Game 1 boxscore
Game 2 boxscore

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Junior catcher-first baseman Matt Adams had five hits in seven at bats and collected five RBIs Friday afternoon to lead the Slippery Rock University baseball team to an 8-1, 9-6 doubleheader sweep vs. visiting Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division rival Gannon.

Adams (pictured above) picked up four of his RBIs in Game 1, in which he smacked his team-leading seventh home run of the season, a three-run shot in the bottom of the fifth inning, and also had a double and a sacifice fly in five plate appearances.

In Game 2, he added his team-best 10th double of the season, an RBI single and another basehit in five at bats.

The effort elevated Adams' batting average to .500 and helped The Rock improve its season records to 13-7 overall, 3-3 in PSAC-West action.

Friday's losses extended Gannon's current losing streak to 13 games and dropped the Golden Knights' season records to 2-17 overall, 0-6 in division play.

The Rock and Gannon will conclude their four-game season series with a 1 p.m. twinbill Saturday in Erie.

Gannon held a brief lead in each of Friday's games as the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of Game 1 and had a 4-1 lead midway through the third frame in Game 2, but ultimately was not able to hold off the Adams-led Rock.

Adams' sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning of Game 1 tied the score at 1-1, while his only Game 2 RBI plated the first of six runs in The Rock's decisive third-inning rally.

Sophomore catcher-first baseman Derek Diruscia had three hits and collected four RBIs and sophomore shortstop-designated hitter Adam Jury collected three RBIs to earn offensive co-star roles in The Rock's winning performances.

Junior second baseman Billy Messer and senior center fielder Rich Michalek each added three hits to the attack that compiled a total of 22 hits in the twinbill.

Diruscia and Michalek each had a double in Game 1, while junior left fielder Jacob Oswalt and senior shortstop Kyle Smith each added a two-bagger in Game 2.

The Rock also got solid pitching efforts from starters Scott Dunn and Mark Tanner.

Dunn, a sophomore right-hander, tossed a four-hit complete game in Game 1 to improve his season record to 4-0. He struck out seven, did not walk a batter and yielded only one earned run (four total).

Tanner, a senior southpaw, also struck out seven batters in Game 2. He allowed two earned runs (five total) on five hits, issued two bases on balls and hit one batter in four innings and evened its record at 1-1.

Freshman right-hander Nic McCowin allowed one earned run on two hits, struck out two, walked one and hit three batters in two innings before sophomore righty Justin Thomas fanned one in the final frame.

The Rock, after falling behind by a 1-0 score in the top of the first inning in Game 1, scored eight unanswered runs. The Green and White evened the count at 1-1 in the bottom of fhe first, added two scores in the second frame and finished off the run with five tallies in the fifth.

In Game 2, SRU took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and, after Gannon parlayed two Rock errors into four runs in the top of the third, erupted for six runs in the bottom of the third.

Gannon scored once in the top of the fourth to trim the margin to 7-5, only to see SRU come right back with two tallies in the bottom of the fourth to push the lead to 9-5. The guests scored the final run of the game in the top of the sixth.

After visiting Gannon for Saturday's twinbill, The Rock returns home to entertain regional rival Bluefield State (W. Va.) in a 1 p.m. doubleheader Sunday at Jack Critchfield Park. (Please note the corrected starting time for those games)