4.29.10 / Sports
Senior outfielder and pitcher Erik Kempton eyes up the incoming pitch in a doubleheader against Mercyhurst on Saturday. (Neal Henry / The Clarion Call)
Clarion ended its 2010 campaign with an upsetting weekend series against the Mercyhurst Lakers. On Friday the Golden Eagles traveled to Merycyhurst for the first of four games to come.
The year long struggles for the Golden Eagles continued as they dropped game one of the doubleheader by a score of 17-3.
4.22.10 / Sports
The Clarion University baseball team played a rare tripleheader this past Saturday at Lock Haven University.
On Friday afternoon, the two teams were scheduled to play a doubleheader at Clarion.
After a rain shortened game one on Friday that saw the Golden Eagles fall to Lock Haven 8-2 in six innings, the rain started to come down hard, forcing game two to be postponed.
In the first game of the tripleheader on Saturday, Clarion was the home team due to the makeup of the second game on Friday.
Being the home team didn’t help them that much as the fell to Lock Haven by a score of 13-2.
Eric Panko (0-5) continued his struggles by recording the loss.
Panko went 6.1 innings, while allowing nine runs (eight earned) on eight hits, and recording nine walks and six strikeouts.
Leading hitter for the Golden Eagles was Scott Berkes with a 2-4 day at the plate.
Sean Zimmerman and Ken Morgan recorded the only two RBI’s for Clarion.
Clarion was looking to put up more of a fight in the second game of the doubleheader.
Lock Haven got out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Clarion pitcher Brandon Slater got off to a rough start as he let up a leadoff home run to Mark Strouse.
The Golden Eagles strike back quickly with two runs of their own in the top of the second.
Clarion took advantage of the Lock Haven pitcher struggling to find the strike zone.
Zimmerman led off the second inning with a walk. After a strikeout by Jason Krimsky, Morgan and Spencer White worked back to back walks to force the bases loaded.
Freshmen Jordan Labue reached on a fielder’s choice to third base, scoring Zimmerman to tie the game at 1-1.
With two outs in the inning, Chad white got another clutch hit with an RBI single, plating Spencer White for a 2-1 lead.
The threat would end soon after Labue would get caught stealing home.
With Slater settling in over the next few innings, Clarion was able to add onto their lead in the top of the fourth.
For the second time in the game, Zimmerman led off the inning reaching base, this time via a single.
Krimsky then followed with a walk.
Morgan followed with a single, loading the bases for the second time in the game.
After a pop out by Spencer White, Labue recorded his second RBI of the game, via another groundout to third base.
Clarion seemed to all but seal the victory, by tacking on three more runs in the sixth inning.
After the first two hitters were retired, Labue delivered again to start the rally with a double.
The next batter was Chad White who singled in Labue for his second RBI of the game.
The bases were loaded once again after Nate Weiss was hit by the pitch and Tom Briley walked.
With the bases loaded, the Golden Eagles received a break when Berkes was also hit by the pitch to bring in a run.
Clarion tacked on one more run via a wild pitch that scored Weiss to take a 6-1 lead.
With a good lead in tact, it was all up to the pitching to get the job done.
Slater hit a rough patch in the game, allowing seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to blow the game.
Clarion was not able to threaten in their last at bat to lose the game 8-6.
Slater (0-5) took the loss going 5.1 innings. Slater allowed seven runs (three earned) on seven hits, while recording four walks and seven strikeouts.
Chad White led the offense with a two hit game.
White and Labue also recorded two RBI’s each to lead the team.
Clarion was not able to rebound from the tough loss, as Lock Haven completed the sweep in the third game by a score of 14-3.
Clarion traveled to Seton Hill University yesterday for a non conference doubleheader.
The Golden Eagles woes continued as they lost both games, 6-2 and 4-3 respectively.
Kevin Gnacinski took the loss in game one for Clarion.
Gnacinski went 5.1 innings allowing five runs (two earned) on nine hits, while recording two walks and two strikeouts.
Five players on Clarion paced the offense with one hit each.
