DUBOIS, Pa. — D'Youville battled back from an early deficit but came up just short in a 6-5 loss at Clarion on Tuesday afternoon.
Clarion struck early, capitalizing on a failed pickoff attempt, a walk, and a single to plate three unearned runs in the opening inning and take a 3-0 lead.
The Saints began to chip away in the third. Michael Huff was hit by a pitch and Kevin Del Vecchio drew a walk before Jake Ferris reached on an error to load the bases. Colby Wilson then worked a walk to bring home Huff and put D'Youville on the board.
D'Youville pulled even with a three-run fifth inning. Del Vecchio started the rally with a single before Blaise Kolbert knocked in a run with a single of his own. Wilson followed with a huge two-run home run, his 11th on the year, to tie the game at 4-4.
Clarion responded quickly in the bottom half of the inning, using a three-run homer from Randy Carlo to regain the lead at 6-4.
The Saints pitching staff combined to keep the Golden Eagles off the board over the final four innings. Eric Osterstrom delivered a perfect frame, throwing nine pitches with eight strikes. Greg Orcutt struck out one in a scoreless inning, while Evan Froelich fired a clean inning. Matt Bradley also worked a scoreless inning before Deryk Kulp closed out the afternoon with a strong frame that included two strikeouts.
D'Youville threatened again in the ninth. Jake Hollins doubled to start the inning and later scored when Del Vecchio drove a double into the gap to cut the deficit to one. The Saints brought the tying run to the plate but were unable to complete the comeback.
Wilson led the offense with three RBIs, highlighted by his two-run home run in the fifth. Del Vecchio finished with two hits, including a double, and drove in a run while scoring once. Kolbert added an RBI and a run scored, and Hollins contributed a double and crossed the plate in the ninth.
The Saints have have an opportunity to get right back on the field this weekend as they're set for a four-game series with Molloy, starting on Friday, April 17th in Rockville Centre, N.Y.
