Boxscore

AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Winona State University converted five bases on balls, two Slippery Rock University errors and two hits into seven fifth-inning runs Thursday to hand The Rock a 10-3 setback in college baseball action at Lake Myrtle Park.

The big inning sent The Rock to their second straight loss and fifth in nine spring-break games and dropped the Green and White's season record to 6-10-1.

Winona State, the defending NCAA Division II national runner-up, improved its 2012 record to 5-6.

Rock junior right-hander Nic McCowin pitched a no-hit shutout for the first three and two-thirds innings before a two-out single in the bottom of the fourth ruined his no-hitter. McCowin induced an inning-ending flyout from the next batter to keep the shutout alive.

McCowin returned to the mound for the bottom of the fifth, but failed to complete the frame before being lifted for freshman righty Kyle Schneider.

McCowin, who saw his season record drop to 1-2, finished his day's work with seven runs allowed (six earned) on only two hits, struck out six batters, walked five and hit one.

Schneider pitched the final three and one-third innings and allowed three earned runs on eight hits, struck out two and walked one.

The Rock offense collected 11 hits in the game, led by a 3-for-5 game by Will Kengor (pictured). Ben Bechtol and John Shaffer each added two hits.

Shaffer's double in the top of the second inning set the table for SRU's first run. Matt Accardi reached base on an error, moved around to third on Shaffer's two-bagger and scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch.

Down by a 7-1 margin, The Rock scored a single run in the top of the eighth on an RBI single by Kevin Jovanovich.

Winona State plated its final three tallies in the bottom of the eighth to push the margin to 10-2 before Kengor singled home SRU's final run in the top of the ninth to close out the scoring.

The Rock are idle Friday before travelling to Erie for a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday against Gannon University to open the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division schedule.

SRU and Gannon close out their four-game season series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader Sunday at Jack Critchfield Park in Slippery Rock. That is the first home date on The Rock's 2012 schedule.