April 8, 2005

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

Clarion, Pa. - The sixth-ranked Rock tasted defeat for the second successive day on Friday as SRU had to settle for a split in its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division doubleheader vs. Clarion.

The Rock overcame a 5-1 deficit to win the first game by an 8-6 score before Clarion erased three-run Rock leads on four different occasions en route to a 12-11 win the second game.

The split came on the heels of SRU being swept by West Liberty State (W. Va.) in a non-conference twinbill Thursday at Jack Critchfield Park and gave The Rock a 22-5 overall record and a 5-1 PSAC-West mark.

The split dropped The Rock one game off the PSAC-West pace being set by defending conference playoff champion California (18-9, 6-0).

Clarion (14-11-1, 4-2) is one game behind The Rock in third place, followed by defending division regular-season champion Shippensburg (16-18, 2-4), Lock Haven (11-14, 1-5) and Indiana (7-11, 0-6).

SRU and Clarion will close out their four-game season series with a 1 p.m. twinbill Saturday at Jack Critchfield Park.

The Rock collected a total of 26 hits in Friday's games, led by Chase Rowe's 5-for-9 effort that included two doubles, a home run and three RBIs.

Rowe, who now has 29 RBIs this spring, moved into a tie with Chris Tolliver for the team lead with his fourth home run, a two-run shot in the second game, on Friday.

Kozusko and Wilson each hit their second round-tripper on Friday.

Matt Kozusko also had five hits, including a double and a two-run home run in the second game, while Brad Wilson had four hits, including a three-run home run in the second game.

Kozusko and Wilson each hit their second round-tripper on Friday.

Phil Butch, Dave Gonos and Todd Schickling each had three hits on Friday.

Gonos and Wilson had three RBIs each, while Kozusko and Schickling had two each and Butch one.

Tolliver had two RBIs in the first game.

Clarion scored five earned runs of seven hits off Rock first-game starter Rocky D'Angelo before SRU reliever Dan Herisko shut the door.

D'Angelo, who had recorded a complete-game win in each of his first five starts this spring, lasted only three innings Friday before departing with a lower back ailment. He struck out one hitter before exiting the game.

Herisko allowed one earned run on five hits and struck out four in the final four frames to pick up a win in his first decision of the season.

Herisko came back in the second game to relieve Rock starter Colin Scott and was tagged with the loss. He allowed four runs (one earned) on only two hits, struck out two and walked two in 1 2/3 innings of work.

Scott allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits and struck out four in the first five innings and got a "no-decision" for the first time in six starts this spring. He took a 5-0 record into Friday's action.

SRU scored six runs in the top of the fifth inning of the first game to erase the aforementioned 5-1 deficit. Key hits in the rally included a two-run double by Gonos, RBI singles by Butch and Rowe and a run-scoring ground out by Tolliver.

Gonos' solo home run in the fourth inning, his third circuit clout of the campaign, accounted for SRU's second run after Tolliver had singled home the first run in the first inning.

The first eight Rock runs in the second game scored on home runs. Wilson's three-run shot in the top of the first put The Rock on top by a quick 3-0 margin; Rowe's two-run blast in the third made it 5-2 SRU and Kozusko's two-RBI clout in the fourth gave The Rock an 8-5 lead.

The Rock has hit 17 home runs this spring, 11 of which have come in the last six games.

Following Saturday's twinbill vs. Clarion, The Rock will travel to Pitt-Johnstown for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday before hosting Shippensburg in a PSAC-West twinbill on April 15.