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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University softball team hosts a pair of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division doubleheaders this weekend. The Rock will take on Mercyhurst Saturday at 1 p.m. from the SRU Softball Complex, before hosting Gannon Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
Senior Day: Slippery Rock will honor its six seniors as a part of Senior Day prior to Sunday's doubleheader against Gannon.

Live Coverage: The SRU sports information office will offer live statistics at the link above. Live updates will also be available via the official SRU Athletics Twitter page (@Rock_Athletics).

Records: Slippery Rock brings a 9-14 overall record and 5-5 mark in PSAC-West play into the weekend. The Rock fell victim to a pair of walk-off losses at Gannon Thursday afternoon. Prior to Friday's action, The Rock sat in sole possession of fourth place in the PSAC-West.

Mercyhurst enters Friday's contest against Clarion at 9-15 overall and 3-5 in conference action. The Lakers have been out of action since dropping a pair against IUP last Saturday. Mercyhurst sits in a tie for sixth-place entering Friday's contests.
 
Gannon enters Saturday's contests against Seton Hill at 11-11 overall and 4-4 in conference action. The Golden Knights swept SRU Thursday afternoon to move into fifth place heading into the weekend.

Scouting The Rock: Slippery Rock is batting .257 as a team, while opponents are hitting at a .280 clip this spring. The Rock has a team ERA of 3.84, while opponents have an ERA of 1.90 against SRU this season. The offensive attack is spearheaded by freshman catcher McKenzie Popatak and sophomore third baseman Ashley Samluk. Popatak owns a .362 average with 21 hits, eight runs, three home runs and 15 RBIs, while Samluk is batting .343 with 24 hits, 12 runs, five home runs and 12 RBIs. Junior outfielder Alaynna Beers is hitting .308 with six runs, two homers and six RBIs. Freshman outfielder Eliza Sykes is batting .309 with seven runs and four stolen bases. Senior Emily Lobdell is hitting .279 and sophomore Megan Maloney is batting .270 with five stolen bases. Sophomore shortstop Katie Kaiser is hitting .247 with a team-high four doubles to round out the top offensive players for The Rock. Lobdell anchors the pitching staff with a 6-5 record and 2.82 ERA. She leads the team with 48 strikeouts, seven complete games and two shutouts in 17 appearances. Freshman Carly DeRose owns a 3-7 record and 5.06 ERA with 41 strikeouts to cap the top pitchers for SRU.

Scouting the Lakers: Mercyhurst is hitting .262 as a team, while opponents are batting .339 heading into Friday's games. The Lakers take a 6.11 team ERA into Friday, while opponents own a 2.86 ERA against Mercyhurst this spring. The offensive attack is led by senior first baseman Courtney Smith, who is batting .368 with 21 hits, two home runs and 18 RBIs entering Friday. Senior shortstop Megan Smith is hitting .324 with 23 hits, 15 runs, three homers and 10 RBIs, while junior third baseman Becky Malaga is hitting .338 with seven runs and eight RBIs. Sophomore catcher Taylor Jezuit is batting .304 with 17 hits and 12 runs scored to round out the top offensive performers for the Lakers. Junior Annie Truelove leads the pitching staff with 13 appearances and was 4-9 with a 6.51 ERA heading into Friday, while junior Alexandra Puckly is 5-4 with a 3.98 ERA, 32 strikeouts and eight complete games in nine appearances for Mercyhurst.


Scouting the Golden Knights: Gannon was hitting .268 as a team, while opponents are batting .274 heading into Saturday's games. The Golden Knights take a 3.21 team ERA into Saturday, while opponents own a 3.15 ERA against Gannon this spring. Kirstie Cortazzo leads the offensive attack, batting .379 with 22 hits, 18 runs, three home runs and 14 RBIs. Jess Rectenwald is hitting .424 with 28 hits, 14 runs, seven doubles and 11 RBIs. Alyssa Bates is hitting .439 with 18 hits and 12 RBIs, while Katie Dunn is batting .333 with 19 hits and eight RBIs to cap the top offensive players for the Knights. Rectenwald anchors the pitching staff with a 6-3 record, 3.03 record and 44 strikeouts heading into the weekend. Olivia Gumbita is 2-2 with a 2.00 ERA and Alison Benz was 3-6 with a 3.41 ERA to round out the top pitchers for Gannon.
 
Head Coaches: Becky Sciacca is in her third season as head coach at Slippery Rock. Prior to becoming the head coach, Sciacca spent five seasons (2007-2011) as an assistant coach for The Rock. In her first two seasons at the helm, she guided Slippery Rock to a 32-37 overall record.
 
Leanne Baker will be beginning her first season as the head coach of the Mercyhurst University softball program. Baker is a two-time graduate of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) foe Edinboro University. She was an All-PSAC West Second Team choice in 2006 and helped the Fighting Scots advance to the NCAA Tournament in 2007.
 
Tom Jakubowski begins his fifth season at Gannon in 2013. The program has won 90 games, made two postseason appearances and been among the nation's best in academics during his first four campaigns.

All-Time Series: The Rock is 20-28 in the all-time series against the Lakers. Slippery Rock won three of four matchups against Mercyhurst a season ago.

Slippery Rock is 19-36 in the all-time series against the Golden Knights. Gannon's late innings heroics resulted in walk-off victories of 2-1 and 3-2 over The Rock Thursday afternoon in Erie, Pa.
 
Next Up: The Rock returns to PSAC-West action Tuesday, April 15 at Edinboro. First pitch of the scheduled doubleheader is set for 2:30 p.m.