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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University softball team fell in a doubleheader sweep to Edinboro Sunday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action from the SRU Softball Complex.
 
In the opener, The Rock hit just 3-for-18 with runners on base in a 4-1 loss in extra innings. Errors cost Slippery Rock the chance to salvage a split in the nightcap, as the Fighting Scots withstood a bizarre seventh inning to escape with a 5-4 victory and sweep the doubleheader.
 
Junior shortstop Katie Kaiser paced The Rock offensively, collecting four hits in nine at bats on the day. Kaiser tallied a double, a triple, a run and RBI.
 
Junior Megan Maloney picked up three hits in eight at bats, along with a run. Freshman Emily Nagle chipped in a pair of hits in six at bats and scored two runs to cap the top offensive performers for SRU.
 
In game one, sophomore Carly DeRose was dominant on the mound for The Rock. DeRose tallied eight strikeouts through six innings of shutout softball.
 
Kaiser smoked a triple to right field that scored Nagle and put Slippery Rock ahead 1-0 in the third inning.
 
Trailing 1-0, the Fighting Scots manufactured a comeback in the seventh inning. A leadoff single and bunt single put a pair of runners on base and Edinboro knotted the game with a two-out RBI knock to right center to extend the game.
 
Slippery Rock had a runner on third base with one out in the bottom of the seventh and in the eighth, but could not come up with the game-winner in either frame.
 
Edinboro took control in the top of the ninth on a pair of home runs that put the visitors ahead 4-1. Slippery Rock put a runner on third again in the ninth, but came up empty as the Fighting Scots emerged with a 4-1 win in nine innings.
 
DeRose was excellent on the mound for SRU. She logged 151 pitches across nine innings and allowed four runs on 12 hits and nine strikeouts, but was tagged with the loss to fall to 6-7 on the season.
 
Looking to bounce back in the nightcap, Slippery Rock struck first in the second inning on a two-out RBI double from senior Taylor Welch that put SRU ahead 1-0 after two.
 
The advantageous Fighting Scots capitalized on five Slippery Rock errors in the third through fifth innings and scored five unanswered runs to take a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth.
 
Freshmen Allie Fischer and Nagle sparked a rally for The Rock in the bottom of the fifth with a pair of singles to lead off the inning. A pair of errors and some loose throwing allowed three runs to score for SRU and narrowed Edinboro's lead to 5-4 after five.
 
In what unfolded as a bizarre seventh inning, Nagle reached base to lead off the inning and Kaiser doubled to right center to put the winning run on second base. An infield single from Maloney nearly had Nagle picked off of third, but instead loaded the bases for SRU with no outs.
 
Senior Alaynna Beers smacked the game-tying sacrifice fly to left, but the runner was ruled to leave early on the appeal and resulted in a double play. A groundout sealed the victory for Edinboro as the Fighting Scots escaped with the 5-4 win.
 
Freshman Brooke Dawson had a strong outing in the start, but was saddled with the loss to fall to 3-5 on the season. Dawson allowed five runs (two earned) on seven hits and seven strikeouts in seven innings of work.
 
With the losses, Slippery Rock falls to 9-15 on the season and 6-8 in PSAC action. Meanwhile, Edinboro improved to 11-6-1 overall and 3-4-1 in conference play.
 
Slippery Rock is set to return to action Monday at Pitt-Johnstown. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.