Game One Box Score |
Game Two Box Score SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team dealt No. 21 Mercyhurst University its first loss of the 2015 season in a doubleheader split with the Lakers on Tuesday afternoon at Jack Critchfield Park in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division competition.
Slippery Rock won the opener, 7-6, before losing game two, 7-2, in what was The Rock's third consecutive doubleheader split. Slippery Rock will enter its weekend series against California (Pa.) with an overall record of 10-9 and a PSAC-West mark of 3-5. The nationally ranked Lakers leave Slippery Rock at 15-1 overall and 7-1 in league play after sustaining their first setback of the year.
Tuesday's games were originally scheduled to be played on March 14, but were postponed due inclement weather.
GAME ONE: Slippery Rock 7 – Mercyhurst 6A two-out, two-run double by redshirt junior
Kyle Vozar proved to be the difference in The Rock's game one victory.
Mercyhurst clung to a 6-5 advantage with two outs in the fifth inning and two Rock runners on base before Vozar turned on a Matt Minnick pitch and delivered a bases-clearing double that scored sophomore
Logan Brown and freshman
Tyler Walters.
The one-run lead was enough for sophomore
Preston Falascino (1-1), who moved over from third base to pitch in the fifth inning. Falascino stranded a pair of Laker runners in both the sixth and seventh innings to secure the victory for The Rock.
Falascino contributed to the victory in a variety of ways. In addition to throwing three shutout innings and striking out four Lakers on the mound, he also went 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBI. Both of Falascino's hits went for extra bases in the form of a first inning two-run home run and a third-inning double. All three of Falascino's home runs this season have occurred at home.
Walters and senior
Jake Nogalo supplemented Vozar and Falascino's big hits with one RBI apiece, both of which came as part of The Rock's three-run fourth inning that started SRU's rally which carried over into sixth and deciding frame. For the game, Nogalo was 1-for-1 while walking three times.
Senior
Garret Peterson started the contest for The Rock. He lasted four innings, allowing six runs (four earned) on three hits and seven walks. Minnick took the loss for the Lakers.
GAME TWO: Mercyhurst 7 – Slippery Rock 2The nightcap had all the makings of a pitcher's duel early on as Rock freshman pitcher
Alex Pantuso and Mercyhurst's Joe Gnacinski were dominant for the majority of their time on the mound.
Gnacinski did not allow a run in three of his four innings pitched and would leave the game with the lead at the start of the fifth inning. The Rock would only get to him in a two-run third inning that saw sophomore
Ty Zimmerman score from second base on a throwing error and senior
Adam Urbania drive in Nogalo with a clutch two-out single.
Meanwhile, after giving up a run in the first inning off of a sacrifice fly, Pantuso proceeded to allow just two runs over the following four innings to keep the Lakers' lead to just one run at 3-2 going into the sixth.
However, unlike game one, SRU was unable to record a comeback victory as Mercyhurst added three runs in the sixth and one more in the seventh while MU relief pitchers Mike Schnurr and Jake Hall combined to throw three shutout innings in relief to seal the road win.
Pantuso finished the game with six strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work that included six hits and five runs. Sophomore
James Divosevic and freshman
Stephen Mckee pitched the final 1.2 innings in relief of Pantuso; both gave up one run.
Nogalo, Urbania, Zimmerman and junior
Jordan Faretta accounted for The Rock's four hits in game two.
Austin Alonge and Giancarlo Saia had two RBI apiece for the Lakers in the win.
Slippery Rock continues PSAC-West play with a doubleheader at home on Friday against California (Pa.). First pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.
