CLERMONT, Fla. (March 11) – The California University of Pennsylvania softball team claimed a pair of victories on Sunday afternoon while at the PFX Spring Games, earning a 4-2 victory against NYIT and an 11-1 run-rule win versus Clarion.

With the wins, the Vulcans improve to 3-5 this season with a 2-2 mark in the Sunshine State.

Against NYIT (1-6), sophomore Cierra Funke (Hampshire County, W.Va./Hampshire) set career highs with five strikeouts and 5.1 innings pitched. She improved to 1-1 this year while allowing two runs (one earned) and scattering seven hits. Junior Taylor Robblee (Woodstock, Ontario/College Avenue) recorded the save after working 1.2 innings of scoreless relief without surrendering a hit.

Cal U jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a solo homer by senior shortstop Emily Price (Warren, Ohio/Howland). The Vulcans added to their lead in the third inning when Price scored on an error after reaching on a leadoff single. In the fifth, Cal U benefited from a pair of errors by NYIT to stretch the lead to 4-0 on RBI singles by both junior Abby Sachse (Sugarloaf, Pa./Hazleton) and freshman Brooke Wilson (Coraopolis, Pa./West Allegheny).

In the bottom the of the fifth, the Bears cut the deficit to 4-1 before starting the sixth inning with a solo homer.

Price finished 3-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs scored, while senior center fielder Jacquelyn Fowler (Grove City, Ohio/Central Crossing), Sachse and Wilson all collected two hits in the victory.

Against Clarion (2-7), junior Emilee Downing (Groveport, Ohio/Groveport Madison) earned her first career victory while working 5.0 innings in the run-rule contest. She registered a career-high nine strikeouts and allowed one run (earned) while scattering three hits and two walks.

The Vulcans took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-run homer by senior left fielder Carlee Wickstrom (Canonsburg, Pa./Peters Township), her third of the season. Cal U then batted around in the second inning to stretch the lead to 8-0. Sophomore designated player Paige Wilson (Warren, Pa./Warren) delivered a three-run triple and scored on a single by Wickstrom before Fowler then delivered a two-run homer.

In the third, Cal U extended the lead to 11-0 behind a two-run double by Price. The Golden Eagles avoided the shutout in the bottom of the inning when they scored on a two-out RBI single.

Wickstrom and Paige Wilson both went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored in the middle of the order. Fowler also finished with two hits, while freshman second baseman Alexa Pastor (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) and Brooke Wilson both scored twice in the victory.

The Vulcans continue play at the PFX Spring Games tomorrow, Monday, March 12, when they face Sioux Falls (S.D.) and Saint Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.).