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INDIANA, Pa. – The Slippery Rock softball team was upended 12-2 and 6-5 by Indiana (Pa.) in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action Friday afternoon from Podbielski Field.
 
The Rock surrendered eight runs in the first inning of the opener and could never gain traction in a 12-2 loss to the Crimson Hawks. After surging ahead 5-0 in the nightcap, the Crimson Hawks scored six unanswered runs to defeat SRU 6-5 on a walk-off in the seventh inning.
 
With the losses, Slippery Rock falls to 11-17 overall and 8-10 in conference play. Meanwhile, Indiana improves to 12-12 on the season and 10-4 in league action.
 
In the opener, sophomore Caitlin Baxter put Slippery Rock ahead 1-0 in the first with a solo blast to centerfield, but IUP stormed back with a pair of three-run homers to take a commanding 8-1 lead over SRU after the first.
 
The Crimson Hawks tacked on four more runs in the third, before squelching a Slippery Rock rally in the fifth to cruise to the 12-2 victory.
 
Indiana entered the day having scored eight or more runs in each game of its previous eight games, all of which were wins, and extended the streak to nine with eight runs in the first inning of play.
 
Baxter finished the day 1-for-3 with her first home run of the season, while junior Katie Kaiser extended her hitting streak to seven games on a 1-for-3 day with a RBI. Senior Taylor Welch capped the top performers for SRU after going 1-for-2 with a run scored.
 
Sophomore Carly DeRose got the start and was handed the loss to fall to 7-8 on the season. DeRose was chased after allowing eight runs on seven hits, before being relieved by freshman Marissa Harris, who allowed four runs on four hits over three innings.
 
In the nightcap, the game began as a polar opposite of the first game.
 
Both pitchers got off sizzling starts, with freshman lefty Brooke Dawson racking up six strikeouts while facing two over the minimum through the first four innings for SRU.
 
Slippery Rock struck first in the top of the fifth, breaking a scoreless game with five runs to take a 5-0 lead. Kaiser roped a double to left to produce the game's first run, before hits from Welch and senior Alaynna Beers pushed two more runs across. Junior Ashley Samluk capped the scoring outburst with a two-out, two-run home run to right field.
 
The Crimson Hawks, aided by a Slippery Rock error, finally got to Dawson with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to close the SRU lead to 5-3.
 
Indiana led off the bottom of the sixth with a double and after a pair of strikeouts, an infield single and wild pitch put runners on second and third with two outs. Mercer snuck a ground ball up the middle to plate both runners and tie the game 5-5 after six.
 
After two quick outs to start the seventh, back-to-back singles from freshman Lauren Hawley and Samluk put the go-ahead run on second, but IUP was able escape the jam and preserve the tie.
 
A walk and single put runners on the corners for Indiana with one out in the bottom of the seventh, before a fielder's choice turned into the walk-off game-winner as the runner broke home uncontested after lulling the defense to sleep.  
 
Dawson (4-6) received the loss after allowing six runs (four earned) on 10 hits over six innings of work. Dawson finished the game with a season-high nine strikeouts.
 
Welch led the offense with three hits in four at-bats and scored a run, while Samluk went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer. Kaiser went 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and RBI, while Hawley finished the game with three hits.
 
Slippery Rock returns to action Saturday at the SRU Softball Complex for Senior Day against Mercyhurst. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.