Game 1 boxscore
Game 2 boxscore

WEST LIBERTY, W. Va. -- The Slippery Rock University baseball team took 6-3 and 10-8 decisions from hosting West Liberty State College in NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional regular-season action Wednesday afternoon.

The second game win came in 12 innings.

With the wins, SRU improved its season record to 21-9. West Liberty State saw its record drop to 5-18.

The Rock now turn its attention to a four-game weekend series against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division rival Lock Haven. The series is set to start Friday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at SRU's Jack Critchfield Park, followed by a 1 p.m. twinbill Saturday in Lock Haven.

Weather permitting, The Rock will play eight games in the span of five days. In addition to Wednesday's games at West Liberty and the four-game series vs. Lock Haven, SRU is scheduled to visit Mansfield for a 1 p.m. doubleheader Sunday.

All eight games will be against NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional rivals and will ultimately help determine SRU's fate as it seeks to return to the regional tournament after missing out on last year's competition.

Senior right fielder Scott Bender had a triple, an RBI double and collected a total of three RBIs to lead The Rock to its Game 1 win Wednesday.

Junior left fielder Jacob Oswalt had two hits and picked up four RBIs and sophomore utility player Derek Diruscia added three hits, including two doubles, and collected three RBIs in Game 2.

Diruscia's two-run single in the 12th inning provided the winning margin in Game 2.

In Game 1, The Rock scored two runs in top half of the first, fourth and fifth innings of Game 1 to offset single tallies by the Hilltoppers in the bottom half of the third, sixth and seventh innings.

Bender played integral roles in all three of The Rock's run-producing rallies, all of which were aided by West Liberty miscues

He picked up his first RBI of the game with a first-inning triple that pushed across junior first baseman Matt Adams with the first run of the game and trotted home on an errant relay throw.

In the top of the fourth, Bender reached base on an error, stole second base and scored on an RBI single by junior second baseman Billy Messer.

Messer then moved to second base on a passed ball, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Diruscia and scored on a groundout by freshman catcher John Murray.

Bender finished off his Game 1 effort with an RBI double in the fifth. The hit plated Adams, who had slapped an RBI single and moved to second on an outfield error.

Michalek had a one-out single, moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a groundout by senior third baseman Billy Herman before he trotted home on Adams' single.

Rock starting and winning pitcher Mike Ritson, a sophomore right-hander, scattered six hits, allowed two earned runs, struck out seven and walked one in six innings to improve his season record to 4-1.

Junior right-hander Justin Thomas allowed one earned run on two hits in the final inning.

Michalek had four hits and picked up one RBI in Game 2 to complement the performances by Oswalt and Diruscia.

Freshman southpaw John Thomas picked up his first collegiate win in a relief role in Game 2 as he struck out the side and allowed one hit in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Thomas was the third pitcher used in the game by veteran Rock head coach Jeff Messer.

Senior southpaw Sean Holliday was The Rock's starting pitcher and went five and two-thirds innings. He allowed seven runs, only two of which were earned, on seven hits, struck out seven and walked four.

Justin Thomas (no relation to John) pitched the next five and one-third innings and allowed one earned run on six hits, struck out four and walked two.

The Rock scored single runs in the top of the first and second innings and added four tallies in the top of the third to take a 6-0 lead before the hosts roared back to take a 7-6 lead.

The Hilltoppers scored three runs in the bottom of the third to trim The Rock lead in half, 6-3, then got a single run in the fifth and three in the sixth to take the lead.

A bases-loaded walk to Oswalt in the top of the seventh tied the score at 7-7 and sent the game into extra innings.

Four innings later, Oswalt slapped an RBI single to put SRU on top, 8-7, but West Liberty came right back to score a run in the bottom of the 11th to prolong the game.

Diruscia then slapped a two-run single in the top of the 12th inning before John Thomas slammed the door on the hosts.