Clarion was looking for a split in game two of the doubleheader.
Berkes was pitching a gem through the first five innings, as Clarion held a 3-0 lead.
Everything fell apart in the sixth when Berkes surrendered four runs. Clarion failed to comeback in their last at bat.
4.15.10 / Sports
Clarion freshman shortstop Joey Harrison fields a ground ball in a doubleheader against IUP at Memorial Field as fans watch from behind the fence. (Caitlyn McGill / The Clarion Call)
Clarion was back in action for the third straight day on Monday against Mansfield University.
The Golden Eagles were coming off their first PSAC-West conference win of the season against Indiana University of Pennsylvania and were looking to continue their good fortune.
Mansfield arrived at Clarion’s Memorial Field and was ready to hit from the start. More »
4.8.10 / Sports
Clarion University pitcher Eric Panco throws a pitch during this weekends double-header. (Caitlin McGill / The Clarion Call)
Clarion University recorded their first two home victories of the year, as they swept the double-header versus non conference opponent Washington Adventist, 6-3 and 10-5 respectively. More »
4.1.10 / Sports
For the second time in a few weeks, Clarion’s game was moved due to the poor weather conditions. More »
3.25.10 / Sports
Due to the bad field conditions at Clarion University, last Friday’s doubleheader was moved to Slippery Rock’s field.
The Golden Eagles had a hard time finding their rhythm as they fell to The Rock 15-0 and 6-0 respectively.
“Moving the game to Slippery Rock didn’t really factor in,” said sophomore catcher Ken Morgan. “We had just as many fans there as they did. The scores don’t reflect our potential to be good.”
Slippery Rock jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first game on a home run by Nick Caito.
After letting up another run in the third, Clarion pitcher Erik Panko gave up his second home run of the day, this time to Matt Kosik.
The game stayed close until the sixth inning, when Slippery Rock erupted for 11 runs in the inning.
Slippery Rock was able to bat around the order and seemed to get every timely hit they needed. After the long, restless inning for Clarion, they found themselves down 14-0.
Slippery Rock added another run in the seventh to take the 15-0 victory.
Panko took the loss for the Golden Eagles, while junior shortstop Dane Dobson led Clarion with a 2-2 day at the plate.
Clarion was looking for redemption in the second game of the doubleheader but found them in the same position.
Slippery rock got off to another early start as the plated two runs in the first inning to take an early lead.
With the Golden Eagles bats still asleep, The Rock took advantage scoring two more runs in the second.
With Clarion not even threatening to score, Slippery Rock took the easy victory, 6-0.
Even though he pitched a complete game, junior Gregg Bandzuh took the loss allowing 6 runs on 11 hits, two walks and six strikeouts.
Sophomore third baseman was the only one hitting for the Golden Eagles as he went 2-3 on the day.
Clarion was back at Slippery Rock on Saturday afternoon for another doubleheader.
After being shutout in both games on Friday, Clarion was eager to get some runs on the board.
Clarion showed they were ready to play as they came out and put a run on the board in the first inning.
Sophomore second basemen Jason Krimsky led off the game with a single.
White then was able to steal second base. After a walk to Dobson and a sacrifice bunt by Berkes, Jason Krimsky plated Clarion’s first run on a single.
With both pitchers cruising, Slippery Rock finally cracked the scoreboard in the fourth inning to tie the game.
Clarion quickly retook the lead in the next inning on a sacrifice fly by junior Nate Weiss.
After retying the game, The Rock took the lead on a Matt Howard home run, before scoring the winning run on an error.
Clarion tacked on a run in the seventh on a Sean Zimmerman double, but it was too little too late, as Clarion fell 4-3. Sophomore pitcher Brandon Slater took the loss going five innings, allowing four runs on five hits, and two strikeouts.
Leading Clarion offensively was Berkes going 2-3 and Morgan going 3-4 on the game.
“Our offense has been spotty lately,” said Morgan. “I know that our bats will start heating up again.”
With one game remaining in the series, Clarion was looking to come up with their first win.
