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ERIE, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University softball team settled for a split in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action Sunday afternoon from MU Softball Field.
 
On the heels of a doubleheader sweep of Mercyhurst Saturday, Slippery Rock jumped out to an early lead in game one against the Lakers, but the hosts stormed back and took the game 8-2. Freshman pitcher Brooke Dawson responded with a strong outing in game two and led The Rock to a 5-2 victory to salvage the split.
 
With the split, Slippery Rock moves to 14-18 on the season and remains even at 11-11 in conference play. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst moves to 13-23 overall and 7-14 in league action.
 
Junior Stacey Herzog racked up five RBI while going 3-for-6 from the plate with three runs scored on the day. Herzog smacked her team-leading fifth and sixth home runs of the spring and also added a double.
 
Junior Katie Kaiser went 4-for-8 on the day and picked up a hit in each game to increase her hitting-streak to 12 games.
 
In the opener, Slippery Rock struck first in the top of the second after a leadoff single from Emily Nagle and RBI double from Herzog. Freshman Lauren Hawley knocked a RBI single to centerfield to put The Rock ahead 2-0 heading to the bottom of the second.
 
Mercyhurst led off the bottom of the second with back-to-back extra-base hits and after two quick outs, three consecutive hits, including a home run, capped a five-run inning for the Lakers.
 
The Rock's bats were quieted over the remainder of game one and Mercyhurst tacked on runs in the fourth and fifth innings to secure the 8-2 victory.
 
Sophomore Carly DeRose was tagged with the loss to fall to 8-9 on the season. DeRose allowed six runs on six hits and three strikeouts in three innings pitched. Sophomore Sarah Petrash appeared in relief and allowed two runs on five hits in three innings of work.
 
In the nightcap, Dawson was dominant, allowing one hit and no runs through the first six innings of play.
 
The Rock jumped ahead in the top of the second after back-to-back hits by Ashley Samluk and Emily Nagle put a pair of runners on base for Herzog, who promptly delivered a three-run blast over the right-centerfield fence.
 
Herzog led off the sixth with her second home run of the game, this time a solo shot, to put SRU ahead 4-0. Senior Taylor Welch pushed the lead to 5-0 with a RBI single to right.
 
Trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the seventh, a hit batter put a runner on base for the Lakers for the first time since a seeing-eye single in the second. Rachel DiBartolomeo smacked a two-run homer to end Dawson's bid for a shutout, but Dawson slammed the door to pick up the complete game 5-2 victory.
 
Dawson picked up the win to improve to 5-6 on the season after allowing two runs on four hits and seven strikeouts in seven innings of work.
 
Herzog went 2-for-4 in the game with a pair of homers and four RBI, while Welch, sophomore Caitlin Baxter, Samluk and Megan Maloney each picked up a pair of hits.
 
The Rock has its work cut out to stay alive in the playoff race. With 10 games remaining and five doubleheaders in the next seven days, Slippery Rock is in sixth-place of the PSAC-West standings. The top four of the division standings will advance to the conference tournament.
 
The Rock begins a home-and-away series at first-place Gannon Tuesday, before returning home for games against Gannon and third-place California (Pa.) Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. First pitch for each game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.