SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Sophomore pitcher Carly DeRose picked up a pair of wins to power the Slippery Rock University softball team to a doubleheader sweep of Clarion in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action Monday afternoon from the SRU Softball Complex.
 
In a tight opener, DeRose guided The Rock to a 2-0 victory with a complete game shutout. DeRose returned to the mound to start game two and picked up her second win as Slippery Rock outlasted the visiting Golden Eagles 5-2 in the nightcap.

With the wins, Slippery Rock improves to 9-11 overall and 6-4 in conference play. The wins also push SRU's current win-streak to four games. With the losses, Clarion drops to 2-14 overall and 1-9 in league action.
 
DeRose finished the day with 172 pitches across 12.0 innings pitched. She picked up a pair of wins to improve to 6-5 on the season after allowing two runs (both unearned), striking out nine and scattering nine hits.
 
Game One: SRU 2 – Clarion 0
Both starting pitchers came out firing in the opener as the game went scoreless through the top half of the fourth inning.
 
With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, senior second baseman Taylor Welch smashed a triple off the top of the right field fence to give SRU its first scoring opportunity. Down 0-2 in the count, freshman catcher Lauren Hawley laced a single up the middle to give The Rock a 1-0 lead after four.
 
A RBI single from Welch in the bottom of the sixth pushed the lead to 2-0 in favor of Slippery Rock and DeRose shut the door on the Golden Eagles to pick up the complete game victory.
 
Welch went 2-for-3 with a run, RBI and a triple to lead the offense in the opener, while Hawley picked up a multi-hit game of her own after going 2-for-2 with a walk and a RBI.
 
DeRose earned the shutout victory to improve to 5-5 on the season. She finished the game with four hits allowed, a walk and five strikeouts in a 97-pitch complete game performance.
 
Game Two: SRU 5 – Clarion 2
DeRose started game two and picked up right where she left off as she faced one over the minimum, with three strikeouts, through the first three innings.
 
The Golden Eagles took advantage of a Slippery Rock error to take their first lead of the day in the top of the fourth at 1-0.
 
The Rock answered with a pair in the bottom of the fourth after capitalizing on a wild pitch and throwing error to take a 2-1 lead after four.
 
After a Slippery Rock error in the fifth, the opportunistic Golden Eagles snuck a run across the plate to tie the game at 2-2 heading to the home half of the frame.
 
Back-to-back hits from freshmen Allie Fischer and Emily Nagle put a pair into scoring position for SRU in the fifth and pinch-hitter Caitlin Baxter singled sharply down the right field line to regain the lead for The Rock at 4-2.
 
Freshman Brooke Dawson took over on the mound for DeRose in the sixth and set down the side in order with a pair of strikeouts.
 
Sophomore McKenzie Popatak led off the sixth with a triple to right field and scored on a RBI groundout from Kaylee Pistorius to give The Rock a 5-2 lead, before Dawson retired the Golden Eagles 1-2-3 in the seventh.
 
Senior right fielder Alaynna Beers went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored and Fischer finished with a pair of hits in as many at bats to lead the SRU offense.
 
DeRose picked up her second win of the day to improve to 6-5 after allowing two runs (zero earned) on five hits and four strikeouts across 5.0 innings pitched.
 
Dawson earned her first career save after throwing two perfect innings in relief with four strikeouts.
 
Up Next:
Slippery Rock is scheduled to return to action Tuesday, April 7 against Edinboro. First pitch of the PSAC-West doubleheader is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. from the SRU Softball Complex, but inclement weather in the forecast is threatening the chances of playing the games as scheduled.
 
For all updates, stay tuned to the official SRU Athletics Twitter page (@Rock_Athletics) and www.RockAthletics.com.