Game 2 boxscore

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University earned its seventh consecutive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Baseball Championships berth with a 4-0 win over visiting California U. of Pa. in Game 2 of Saturday's Western Division doubleheader at Jack Critchfield Park.

California (26-22 overall, 13-11 PSAC-W) claimed a 3-1 win in Saturday's first game to lock up the division's No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.

SRU (24-23-1 overall, 12-12 PSAC-W) then rode a strong starting-pitcher performance by senior right-hander Nic McCowin to the Game 2 win, which assured the Green and White of the division's fourth and fiinal berth in this year's conference tournament.

The Rock take on PSAC-Eastern Division champion West Chester (32-9) in the second of four opening-round games Wednesday at Pullman Park in Butler. First pitch for the SRU-WCU game is set for 12:30 p.m.

Further details on the conference tournament can be found at the end of this article.

McCowin pitched the first six and one-third innings of Saturday's second game to improve his season record to 3-2. He scattered five hits, struck out three batters and walked four hitters.

Sophomore right-hander Ryan Oglesby entered the game with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the seventh inning and promptly induced the only hitter to face him to ground into a game-ending double play to pick up his second save of the season.

Offensively, The Rock collected eight hits in the game, led by a 2-for-3 effort by sophomore shortstop Will Kengor.

Junior first baseman John Shaffer (pictured) smacked his first home run of the season, a solo shot in the fifth inning, to account for the only extra-base hit of the game.

An RBI single by senior right fielder Matt Kosik plated the first run of the game, which proved to be the game-winning tally, as part of a two-run Rock rally in the bottom of the second inning.

Junior designated hitter Ben Bechtol had a two-out single, stole second base, went to third on an errant throw from the catcher and scored the third Rock run in the fifth just prior to Shaffer's roundtripper, which produced the final tally of the game.

The game-ending double play was one of two The Rock turned in Game 2 and one of four they turned in the twinbill as they raised their season total to 39. That's the highest DP total by a Rock team since the 2006 team turned 41.

SRU had only three hits in Saturday's first game, highlighted by a double each by Bechtol and junior second baseman Matt Curtis, neither of which figured in the only run The Rock scored in the game.

Bechtol had a two-out double in the bottom of the second inning but was stranded, as was Curtis following his leadoff double in the fifth.

The only other Rock hit in the game was a two-out single by Shaffer that allowed senior third baseman Lee Foxton, who had reached on a two-base error, to score the only Rock run in the bottom of the third inning.

That run cut California's 2-0 lead in half but proved to be too little. The guests added an insurance run in the top of the sixth to set the final margin.

Sophomore right-hander Lou Trivino (8-3) was SRU's Game 1 starting and losing pitcher. He allowed three earned runs on six hits, struck out three, walked three and hit one batter in five and two-thirds innings.

Fellow sophomore righty John Kovalik allowed one hit and walked one in the final one and one-third innings.

ROCK NOTES – Saturday's games were the final home contests for eight Rock seniors: Foxton, Kosik, McCowin, catcher Matt Accardi, pitchers Zach Jeney and Joby Lapkowicz and outfielders Derek Carr and Carter Haponski … The Rock are making their 25th trip to the conference tournament and 22nd in 27 seasons under the leadership of veteran head coach Jeff Messer. The Rock seek their fifth PSAC title and third under Messer's tutelage … With eight wins this spring, Trivino is tied for sixth place on SRU's single-season wins chart … Trivino has recorded 60 strikeouts in 68.2 innings pitched this spring and ranks 11th on that single-season list.

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT – The schedule for the first two days of the PSAC Baseball Championships at Pullman Park in Butler looks like this:

Wednesday, May 2
9:30 AM – Game 1: (W-2) Gannon (25-21) vs. (E-3) Shippensburg (30-19)
12:30 PM – Game 2: (E1) West Chester (32-9) vs. (W-4) Slippery Rock (24-23-1)
3:30 PM – Game 3: (E-2) Kutztown (31-15) vs. (W-3) California (26-22)
6:30 PM – Game 4: (W-1) Mercyhurst (35-13) vs. (E-4) Millersville (24-21-1)

Thursday, May 3
9:30 AM – Game 5: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser (Loser eliminated)
12:30 PM – Game 6: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser (Loser eliminated)
3:30 PM – Game 7: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner
6:30 PM – Game 8: Game 3 Winner v Game 4 Winner

Ticket prices for the PSAC Baseball Championships are $7 for an adult single-day pass and $2 for a student single-day pass. Students of PSAC-member institutions will be admitted free with a valid student ID card.