Game 1 boxscore
Game 2 boxscore
INDIANA, Pa. -- The Rock's bats were as warm as the western Pennsylvania weather Friday afternoon to propel the Green and White to an 11-4, 19-13 doubleheader sweep of hosting Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division rival Indiana U. of Pa.
SRU pounded out a total of 28 hits in the twinbill, 17 of which came in Game 2, and rode the effort into sole possession of second place in the PSAC-West standings.
California, the four-time defending division champion, swept a twinbill from hosting Shippensburg to improve its division-leading record to 11-3 (25-11 overall).
The Rock (21-15 overall, 9-5 PSAC-W) is two games off the pace, while Indiana (30-15, 8-6) and Shippensburg (27-20, 8-6) are both three games behind the Vulcans.
SRU will host IUP in a 1 p.m. game Saturday at Jack Critchfield Park to conclude the teams' four-game season series, while California entertains Shippensburg at CONSOL Energy Park in Washington, Pa.
Rich Michalek (pictured above) led The Rock offensive attack Friday with five hits and six RBIs in the doubleheader. He had two hits and one RBI in Game 1 before going 3-for-4 with five RBIs in Game 2.
Two of Michalek's Game 2 hits were home runs, his fourth and fifth of the season. He smacked a three-run shot as part of an eight-run Rock explosion in the top of the second inning and added a two-run blast in the fourth frame.
SRU started off the day with a seven-run outburst in the top of the first inning of Game 1, keyed by three-run HRs off the bat ot #M.J. Parsons and Billy Messer#.
All The Rock's first-inning runs were unearned as the result of two IUP errors.
The Rock added single runs in the second (RBI single by Matt Messer), third (run-scoring groundball by Billy Herman) and fourth (RBI single by Michalek) to take a 10-0 lead into the fifth inning.
IUP closed the gap to 10-4 with three runs in the bottom of the fifth and one in the sixth before Matt Adams' sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh plated the final run of the game.
Herman, Matt Messer and Michalek each had two hits as part of SRU's 11-hit Game 1 attack, while Billy Messer and Parsons led the RBI parade with three each.
Chris Squeglia was the beneficiary of the offensive attack and improved his season record to 5-2 with a complete-game pitching effort. He scattered eight hits, allowed four runs (three earned), struck out five and walked three in seven innings.
Game 2 started off in similar fashion to Game 1 as The Rock scored five runs in the top of the first inning, but this time IUP came right back to score three times in the bottom of the first and a slugfest ensued.
The teams each had 17 hits in the game, The Rock total including three home runs and IUP's featuring two roundtrippers.
A two-run single by Adams and three-RBI double by Jim Eimiller accounted for the only Rock hits in the first inning, but also plated all five SRU runs.
Leading by a 5-3 score after one inning, The Rock erupted for eight runs on seven hits in the top of the second. Parsons plated the first run with a bases-loaded walk, Anthony Heaps brought home the second run with an infield single, Jacob Oswalt singled home the third run and Eimiller lined a two-run single before Michalek smacked his three-run circuit clout to close out the scoring.
IUP refused to go quietly, though, and responded with seven runs on five hits in the bottom of the second to trim The Rock lead to 13-10.
A single Crimson Hawk tally in the bottom of the third made it a two-run margin before SRU scored two in the fourth, one in the fifth and three in the sixth to push the advantage to 19-11. The hosts scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to set the final margin.
Michalek's two-run HR accounted for SRU's fourth-inning runs, Adams smacked a solo shot to leadoff The Rock fifth before Herman lined a two-run single and Adam Jury added an RBI single in the sixth.
Justin Thomas, the third and final pitcher used in the game by Rock head coach Jeff Messer, picked up the win to even his season record at 1-1. He allowed three earned runs on nine hits and struck out four in the final five frames.
Rock starting pitcher Rich Hocanson lasted only one inning and yielded three earned runs on three hits. He struck out one and walked two.
Sean Holliday relieved Hocanson and also lasted only one inning. He allowed seven runs (five earned) on five hits, struck out two and walked one.
Notes:
Friday's twinbill was the first of six The Rock has scheduled in the span of nine days. After hosting IUP Saturday, they will entertain regional rivals Shepherd (W. Va.), Seton Hill and Clarion, respectively, on Tuesday, Thursday and next Friday. The Green and White then go to Clarion for the final two games of the regular season next Saturday, April 26 ... The Rock was ranked eighth in the initial NCAA Division II North Atlantic Regional poll of the season released last Thursday. IUP was not ranked in that poll. California was ranked seventh in the regional poll and Shippensburg fourth ... The top three teams in the PSAC-West at the end of regular-season play will earn berths in the PSAC playoffs, which will be held April 30 through May 3 at Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster ... The top six teams in the final NCAA regional berth advantage to the regional tournament May 15-18 at a site yet to be determined ... The Rock finished third in both the conference and regional tournaments a year ago.
