Baseball Opens 2024 Season at D'Youville - Clarion Athletics (2024)

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. --- The Golden Eagle baseball team opened up their 2024 season in Niagara Falls on Friday afternoon, falling in both ends of a doubleheader to D'Youville at Sal Maglie Stadium. The first game of the day was a 9-5 decision in favor of the Saints, while the second was a 9-1 win for D'Youville.

D'Youville 9, Clarion 5

Recap: The long ball proved to be part of the difference in the first game of the day, with the Saints hitting three home runs that accounted for seven of their nine runs in the contest. The last home run was the biggest, with Jon Simpson hitting a grand slam in the sixth inning to give his team a 9-3 advantage.

To that point the Golden Eagles were right in the thick of it, racking up four extra-base hits of their own – two doubles and two triples. Sam Economy and Kasey Shughart accounted for two of those in back-to-back at-bats, giving Clarion a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning. Trailing 1-0 after Jeremy Glinski hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth, Clarion got on the board when Economy lifted a hard shot deep to left-center field, tripling to score Jacob Patterson. Shughart followed with a double to the same part of the field to put the Golden Eagles up 2-1.

The Saints scored three runs in the home half of the inning, with Simpson hitting his first home run of the day – a two-run shot – and Nick DiCarlo hitting an RBI triple. Scotty McManamon led off the top of the sixth with a triple of his own and scored on Caden Contant's grounder to shortstop, but the Saints countered with five runs in the bottom of the inning. Will Martinez got two of those runs back with two outs, hitting a two-run double to score Tyson Gill and Patterson, but McManamon was retired on a flyout to left field to end the comeback.

Reilly Shafer got the opening day start, throwing 4.2 innings and allowing four runs in the loss.

D'Youville 9, Clarion 1

Recap: The second game was more lopsided in favor of the Saints, who scored five runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 6-0 lead and never looked back from there. The Golden Eagles did start the game with a chance to score after Alfredo Hurtado walked with one out and stole second, but Daren Byers hit a sharp liner to right field that was caught to halt the threat.

D'Youville held the Golden Eagles without a hit until the top of the fifth inning, when Patterson hit a double to deep left field with two outs. The Saints scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth on a double by Simpson to deep center field to make it a 9-0 game, but Economy responded with an RBI single to left that brought Nate Petke home in the next half inning.

Griffin Snyder took the ball to start the game, throwing two innings and allowing four runs. Isaac Schleich and Danny Fox both offered one inning of shutout relief, respectively.