottom of the third to regain the lead, 4-3.
In the top of the fourth, the Bald Eagles responded with three runs, highlighted by a McClellan two-run homer to tie the game at 6-6.
Goldey-Beacom took back the lead with a solo run in the bottom half of the fifth, but Lock Haven once again had the answer, and RBIs by Peters and Schmitt put the Bald Eagles on top, 8-7, in the top of the sixth.
Persing, who took over pitching duties in the fifth inning, shut the door with three scoreless innings and allowed just one hit on the way to her third victory of the season.
Game One: Goldey-Beacom 6, Lock Haven 3
The Lightning stole game one, 6-3, behind a four-run second inning, while holding off the Bald Eagles’ comeback attempt.
The Bald Eagles opened the scoring with a solo run in the top of the second, when Bella Schmitt (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York) drove in Summer Peters (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) with a single.
The Lightning responded with a four-spot in the bottom of the fourth, before adding two more runs in the third to lead 6-1 through three innings.
Lock Haven rallied for a pair of runs in the top of the fourth to cut the lead to 6-3, but Goldey-Beacom shut the door from there.
Schmitt drove in her second run of the game, while Peters collected an RBI on a double to right field.
NEXT UP / SCHEDULE UPDATE:
The Bald Eagles non-conference doubleheader scheduled for Sunday, March 17 at Chestnut Hill has been cancelled.
The Haven is set to open up Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division action by hosting Mansfield in a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Tuesday (March 19) for the first time this season at Lawrence Field.
