Boxscore: Rock 9, St. Joseph's (Ind.) 8
Boxscore: Rock 5, Tiffin 4
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio – Senior center fielder
Matt Howard continued his torrid hitting pace Sunday to lead the Slippery Rock University baseball team to wins over St. Joseph's (Ind.) and Tiffin and a sweep of a four-game series at VA Memorial Stadium in opening-weekend action.
Howard, who hit a home run in each of Saturday's games, including a grand slam in the second-game win over Tiffin, tripled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning of The Rock's 9-8 win Sunday over St. Joseph's. That was his third hit of the game.
The Rock trailed by an 8-7 score with two outs in the bottom of the ninth before they scored the tying and winning runs on St. Joseph's errors. Senior right fielder
Derek Carr, after receiving a base on balls, was picked off first base but managed to reach second base safely in a rundown. He scored the tying run when St. Joe's failed to handle junior
Lee Foxton's flyball. Foxton then sprinted all the way around from first base after Howard bounced a blast off the right field fence for a game-winning triple.
Howard followed up that shot with a solo home run in the eighth inning in Sunday's second game for what proved to be the winning tally in a 5-4 victory over Tiffin to complete the weekend sweep.
Senior shortstop
Adam Jury (photo above) was 3-for-4 with a solo home run in the third inning and classmate
Nick Caito added a three-run roundtripper in the same inning, while senior first baseman
Derek DiRuscia was 2-for-4 with a double.
Junior right-hander
Colin McCoy was the winning pitcher vs. St. Joseph's in relief of starter #$
Zach Jeney#, who pitched the first six innings.
Freshman
Lou Trivino pitched seven strong innings, allowed two unearned runs on four hits and struck out eight to pick up the win over Tiffin. Fellow rookie Kevin Paskert pitched the final two innings to pick up his first collegiate save.
The Rock is idle until Saturday, when it is scheduled to meet longtime rival Shippensburg in a doubleheader at the Ripken Baseball facility in Aberdeen, Md. The teams will close out their weekend series with a single game next Sunday, Feb. 27.
