SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa.- The Slippery Rock University softball team earned a doubleheader sweep of Clarion University Wednesday afternoon with a pair of shutouts at the SRU Softball Complex.
 
Slippery Rock took game one of the doubleheader 6-0 before completing the sweep with a 3-0 win in the nightcap.
 
With the wins, The Rock improves to 12-13 overall. Clarion falls to 3-16 on the year.
 
Slippery Rock pitchers sophomore Brooke Dawson and junior Carly DeRose dominated the Golden Eagles, combining for 18 strikeouts and four hits allowed. Dawson, the reigning PSAC West Pitcher of the Week, had the best game of her young career as she struck out 10 and allowed just one hit to earn her second straight shutout victory in game one. DeRose continued SRU's great pitching efforts in game two, throwing her second shutout of the season after fanning eight and allowing three hits. 
 
Senior Megan Maloney led The Rock's offense with a 4-for-6 plate performance, two stolen bases and an RBI on the day. Senior Katie Kaiser extended her hitting streak to seven games with a two-hit, two-RBI performance including her team-leading fourth home run of the year.
 
Game One: Slippery Rock 6, Clarion 0
In the first inning of the opener, senior Ashley Samluk hit an RBI-single to center field to score Kaiser, who led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. The Rock added an additional run in the first inning on junior Caitlin Baxter's double down the left field line that scored Samluk.
 
Slippery Rock added a pair of runs in the third inning on two Clarion fielding errors and Kaiser made it a five-run game with a solo home run in the fourth inning.
 
Fielding miscues once against cost Clarion in the sixth inning as sophomore Amanda Brush scored from second base for the final run of the game.

Maloney's perfect 3-for-3 line led The Rock in game one, while Samluk and Baxter both had two-hits games.
 
The six runs were more than enough for Dawson, who didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning and allowed just two runners into scoring position all afternoon. Her 10 strikeouts eclipsed her previous personal best of seven strikeouts from earlier in the year against Grand Valley State.
 
Game Two: Slippery Rock 3, Clarion 0
Sophomore Allie Fischer hit an RBI-single to right center in the second inning of game two that scored Baxter, who led off the inning with a single to left center and advanced senior Stacey Herzog, who was hit by a pitch. Maloney hit in a fielder's choice, which allowed Herzog to score from third after advancing on a wild pitch. Kaiser concluded the onslaught with an RBI-single to left center that plated Fischer.
 
The Rock left two runners on base in the third, fifth and sixth innings but were unable to add any additional runs, however the runs were not needed as DeRose recorded her season-best eight strikeouts for the third time this spring.
 
The Rock will host Mercyhurst University in a PSAC-West doubleheader Friday starting at 2:30 p.m. Originally scheduled to be played at Mercyhurst, the location of the doubleheader was moved to the Slippery Rock due to field conditions.