Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
ERIE, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University softball team lost a pair of close Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division games Tuesday afternoon at Mercyhurst. The Rock lost game one 1-0 and game two 4-3.
With the losses, Slippery Rock's record now stands at 8-11 overall and 1-5 in the PSAC-West. Mercyhurst improved to 18-16 overall and 4-4 in the PSAC-West.
Slippery Rock's
Shaylee Ianno and Mercyhurt's Annie Truelove (6-8) controlled the action in game one. Truelove held Slippery Rock to just three hits in the game while Ianno allowed only five hits and one run.
The score was still tied 0-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. After Ianno recorded a strikeout to begin the inning, Mercyhurst's Sydney Cuscino walked and was then pinch ran for by Lauren Rossi. The Lakers were able draw another walk to move Rossi to second base with one out, but Ianno was able to regroup and force a pop out for the second out of the inning. However, Mercyhurst's Samantha Elmers followed the out by hitting a single to score Rossi for the walk-off 1-0 win.
The Rock's only hits of game one came in the form of singles from Ianno in the third inning, junior catcher
Katie Saluga in the sixth, and sophomore first baseman
Breanna Tongel in the seventh inning.
Ianno finished the game giving up one run with three strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched. Ianno's record fell to 6-5 on the season with the loss.
The Lakers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in game two after scoring both runs in the third inning off of a two-run single from Cuscino. However, The Rock would not go away, making their comeback in the fifth inning. Freshman
Allie Lairamore walked to lead off the inning and was quickly brought home when sophomore outfielder
Emily Lobdell hit her first home run of the season with a shot to centerfield to tie the contest at 2-2. Later in the inning with two outs, Tongel hit a single which scored Saluga, who had reached base earlier in the inning with a single, to give SRU a 3-2 lead.
Not to be outdone, Mercyhurst responded by retaking the lead with two runs to go up 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth when two MC runners scored off of a Slippery Rock throwing error. Junior designated player
Stephanie Collenette led off the sixth by being hit by a pitch and was followed by a single from freshman outfielder
Alaynna Beers, but both runners would be stranded to end the inning. Truelove came on for Mercyhurst in the seventh to retire The Rock in order to preserve the 4-3 victory.
For the game, Saluga finished 2-for-4 with one run scored. Lobdell was 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run scored and one home run. Freshman pitcher
Ashley Knight took the loss after giving up two runs in relief to fall to 2-5 on the season.
Slippery Rock will continue its eight-game road trip 2:30 p.m. Friday at PSAC-West rival California (Pa.).
