Game 1 boxscore
Game 2 boxscore

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Hosting Slippery Rock University jumped out to a 10-0 lead after three innings en route to an 11-6 win in the first game of Wednesday's non-conference doubleheader vs. Seton Hill at Jack Critchfield Park but had to settle for a split as the Griffins took the nightcap by a 9-3 score.

The split was the second in as many twinbills and seventh in 14 doubleheaders this season for SRU and gave the Green and White a 15-17 overall record.

Wednesday's first-game loss was only the third in the last 21 games for Seton Hill, which exited The Jack at the end of the night with a 22-11 overall record.

The Rock and Griffins are scheduled to close out their four-game season series Tuesday, April 13, in Greensburg.

Before that, though, The Rock has an important four-game Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division series vs. Lock Haven. SRU travels to Bald Eagle country for a 1 p.m. twinbill Friday before the teams battle in a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at The Jack.

The Rock 11, Seton Hill 6

Freshman third baseman Jamison Walck was 3-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and one run scored in Wednesday's first game to lead a 12-hit Rock attack.

Junior left fielder Carter Haponski, junior center fielder Matt Howard and senior second baseman Billy Messer each added a pair of hits for The Rock.

Messer, who collected a team-high three RBIs, had a double and sophomore right fielder Matt Kosik hit his fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot in the second inning, to join Walck as the only Rock players to smack an extra-base hit.

Messer had a run-scoring ground out and Walck slapped an RBI single to push across two Rock runs in the bottom of the first inning to give the hosts an early lead.

The Rock exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the second, highlighted by Kosik's roundtripper and RBI singles by Howard, Messer and Walck.

The hosts tacked on an additional run in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly by junior shortstop Adam Jury to make it a 10-0 score.

Seton Hill scored four runs in the top of the fourth and top in the fifth to trim the deficit to four, 10-6, before a sacrifice fly by sophomore catcher John Murray plated the final run of the game.

Sophomore southpaw Jason Steen was The Rock's Game 1 starting and winning pitcher to even his season record at 2-2. He scattered five hits, struck out four and walked one in the first three innings.

Sophomore southpaw John Thomas relieved Steen to start the fourth inning but lasted only two-thirds of an inning before being lifted. He allowed four earned runs on two hits and walked four in his brief stint on the mound.

Sophomore right-hander Colin McCoy then allowed two earned runs on three hits and struck out one in one and two-thirds innings before junior right-hander George Hebert, normally a conference-game starting pitcher, allowed one hit and struck out two in the final one and two-thirds innings.

Seton Hill 9, The Rock 3

The Rock and Griffins were tied at 3-3 at the end of four innings in the nightcap before the hosts scored six unanswered runs, two in the top of the sixth and four in the top of the seventh, to conclude the scoring.

Howard, who was 2-for-2 with a run scored, was the only Rock player to have more than one hit in the game as SRU recorded seven safeties, highlighted by a double each by Howard and Messer.

Jury, Kosik and junior designated hitter Brandon Frohnapple each collected one RBI for SRU.

Senior right-hander Justin Thomas (1-2), the third of foure pitchers used in the game by veteran Rock head coach Jeff Messer, was tagged with the loss after he allowed the eventual winning run, walked one and hit two batters in one and one-third inning.

Freshman southpaw Joby Lapkowicz was The Rock starter in the nightcap and allowed one earned run on two hits, struck out two and walked two in the first one and one-third innings. One of The Rock's conference-game starting pitchers, Lapkowicz was lifted to save his strength for this weekend's start vs. Lock Haven.

Sophomore right-hander Cory Johnson pitched two solid innings of relief and allowed one unearned run on two hits before giving way to Justin Thomas.

McCoy pitched the final two frames and yielded five runs (two earned) on four hits and walked three.

Down by a 3-0 score at the end of three and a half innings, The Rock erupted for three runs in the bottom of the fourth to knot the score. Key ingredients in the rally were a leadoff single by Walck, Howard's double, a sacrifice fly by Jury and RBI singles by Frohnapple and Kosik.

Notes:

With a 4-for-6 day at the plate Wednesday, Walck improved his batting average to a team-best .414 mark ... Howard was also 4-for-6 Wednesday and improved his average to .407 ... Jury collected two RBIs vs. Seton Hill to improve his team-leading RBI total to 21 ... Kosik's home run moved him into a tie with Howard for the team lead (4) ... Howard also leads the team in stolen bases with 10 in 12 attempts while Haponski is one behind him at nine in 12 tries ... Seton Hill entered Wednesday's game ranked fifth in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II Atlantic Regional poll ... For the first time this season, SRU, which has lost six of its last eight games, was not ranked in the NCBWA regional top-10.