April 14, 2007

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

Indiana, Pa. - The Rock scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning of Game 2 to win a 9-6 decision and salvage a split vs. hosting Indiana U. of Pa. in Saturday afternoon's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division doubleheader at Owen Dougherty Field.

Indiana scored an unearned run in the bottom of the third inning and held SRU scoreless behind the one-hit pitching of Chris Twigg to record a 1-0 win in Game 1.

The split gives SRU a 20-10 overall record and 6-4 PSAC-West mark heading into Monday's scheduled 1 p.m. twinbill vs. Indiana at Jack Critchfield Park in Slippery Rock.

NOTE: The games now scheduled for Monday were originally scheduled to be played on Friday, but were postponed (and scheduled for Sunday) due to unplayable conditions at Critchfield Park. The decision was made Saturday night to move the game back one more day in anticipation of winter precipitation Saturday night and all day Sunday.

Sunday's scheduled twinbill at Shepherd (W. Va.) has also been postponed and has not yet been rescheduled.

The Rock and Indiana (14-22, 5-5) are currently in third and fourth places, respectively, in the PSAC-West standings behind co-leaders California U. of Pa. (22-11, 8-4) and Shippensburg (18-15, 8-4).

Derek Blyzwick (2-2) was the hard-luck loser in Game 1. He allowed five hits, struck out nine and walked two in his second complete-game performance of the season but got no offensive support.

The only Rock hit of the game was a second-inning infield dribbler down the first base line by Billy Messer that Twigg was unable to field.

The only run of the game came with two outs in the third inning. Indiana, with runners on first and third bases, executed what in essence was a successful double steal. The Rock appeared to have defended the play correctly, but the run scored when the baserunner from third base, Ryan Mostyn, knocked the ball out of the glove of Rock catcher Matt Adams.

An unearned run in the bottom of the second inning gave Indiana the early lead in Game 2. The run was manufactured from a pair of singles, a passed ball and a sacrifice fly.

SRU erased that deficit with three runs in the top of the third inning, keyed by a two-run single by Dan Hudeck and an RBI single by M.J. Parsons.

A leadoff home run by Parsons in the sixth inning extended The Rock lead to 4-1 before Indiana scored five times in the bottom of the sixth to take a 6-4 lead.

SRU answered that rally with a game-winning, five-run outburst of its own in the top of the seventh.

Phil Butch legged out a bunt single, Billy Herman singled to right and Adams walked to load the bases with no outs in The Rock seventh before Hudeck smashed a double to center to score Butch and Herman and tie the score at 6-6.

Parsons followed with an RBI to left to score Rich Michalek (pinch running for Adams) with the eventual winning run before Scott Bender's single added a pair of insurance runs.

Parsons finished the game 4-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Hudeck was 2-for-4 with four RBIs, Bender picked up two RBIs and Herman and Jacob Oswalt had two hits each.

Tom Turnbull, the third and final pitcher called upon by Rock head coach Jeff Messer, picked up his first win of the season after he struck out two in one and one-third innings of scoreless, hitless action.

Rock starter Rich Hocanson was lifted after two innings due to tenderness in his pitching arm. He allowed one unearned run on four hits.

Craig Misiewicz yielded five earned runs on seven hits, struck out seven and walked two in the middle three and two-thirds innings.