March 27, 2007

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

Slippery Rock, Pa. - Mark Tanner turned the proverbial tide and/or tables Tuesday afternoon on visiting Shepherd University to highlight The Rock effort in a NCAA Division II North Atlantic Regional doubleheader at Jack Critchfield Park.

Shepherd (6-8) pounded out 20 hits en route to a 14-6 win in Tuesday's first game before Tanner held the Rams to only three hits in the first five innings of Game 2.

Behind his lead, The Rock (12-5) recorded an 8-1 win and salvaged a split.

The Rock will look to carry over the momentum from that win when it hosts Division I Duquesne (9-9) in a 3 p.m. contest Wednesday at "The Jack."

Game 1

The Rock seemed to be in good shape when it answered a lone Shepherd run in the top of the first inning with five tallies of its own in the bottom of the first.

But Shepherd came right back with two runs in the top of the second and four more in the third to take a 7-5 lead.

SRU cut the deficit to one with a run in the bottom of the third, but that would turn out to be the final Rock run of the game.

Shepherd blew the game wide open with six runs -- five of which were unearned -- in the top of the fourth and added an insurance run in the fifth.

Rock starting and losing pitcher Chris Squeglia (1-2) was roughed up for seven earned runs on 12 hits in the first 2 2/3 innings.

Matt Lynn yielded six hits and six runs, only one of which was earned, in the next 1 1/3 innings. Neither he nor Squeglia recorded a strikeout or issued a base on balls.

Josh Rape allowed one earned run on two hits and struck out three in two innings of work before Scott Rice struck out two in the final frame.

Billy Messer smacked a three-run double to key The Rock's first-inning outburst, while Matt Adams collected two RBIs and Jim Eimiller plated one run.

Billy Herman was the only Rock player to collect more than one hit in the game; he had a pair of singles.

Game 2

Shepherd again took the early lead with an earned run in the top of the first inning before Tanner (2-0) slammed the door and, in the process, ended the Rams' five-game win streak.

The Rock was unable to reward him for his effort until the bottom of the third inning, when they did it in a big way.

A two-run double down the right field line by M.J. Parsons, an RBI triple by Jim Eimiller and a run-scoring single by Kyle Smith highlighted a six-run, five-hit Rock uprising. Herman also hit a sacrifice fly in the frame.

It would be an understatement to say The Rock made the most of its hits; SRU had only eight hits in the game, As also stated, five of the safeties came in the six-run third, a sixth hit was Matt Adams' towering home run over the right-center field fence and a seventh Parsons' second double of the game. He scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Jacob Oswalt.

Parsons was the only Rock player to collect more than one hit in the game.

The Rock, after committing four errors in the first game, also played errorless ball behind Tanner and reliever Vince Lloyd and turned a pair of double plays behind the former.

Tanner struck out one and walked one in the first five innings; Lloyd fanned one and walked two in the final two frames.

Conference play starts Friday

After hosting Duquesne on Wednesday, The Rock will turn its collective attention to Friday's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division schedule-opening four-game series vs. two-time defending division champion California U. of Pa.

The Rock and Vulcans will open the series with a 1 p.m. twinbill Friday at "The Jack" before meeting in a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at Falconi Field in Washington, Pa.

If Mother Nature cooperates, when the smoke clears Saturday night, The Rock will have played seven games in five days -- six of the games being against regional rivals.