Game 1 Box (HTML)  I  Game 2 Box (HTML)

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University team swept Mercyhurst on Senior Day Saturday afternoon from the SRU Softball Complex.
 
The Rock rallied late to defeat Mercyhurst 3-1 in the opener before celebrating the careers of Haley Sherer, Taylor Welch and Alaynna Beers between games. The Rock's offense came out firing in game two and propelled The Rock to a 13-2 win in five innings.
 
With the wins, Slippery Rock improves to 13-17 overall and levels their Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division record at 10-10. Mercyhurst falls to 12-22 and 6-13 with the losses.
 
In the opener, sophomore pitcher Carly DeRose set the tone early with a pair of strikeouts in the first and cruised through the game's first three innings.
 
The Lakers led off the fourth inning with a pair of infield singles and put runners in scoring position after a wild pitch. Mercyhurst took a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly, but DeRose slammed the door with back-to-back strikeouts.
 
Slippery Rock's offense was quiet until the sixth inning, when a leadoff walk and double from Beers put runners on second and third with no outs. A throwing error by Mercyhurst allowed SRU to tie the game at 1-1.
 
With runners on second and third, junior Stacey Herzog pinch-hit and roped a two-run double down the right field line to put SRU ahead 3-1 after six.
 
DeRose retired the side in order in the seventh to pick up the complete game victory. She allowed one run on four hits and five strikeouts in seven innings to improve to 8-8 this spring.
 
In the nightcap, Slippery Rock exploded for seven runs in the first inning and never looked back.
 
Junior Katie Kaiser led off the frame with a solo shot to right center and Welch followed with a double off the top of the left field fence. Sophomore Caitlin Baxter followed with a single, before back-to-back doubles by Beers and Ashley Samluk put SRU ahead 4-0 and chased Mercyhurst's pitcher without recording out. Kaiser capped the inning with a two-out, two-RBI double that put The Rock ahead 7-0.
 
The Lakers answered with a two-out rally that produced a pair of runs after a Slippery Rock error in the top of the 2nd to close the gap to 7-2, but The Rock continued to swing hot bats in the bottom of the inning.
 
Three consecutive hits loaded the bases for Herzog and she delivered with a no-doubter of a grand slam high over the left-center fence to put SRU ahead 11-2 after two.
 
Baxter led off the third with a solo blast down the left field line as The Rock scored a pair to push the lead to 13-2 after three.
 
The freshman-pitching duo of Brooke Dawson and Paige Flore combined for an excellent performance for the SRU staff, limiting the Lakers to one hit.
 
Dawson got the start and allowed two unearned runs on one hit in two innings, before Flore took over and picked up her first career win after holding the Lakers without a hit over the final three innings of the game.
 
Slippery Rock finished the game with seven extra-base hits, including home runs by Kaiser, Baxter and Herzog. Kaiser, Welch, Beers and Herzog each picked up a double.
 
Kaiser went 3-for-7 on the day and picked up hits in each game to extend her hitting streak to 10 games. She finished with a home run, double and three RBI.
 
Beers finished the day with three hits in six at-bats, with two doubles, two runs scored and a RBI.
 
Herzog made the most of her two at-bats with six RBI on a home run and a double.
 
Slippery Rock and Mercyhurst are back in action Sunday in day two of the home-and-away weekend. First pitch from Erie, Pa. is set for 1 p.m.