Game 1 boxscore
Game 2 boxscore

2009 Rock cumulative statistics

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- The Slippery Rock University baseball team closed out its regular-season schedule Monday with a "Senior Day" doubleheader sweep of visiting Wheeling Jesuit University in a non-conference, NCAA  Division II Atlantic Regional doubleheader at Jack Critchfield Park.

Junior catcher-first baseman Matt Adams singled home the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to give SRU an 8-7 victory in Game 1.

The Rock won Game 2 by a 10-5 score in a game halted after four and one-half innings due to darkness. The lights at Critchfield Park were not operable due to a power outage on the southern end of the SRU campus.

Monday's sweep improved SRU's season record to 36-14 overall, while Wheeling Jesuit ended its season with a 6-35 record.

The Rock is now idle until May 4, when it will meet Kutztown University in an opening-round game of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships at Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m.

Adams, a virtual lock to receive All-America honors for the third time in as many collegiate seasons, was the star of the day for SRU as he had four hits and collected four RBIs in Monday's doubleheader.

He had two hits and three RBIs in Game 1 and added a pair of hits and one RBI in Game 2.

Adams' first Game 1 RBI came on a sacrifice fly that plated the fourth and final Rock run in the in the bottom of the fourth inning when SRU trimmed Wheeling Jesuit's lead to one run, 6-5.

He then smacked a solo home run, his team-high 14th roundtripper of the season, in the the sixth inning to tie the score at 7-7 before slapping an opposite-field single to account for the game-winning tally in the seventh inning.

Senior center fielder Rich Michalek, one of five Rock players who made their final appearance at "The Jack," also picked up three RBI and had three hits in Game 1 as The Rock collected 11 hits, including four extra-base knocks.

Freshman right fielder Matt Kosik, junior second baseman Billy Messer and junior left fielder Jacob Oswalt each had a double for the other multiple-base hits. Messer also had a single to join Admas and Michalek as Rock players with more than one hit.

Junior right-hander Scott Dunn, the third pitcher used by veteran Rock head coach Jeff Messer, picked up the win in a relief role. He allowed one earned run on two hits and struck out one in the final two innings to improve his season record to 7-2.

Redshirt freshman southpaw John Thomas was The Rock's starting pitcher and allowed five runs (three earned) on four hits, struck out two and walked one in two and one-third innings.

Sophomore southpaw Brett Vescovi allowed one earned run on three hits and struck out three in the middle two and two-thirds innings.

In Game 2, The Rock scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning and added four more in the second frame to take a 6-0 lead, only to see Wheeling Jesuit plate five runs in the top of the third to trim the margin to one.

A single Rock run in the bottom of the third and three tallies in the fourth rounded out the game's scoring.

SRU had only three RBIs in the game as it scored three runs on Wheeling Jesuit errors, two runs on wild pitches, one run on a balk and one run on a successful double steal.

Sophomore designated hitter Derek Diruscia had three of The Rock's 10 hits in the game, one of which was an RBI single and another of which was a double, while Adams and Michalek each added two hits and one RBI.

One of Michalek's hits was a leadoff triple in the bottom of the first inning and the other was an RBI single in the second. Adams had an RBI single in the second and a leadoff double in the fourth.

Senior southpaw Mark Tanner, another of The Rock players who their final home appearance Monday, pitched the first three innings and allowed five earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts and four bases on balls. He was credited with the win, which improved his season record to 4-2.

Junior right-hander Justin Thomas struck out one in a pair of scoreless and hitless innings  to close out the game.

Notes:

Adams' fourth-inning double in Game 2 was his 24th two-bagger of the season, which equals the school record he set as a freshman in 2007 ... The four RBIs Monday improved Adams' season total to 64, the third highest mark in school history ... His 4-for-7 day at the plate improved his season batting average to .497, which is 11 points higher than the current school record held by Dan DeCola (2000) ... Adams' ranks second on SRU's single-season home run chart with 14 (school record: 16 by Brad Lowe, 1998) ... With 64 runs scored this spring, Adams is two shy of the school record held by Joe Neidrick (2003) ... Junior right-hander Vince Lloyd is now tied for fourth place on SRU's single-season pitching wins chart with an 8-1 record ... The Rock's win total of 36 is the highest for a Green and White squad since the 2003 regional championship team had a 48-12 mark.