New/Sortable Box Score 1 |
New/Sortable Box Score 2
Traditional boxscores:
Game 1 |
Game 2
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team scored 15 runs in the final nine innings of Monday's non-conference doubleheader at Jack Critchfield Park to salvage a split vs. West Liberty University.
SRU was held scoreless and managed only one hit in the first five innings of Monday's first game before it got three runs on five hits in the final two frames of a 6-3 loss to the Hilltoppers.
The Rock parlayed 11 hits into a 12-0 victory in Game 2 to support junior right-hander
Mike Dunn's six-inning, one-hit shutout pitching effort.
The split gave SRU a 19-8 overall record heading into its three-game weekend series with nationally-ranked Seton Hill University. The Rock and Griffins open the series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at Critchfield Park before meeting in a 3 p.m. single game Sunday in Greensburg.
West Liberty, a West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival of Seton Hill, left Slippery Rock with a 13-12 overall record following Monday's split.
Dunn (top picture) struck out four and walked one in six innings of work to pick up his third win in four decisions this spring. He walked the leadoff hitter in the top of the second inning to lose his perfect-game bid and yielded a leadoff double in the top of the sixth to spoil his quest for a no-hitter.
Junior right-hander
Anthony Naso gave up one hit and struck out one in the final inning to preserve the Game 2 shutout.
Offensively, junior utilityman
Kevin Jovanovich led The Rock attack with a 3-for-4 performance in each game.
In Game 1, Jovanovich had a leadoff double in the bottom of the second inning, but was stranded there, then smacked an RBI two-bagger as part of a two-run Rock rally in the sixth inning. He had two singles and scored two runs in Game 2.
Junior shortstop
Will Kengor was also 2-for-4 in Game 1.
Junior center fielder
Jake Weibley (left) was 3-for-3 with a double, three runs scored and two RBIs to pace The Rock's winning attack in Game 2. Sophomore utilityman
Jordan Faretta picked up three RBIs without the benefit of a basehit, senior second baseman
Matt Curtis collected two RBIs and junior
Brandon Myers had two hits to round out the top hitters in the win.
The losing pitcher in Game 1 was junior right-hander
John Kovalik, who is normally The Rock's closer but made his first start of the season.
Kovalik allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits, struck out seven and walked two in five innings of work. The loss was his first in two decisions this spring.
Junior right-hander
Zac Anderson spelled Kovalik in the sixth inning. Anderson struck out one batter and allowed two hits in the final two innings.
Notes: Kengor finished Monday's game with a team-high .438 batting average, while Jovanovich had a .378 average. Those two players also rank 1-2 on the team in RBIs with 19 and 17, respectively … Monday's doubles were the sixth and seventh recorded by Jovanovich this spring and moved him into a tie with Kengor and Weibley for the team lead … Saturday's twinbill vs. Seton Hill ends a string of eight consecutive home games for The Rock, who then open a five-game road trip Sunday.
