Rock locks up PSAC playoff berth with split vs. #22 California (Pa.)

Junior catcher Jessica Kortz smacked two home runs in Sunday's doubleheader as SRU earned its first PSAC playoff berth since 1984

Game 1 boxscore
Game 2 boxscore

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Junior catcher Jessica Kortz clobbered two home runs Sunday afternoon to lead the hosting Slippery Rock University softball team to a split in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division doubleheader vs. 22nd-ranked California (Pa.).

In the process, she helped propel SRU to its first PSAC playoff berth since 1984.

Sunday's split gave SRU a 7-9 final mark in division competition (19-21 overall) and assured the Green and White of at least a third-place finish in the final PSAC-West standings.

The top three teams in each of the West, Central and East divisions earn berths in the conference tournament.

The Rock will open the PSAC playoffs next Friday at a site yet to be determined.

Prior to that, SRU is scheduled to close out its regular-season schedule with a doubleheader Wednesday at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio.

California (32-6 overall, 13-1 PSAC-W) has assured itself of the PSAC-West title and a host role for one of the three first-round conference championship mini series next weekend.

SRU could finish either second or third in the division, depending on the outcome of the remaining PSAC-West games. Edinboro (22-17 overall, 5-7 PSAC-W) has a doubleheader scheduled Monday vs. California, followed by a twinbill Tuesday vs. Gannon (22-19 overall, 5-9 PSAC-W).

The No. 2 team from the PSAC-West will travel to PSAC-East champion Kutztown for the first-round mini series, while the No. 3 team from the PSAC-West goes to PSAC-Central champion Lock Haven for the opening round of the conference tournament.

Central Division runner-up Bloomsburg (29-7, 13-3) and East No. 3 finisher East Stroudsburg (20-19, 6-10) will travel to California for a first-round mini series, while East No. 2 Shippensburg joins the West third-place team at Lock Haven.

Kutztown, in addition to hosting the No. 2 team from the West, will entertain the No. 3 team from the Central Division. Indiana (Pa.) and Mansfield tied for that spot and will have their playoff fates determined by a coin flip Monday.

The Rock is assured of its first PSAC playoff appearance since losing back to back games to Bloomsburg and Shippensburg in the 1984 competition.

Kortz clobbered a solo home run to lead off the third inning to break a 2-2 deadlock and account for the winning run in SRU's Game 2 vc itory Sunday. before Sheree Horvath followed with a triple and scored an insurance run on a wild pitch.

SRU took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning behind singles by Horvath, Jessica Ellebruch and Shardea Croes before California tied the score at 2-2 with two tallies in the top of the third.

Shauna Walker pitched a complete game to pick up the Game 2 victory and improve her season record to 9-10. She allowed two runs on five hits, struck out five and walked one.

Horvath was the only Rock player to have more than one hit in a seven-hit Game 2 attack.

In Game 1, SRU held a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, then fell behind by a 3-2 score before it tied the count at 3-3, only to see the guests scored four unanswered runs and record the win.

Jordan Zeunges singled home SRU's first run and Horvath lofted a sacrifice fly to plate the second run.

Kortz then smacked a solo home run with two outs in the third to tie the score at 3-3 after California had scored three times in the top of the second to take a 3-2 lead.

The Vulcans, who took the lead at 3-2 on a three-run home run by Mueller in the second inning, got three more runs in the fifth on two-run HR by a Johnson and a solo shot by Russell.

Braim plated the final California run with a double in the sixth inning.

Shaylee Ianno was the Game 1 starting and losing pitcher for SRU. She yielded seven earned runs on 11 hits, struck out eight and walked two in a complete-game effort and saw her season record fall to 3-4.

The Rock offense was held to only four hits, one each by four different players.

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