Game 2 boxscore

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University's eight-game baseball win streak ended with a resounding snap Friday afternoon.

Visiting Mercyhurst University outhit The Rock by a 28-12 margin en route to 10-0 and 19-6 wins over The Rock in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division doubleheader at Jack Critchfield Park.

Nine of the defending conference-champion and 23rd-ranked Lakers' hits went for extra bases, while all of SRU's hits were singles.

Further evidence of the lopsided nature of the action was the fact SRU had only two runs and seven hits in the first 13 innings of action before scoring four runs on five hits in the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 2 against a pair of mop-up pitchers.

The Rock (18-19-1 overall, 6-8 PSAC-West) will look to put Friday's losses behind them and salvage a split in the season series when they travel to Erie for a noon doubleheader Saturday against the Lakers (27-9, 10-4 PSAC-West).

Junior first baseman John Shaffer had two of The Rock's four hits in Friday's first game. Freshman left fielder Austin Benshadle (pictured) had two hits and picked up two RBIs and sophomore shortstop Will Kengor also had two hits in The Rock's eight-hit Game 2 attack.

Shane Latshaw was 6-of-7 with three RBIs and four runs scored to lead Mercyhurst's attack. He hit for the cycle in Game 1 with a two-run home run, a triple, a double and a single in that order in four at-bats.

The Rock had only one serious scoring threat in Game 1.

Trailing 2-0 thanks to Latshaw's first-inning home run, SRU loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning. The rally ended there, though, as Mercyhurst pitcher Eric Aschley induced the second of three double plays turned by the Lakers in that game.

Mercyhurst scored three times in the top of the sixth and five times in the seventh to close out the Game 1 scoring.

The Rock were also hamstrung in Game 2 by a pair of double-play ground balls. Ironically, the hosts scored the first run of that game on a DP groundout by Shaffer in the bottom of the first inning.

The 1-0 Rock lead lasted less than a half inning, though, as Mercyhurst exploded for seven runs on seven hits and one Rock error in the top of the second inning.

The Lakers extended their lead with three tallies in the top of the fourth and, after The Rock got a single run on an infield single by Benshadle in the bottom of the fourth, blew the game wide open with nine runs in the top of the fifth.

Benshadle's second RBI single of the game pushed across the final Rock run in the bottom of the seventh after a pair of ground outs each plated one run and senior right fielder Matt Kosik slapped an RBI single.

Senior southpaw Zach Jeney (2-3) was The Rock's Game 1 starting and losing pitcher. He gave up five runs, three of which were earned, on six hits, struck out nine and walked one in the first six innings.

Freshman righty Garret Peterson (3-4) was SRU's Game 2 starting and losing pitcher. He allowed seven runs, only two of which were earned, on eight hits in the first one and two-thirds innings.