They would not have much luck as Slippery Rock once again made easy work of Clarion with a 10-2 victory. Berkes had his worst outing of the year going one inning, while allowing eight runs on eight hits.
Offensively, Krimsky recorded both RBI’s for the Golden Eagles.Clarion will have a long week of practices after their doubleheader on Tuesday was cancelled due to rain against Point Park University.
The Golden Eagles will return to action on Friday as they travel to California University of Pennsylvania for a doubleheader staring at 1 p.m.
3.18.10 / Sports
The Clarion Golden Eagles comeback came up just shy in their conference semifinal match-up with Kutztown on March 5.
The Golden Eagles knew they had their hands full after already losing to Kutztown earlier in the season when they were ranked number two in the nation.
Kutztown got out to a hot start against the Golden Eagles, getting out to a quick 21-9 lead 7:23 into the first half. Clarion trailed by double digits for nearly all 20 minutes of the first half, and things were not looking good at all.
Kutztown out-shot Clarion from the field 52.8 percent to 29-7 percent in the first half, and went into the locker room with a 45-30 lead at the half.
With their season in jeopardy, the Golden Eagles needed a near miracle to pull out the win.
After both teams exchanged baskets for the first five minutes of the second half, Clarion started to make their run.
With 12:42 remaining in the game, Clarion got within their closest since the opening minutes at 54-49 on a Jamar Harrison lay-up.
With 8:19 remaining in the game Clarion cut their deficit to one on a Paul McQueen lay-up.
Just like that, Clarion was right back in the game.
Clarion hung right in there with Kutztown down the stretch as they kept the deficit to within three points going into the final minutes.
All it took was one empty possession that would doom the Golden Eagles. Down by three points, Shameel Carty was unable to get a shot off to tie the game.
Kutztown went 6-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to seal the 85-79 victory.
Clarion shot an astonishing 69 percent in the second.
Leading the Golden Eagles was Carty with 20 points. Jamar Harrison and Denzil Dennison recorded 16 points and 14 points respectively.
Lloyd Harrison and McQueen each chipped in 12 points to round out the players scoring in double figures.
The Golden Eagles finished the season at 18-11 and in second place in the PSAC-West conference.
They became the first Clarion team since 1997 to win a home playoff game.
Everyone will be returning from this year’s team except for lone senior Greg Parker.
Transfers Lloyd and Jamar Harrison were honored with their outstanding play this year with being named to the second team PSAC-West honorees.
Lloyd Harrison averaged 14.9 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, 4.6 assists per game, and 2.7 steals per game for the Golden Eagles this year.
Teammate Jamar Harrison led the team with 15.6 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, 1.9 steals per game and 2.1 assists per game.
3.4.10 / Opinion
Many people will not understand what kind of question this is. They will mostly likely say the players on the court decide the game.
This is not always the case. Sure, in many cases they do, but don’t count out the fans and officials. More »
3.4.10 / Sports
The last time the Clarion men’s basketball team won a home playoff game was in 1997, until now. More »
2.25.10 / Sports
Clarion clinched its 12th PSAC-West playoff spot in 14 years with their 103-98 win over Slippery Rock this past Saturday. More »
2.18.10 / Sports
This past Saturday, Clarion fell to Gannon University in overtime, 66-65. Or did they? Gannon University’s George Johnson made the game winning shot in overtime. More »
2.11.10 / Sports
The Clarion men’s basketball team was set to face the number six ranked Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks (18-2, 7-1) Saturday night in a first place showdown in the PSAC West.
However, due to the snow storm in the area, the game was postponed until Sunday afternoon.
“The extra day gave us a chance to make sure we had our game plan together and an extra day of practice,” Jamar Harrison said.
The change in schedule did not affect the 1,100 fans that came out to cheer on their Golden Eagles in a 71-62 win, to come to a first-place tie with IUP. More »
2.10.10 / Features
After hearing about the earthquake in Haiti, a Southwestern Pennsylvania photographer decided to travel to the country.
