SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team completed a four-game series sweep against Clarion University with a pair of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division wins against the Golden Eagles Saturday at Jack Critchfield Park.
 
Slippery Rock defeated Clarion, 9-8, in 10 innings in game one before rolling to a 10-6 victory in game two. Slippery Rock is now 4-1 in extra inning contests in 2015.
 
The wins improve The Rock's record to 24-15 overall and 14-10 in PSAC-West games. SRU's sweep, combined with California's doubleheader split against Pitt-Johsntown, moves The Rock into sole possession of third place in the PSAC-West with four games to play. The top four teams in the PSAC-West and PSAC-East at the end of the regular season qualify for the conference tournament. Clarion drops to 7-24 overall and 5-19 in league contests after the defeats.
 
Jake Nogalo had the game-winning hit in the opener and drove in three runs in the nightcap to pace Slippery Rock. On the day, Nogalo scored three runs, drove in five and hit one home run.
 
Adam Urbania extended his hitting streak to 26 games while also totaling three RBI. Logan Brown and Kyle Vozar had standout days as well for The Rock. Brown compiled four hits in two games. Vozar had four RBI and one home run.
 
GAME ONE: Slippery Rock 9 – Clarion 8 (10 innings)
Slippery Rock appeared poised to take game one in regulation before the Golden Eagles plated a pair of runs in the seventh to force extra innings, where Slippery Rock withstood a five-run eighth inning by Clarion to score six unanswered runs in the 9-8 triumph.
 
The Rock carried a 3-1 lead into the seventh inning thanks in part to a stellar effort on the mound by starter Kyle Schneider, who had five strikeouts and surrendered six hits and just one run in six innings pitched.
 
However, the momentum swung into Clarion's favor when Tyler Falk hit a two-run single to force extra innings followed by the Golden Eagles taking advantage of three Rock fielding errors in the eighth to plate five runs and take a seemingly comfortable 8-3 lead heading into the bottom of the frame.
 
Slippery Rock's magical comeback began with Jordan Faretta and Ty Zimmerman reaching base via a single and fielding error, respectively, which led to a Nogalo RBI-double. Zimmerman further cut into the deficit by scoring on a wild pitch before Clarion pulled off a double play to put SRU down to its final out and still trailing 8-5. The duo of Brown and Vozar pulled Slippery Rock even with Clarion on a one-run single by Brown and a two-run hit from Vozar before CU was able to get out of the inning.
 
The Rock was held scoreless in the ninth despite loading the bases with no outs, but James Divosevic (3-1) threw perfect ninth and 10th innings to keep the score tied at 8-8 going into the bottom of the 10th. After two quick outs, Faretta and Zimmerman once again reached base to bring Nogalo to the plate, who in turn hit a single into shallow right field that scored Faretta from second base to give Slippery Rock its one-run win.
 
Divosevic only gave up one hit in 2.2 innings of work Saturday. Geoff Sanner threw the seventh inning and Zac Anderson recorded one out in the eighth to round out SRU's pitching performances.
 
Five players had multi-hit games in the opener. Brown was 3-for-6 while Nogalo, Urbania, Faretta and Zimmerman all collected two hits. Tyler Walters was 1-for-1 with one double and three walks.
 
GAME TWO: Slippery Rock 10 – Clarion 6
Slippery Rock scored runs in four of its six turns at-bat in game two on the way to its 10-6 sweep-clinching victory against Clarion.
 
After trading runs with the Golden Eagles in the first inning, Slippery Rock rattled off a total of five runs over the second and third innings to take a 6-1 lead. SRU turned a pair of Clarion fielding errors into two runs followed by an RBI-single from Urbania in the second inning while Vozar launched a two-run homer over the right field wall in the third.
 
SRU maintained its lead until the fifth when Falk hit a grand slam to make it a one-run game followed later in the inning by a game-tying RBI-single by Justin Ponsoll. 
 
However, Slippery Rock countered Clarion's rally with one of its own in the bottom half of the inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Faretta scored on a wild pitch to put The Rock back in the lead. Nogalo then proceeded to add three insurance runs by slugging his fourth home run of the year.
 
SRU's 10-6 lead was safe with relief pitcher Anton Constantino, who came on to face Ponsoll in the prior inning. Constantino tossed a perfect sixth inning and stranded a pair of Clarion runners in the seventh to secure the victory.
 
Constantino (3-4) scattered three hits in 2.1 innings while striking out one batter in the win. Jon Anderson started the game, allowing six runs on 12 hits in 4.2 innings.
 
Seven Rock players were responsible for eight hits. Vozar led the way on a 2-for-3, two-RBI performance that included his second home run of the year.
 
Slippery Rock will play its fifth and sixth games in three days when it travels to Bloomsburg University for a Sunday doubleheader against the Huskies. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.