Game 1 boxscore
Game 2 boxscore

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Slippery Rock University's baseball team swept a doubleheader from Lock Haven University for the second straight day Sunday to move into second place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division standings.

Sophomore designated hitter/shortstop Adam Jury smacked a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give SRU a 5-3 win in Game 1 of Sunday's twinbill.

Junior second baseman Billy Messer and junior left fielder Jacob Oswalt "went yard" in Game 2 to lead The Rock to a 13-2 win.

Sunday's wins improved SRU's season records to 25-9 overall and 11-5 in PSAC-West action. The wins extended The Rock's current win streak to six games, all of which came in the span of five days, and gives the Green and White the same win total it had at the end of the 2008 season (25-23 final mark).

Lock Haven saw its records drop to 11-23 overall, 5-7 in division action.

Sunday's first game, the second straight extra-inning contest played by the teams, was a classic nip-and-tuck affair.

Lock Haven took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning, only to see The Rock come right back and score two tallies in the bottom of the inning to tie the score.

Sophomore first baseman/catcher Derek Diruscia doubled to center field for SRU's first hit of the game to start The Rock's third-inning rally. He moved to third base on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Oswalt. 

Senior shortstop Kyle Smith reached base on an error, moved to second on the wild pitch and advanced to third on Oswalt's flyball before senior center fielder Rich Michalek slapped an RBI single to score him and knot the count at 2-2.

The Rock took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth when sophomore right fielder Mitchell Monas was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Diruscia and scored on an RBI single by Smith.

Lock Haven tied the score at 3-3 with a run in the top of the sixth before Jury blasted the game-winner well over the center field fence. Junior first baseman/catcher Matt Adams reached base on a dropped flyball to right field one batter prior to Jury's home run, his third roundtripper of the season.

Sophomore southpaw Brett Vescovi, the third pitcher used in the game by Rock head coach Jeff Messer, picked up the Game 1 win after pitching the final one-third of an inning.

George Hebert pitched the first seven innings and allowed three runs, only one of which was earned, on four hits and struck out six. Mike Ritson allowed one hit and walked one in two-thirds of an inning before Vescovi entered the game.

Sunday's win was the second recorded by Vescovi in as many days as a reliever vs. Lock Haven and improved his season record to 2-1.

Rock hitters gave their pitchers only five hits of support in Game 1. Disruscia's double and Jury's game-winning HR were the offensive highlights.

The Green and White hitters made up for lost time in Game 2 as they pounded out 12 hits. Adams, Billy Messer, Oswalt and freshman outfielder Matt Kosik each had a pair of hits to lead the attack. 

Oswalt, who had one RBI in Game 1, picked up four in Game 2 on the strength of a two-run double in the bottom of the first inning and a two-run home run in the fourth frame. The home run was his second of the season.

Billy Messer smacked his third HR of the season, a solo shot to lead off The Rock fourth, for the only other Game 2 extra-base hit for The Rock.

SRU spotted Lock Haven a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning before it unleased its offensive attack.

The Rock scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning, added one run in the third, three in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in the sixth to finish with 13 unanswered runs.

Junior right-hander Vince Lloyd was the beneficiary of the offensive onslaught. He pitched the first five innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits, struck out six, walked two and hit three batters en route to his fifth win in six decisions this spring.

Junior southpaw Rich Hocanson, who had been sidelined the last four weeks by an injury, returned to action and pitched two strong innings in relief of Lloyd. Hocanson allowed a hit to the first batter he faced in the top of the sixth but then shut the door. He struck out the side in the top of the seventh to close out the win.

The Rock's next scheduled game, weather permitting, will be Wednesday's 5 p.m. single game at Division I Youngstown State, led by former Rock assistant coach Rich Pasquale.

SRU then turns its attention to a crucial four-game weekend series vs.division rival Mercyhurst. The series is set to start Friday in Erie, followed by a twinbill Saturday in Slippery Rock.

The Rock leads Mercyhurst (21-12, 8-4), the third-place team in the division, by two games.

California (Pa.) leads the division with an 10-2 PSAC-West mark and is 25-7 overall.