Evan Sander, a photographer for The Daily Courier in Connellsville Pa., made the trip to learn more about the earthquake and the effects firsthand. More »
2.4.10 / Sports
Clarion guard Lloyd Harrison makes a move past an Edinboro defender in Saturday’s game at Tippin Gym. The Eagles won the contest in a score of 82-64. (Caitlin McGill / The Clarion Call)
For the first time since the 2003 season, the Clarion Golden Eagles have started 5-1 in the PSAC-West conference. This past Saturday, the Golden Eagles made easy work of Edinboro (8-11, 2-4), with a convincing 82-64 win. More »
12.10.09 / Sports
The last time the Golden Eagles started a season 3-1 was in the start of the 2004-2005 season.
That season they started 4-1 on their way to a PSAC West title. For their second consecutive home game, Clarion reached the century mark in points by defeating Penn College (3-5) 110-48.
Clarion got off to a quick start as they were able to control the paint, with their first 16 points of the game coming from lay ups.
“We have so many unselfish players on the team and we all pretty much know each others strengths,” said sophomore forward Paul McQueen.
“So we recognized we had mismatches in the paint so it was a point of emphasis,” McQueen said.
The Wildcats of Penn College kept it close for the first nine minutes of the game before the Golden Eagles opened the game wide open.
At the 11 minute mark, Clarion used a 23-2 run, showcased by a two handed reverse dunk by Jamar Harrison, to ignite the home crowd.
The Wildcats would add a last second dunk of their own before the half to make the score 55-27 at the half.
After only scoring three points in the first three minutes of the second half, on a Mike Sherry three pointer, the offense found its groove again.
During the course of the second half, the Golden Eagles would use another huge run, this time a 30-5 run, to put the game well out of reach.
With 12:20 remaining in the half, freshman guard Brandyn Mungo drove the lane finishing off with a one handed dunk.
This seemed to get both the crowd and his teammates wanting some highlight real dunks.
Mungo would add another spectacular dunk, flying high to be on the receiving end of an alley oop from teammate Harrison.
The game almost turned into a dunk contest between Mungo and Harrison.
Trying to match Mungo, Harrison was on the receiving end of his own alley oop, this time from Lloyd Harrison.
To cap of the night, Harrison would add one more two handed dunk.
Clarion had six players in double figures on the night, including Shameel Carty’s first career double- double with 14 points and 18 rebounds.
McQueen led the scoring with a career high 23 points.
“We have great perimeter players so they could not just focus on me or any other post player,” said McQueen.
Junior college transfer Harrison recorded his third 20 point game of the season, while fellow transfer Lloyd Harrison, chipped in with 12 points.
“We are going to need both Jamar and Lloyd to play a lot of minutes for us this season. They need to pace themselves and play smart aggressive defense, the offense will take care of itself,” said Coach Ron Righter.
Junior sharpshooter Mike Sherry continued his hot hand beyond the arc, going 4 for 7 from the three point line, with 16 points. Also, freshman guard Mungo added 13 points.
Clarion was back in action on Monday night against Pitt Johnstown. The Golden Eagles trailed throughout the whole game before the Golden Eagles ended up losing the game 94-79.
“We are still trying to find ourselves. We have a very small team so we need our defense to create some offense,” said Coach Righter.
Carty had another strong performance in the losing effort, putting up 20 points.
Clarion will be back in action this weekend at the Salem Invitational in West Virginia.
They will be playing Friday and on Saturday.
11.19.09 / Sports
The Clarion men’s basketball team opened its season on Tuesday night against PSU-New Kensington. Clarion played an overall complete game, winning by a score 124-50. More »
11.12.09 / Sports
Clarion finished its regular season with a win this past Saturday over Cheyney University, who was winless on the year. More »
11.5.09 / Sports
Second place was on the line as the Clarion Golden Eagles traveled to Edinboro to face the No. 21 ranked Fighting Scots.
That was not the only thing on the line in this game. More »
10.29.09 / Sports
The Golden Eagles offense attempts to score, as No. 40, John Fuhrer looks to block, as Tyler Huether hands off the ball to No. 80 Tarrean Barrett. (Justin Gmoser/The Clarion Call)
Clarion won its fourth consecutive game this past Saturday against IUP. It was their second straight game where they had to come from behind in the second half to pull out the win.
Right now, it seems like no one can stand in the way of its goal, to become Champions of the PSAC West.
“We need to control what we can control. If we win this Saturday against Edinboro, and get some help from Mercyhurst against California; we are in real good shape. Two weeks is eternal in college football, but we just have to take things week by week and hope for the best,” said Coach Jay Foster.
Well they got another step closer with their win this past weekend.
The Golden Eagles got off to a quick start as they went down the field using a good mix of run and pass, for the touchdown.
From 11 yards out it was John Fuhrer taking it in for the score making it 7-0. After both teams were forced to punt on their next possession, the IUP special teams came up with a huge play.
They were set up with a short field to work with after they were able to break through and block the Clarion punt.
IUP took advantage of this opportunity, tying the score at 7-7 with a rushing touchdown by Tobias Robinson.
It seems like this might have given the Crimson Hawks all the momentum they needed as they outscored the Golden Eagles 14-10 for the rest of the first half to take a 21-17 lead.
It was a last minute touchdown run by star running back Alfonso Hoggard to narrow that deficit.
Clarion came out strong in the second half. After IUP charged down the field only to miss a field goal, the Golden Eagles knew this was an opportunity they couldn’t let slip by. The offensive line would lead the way for Hoggard as he took Clarion down the field, before quarterback Tyler Huether capped the drive off with a one-yard touchdown run.
After taking the lead, the defense for Clarion came up with a momentum swinging stop.
With the ball back, Hoggard and the Clarion offense were back ready to finish this game off.
The whole drive belonged to Hoggard as he picked up all 57 yards for his second touchdown of the day and a 30-21 lead after placekicker Rob Mamula’s extra point was blocked.
With a two-point lead, the Clarion defense came up with the game-winning stop for the second week in a row.
“They have been playing good all game. They are playing with a lot of confidence and knew that they were going to shut the opponent down,” Coach Foster said.
Clarion went on to win the game 30-28.
Hoggard once again had an outstanding game with 292 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.
Also, it was nice for the seniors to go out with a win in their last home game.
“It feels great after that game, I was speechless. That showed all the work that myself and the three other seniors have put in the past few years. Everything finally paid off, and it was great to go out as winners on our last home game.
“We stuck through it when we were at the lowest that we could possibly be, and I’m just happy I was here, and am able to say that I was part of the turn around to get Clarion football back on the map,” said Huether.
The Golden Eagles will go on the road for the last conference game against Edinboro this Saturday. To this point, this will be their most important game of the year.
“Well, we need to jump on them right from the start and not wait until the second half. We have been stopping ourselves lately with all the penalties, so I believe if we could keep the penalties to a minimum then we will be all right.
“Basically we need to be able to run the football successfully, cut out the penalties, and score one more point than them.
“This is a playoff game for us so everyone knows how big this game is and what we have to do,” said Hoggard.
Kickoff this Saturday at Edinboro is scheduled for 1 p.m.
10.22.09 / Sports
The Clarion Golden Eagles make a feild goal attempt, after sophomore Ray Klinger, No. 91, snaps the ball in Saturday’s game against Mercyhurst. (Neal Henry / The Clarion Call)
With sole possession of second place in the PSAC West on the line, the Golden Eagles hosted the Lakers of Mercyhurst University this past Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Going into the game, Mercyhurst knew they couldn’t look at this as an easy game, as they did in the previous years.
On a cold and rainy day, it was starting to look like Clarion was not ready for the Lakers’ offense. More »
10.15.09 / Misc.
Clarion traveled to Slippery Rock University last Thursday, coming away with a 27-10 win. The Golden Eagles improved their overall record to 4-3 and 3-1 in the PSAC West.
“This has been a complete turnaround from last year. We have the same players as the previous years, but the difference is the maturity and drive each one has. The game that turned this season around is when we were at California. That game showed me we can compete with any team,” stated Coach Jay Foster.
The team has been training hard since the off-season to get to the point where they are today, especially in the weight room.
Coming into last Thursday’s game, Slippery Rock was ranked No. 4 in the region.
Before the game Coach Foster got a good vibe from his football team. “On the way down to the game I could see how much confidence and trust they had in the each other. They knew they were going to win the game.”
Even with that mind-set, the team still had to go out and play a complete game to earn the win.
There was some sloppy play throughout the first half of play.
There were a couple dropped passes but the Golden Eagles still held on to keep it a close game. With the score 10-7 Slippery Rock, and 2:46 left in the half, Clarion started driving down the field.
The Golden Eagles were led by quarterback Tyler Huether and running-back Alfonso Hoggard. With one second left, placekicker Rob Mamula connected on a 36-yard field goal to tie the score at half.
Clarion came out of the half ready to make a statement. On the first possession the defense forced a three and out.
“To me, I believe this was the turning point of the game,” stated Coach Foster.
The difference maker came though on the next possession when freshmen cornerback Daily Whitten, intercepted his second pass of the day, and returned it 41 yards for the touchdown.
“I knew they would try to go deep with the height advantage their receivers had on us, but I was able to read the quarterbacks eyes and step in front to return it all the way,” replied Whitten.
With the lead intact, the Golden Eagles rushing tried to put the game away.
It wouldn’t take long for Hoggard to find the end zone.
On just two plays, Hoggard scored a touchdown, including a school record 84 yard touchdown run.
Hoggard has been putting up outstanding numbers since he moved from wide receiver to running back.
“I have played running back my whole life coming into college so it wasn’t that hard of a transition. I have worked hard all of the off-season to keep on getting better, and it is starting to really pay off,” Hoggard said.
Hoggard finished the game with 205 rushing yards and two touchdown’s, while Whitten added two interceptions, giving him four on the year, and two returned for touchdowns.
“I like where we are right now in the season. We still have four tough games to go and we will take one at a time. I can say that we are one of the toughest teams in the conference, and I don’t think anyone will take us lightly anymore,” said Coach Foster.
The Golden Eagles will look to continue their hot play this Saturday when they host Mercyhurst University.
The kickoff is scheduled at 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
10.8.09 / Sports
Clarion junior defender Alaina Tintera battles a West Virgina Wesleyan offender during Friday’s game at Memorial Stadium, in Nina Feldmans last game as head coach at Clarion. (Carly Masiroff / The Clarion Call)
This past Friday night the Golden Eagles were looking to end their nine game losing streak.
Clarion had something to fight for though, it was Coach Nina Feldman’s last game with the team before she moved on to a new job in Texas.
Clarion hosted the non conference game against West Virginia Wesleyan, coming out on top with a final score of 1-0. More »
10.1.09 / Sports
The Golden Eagles quarterback Tyler Huether runs the ball last season against Slippery Rock University. The Eagles will face Gannon at home this Sat. night. (Courtesy Photo / Sports Information)
This past Saturday the Golden Eagles traveled to Adamson stadium to face the Vulcans of California University of Pennsylvania.
Clarion knew that they would have to play a near perfect game to come out with the win.
When asked about the matchup, Coach Jay Foster said, “We talked all week that if you took their top 44 players and lined them up against our top 44 that it would look like a total mismatch, or if you lined them up one on one it would be the same. More »
9.24.09 / Sports
This past Saturday the Golden Eagles traveled to California University of Pennsylvania to face the no. 24 ranked Vulcans.
Clarion was going into the game looking to end its five-game losing streak, but fell 2-0.
The players knew they were going to have a tough task ahead of them but they were ready for the challenge. More »
9.17.09 / Sports
The Golden Eagles were back in full force when they traveled to East Stroudsburg University with returning running back Alfonso Hoggard and placekicker Rob Mamula, who are both back from injury.
Clarion knew they would have their hands full with the Warriors, who had the top quarterback in the conference, Matt Marshall. More »
Drew Karpen is a staff sports writer for The Call.