SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team lost two games to Indiana (Pa.) University Saturday afternoon at Jack Critchfield Park in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division play.
Slippery Rock (7-24, 2-10 PSAC West) lost the opener, 11-5, before rallying back from a three-run deficit in game two to take a one-run lead heading into the seventh inning, but Indiana (13-16, 6-6 PSAC West) managed to score two runs in the final frame to claim an 11-10 win.
The Rock and Crimson Hawks combined to hit 10 home runs on a cold and windy afternoon that also featured sporadic rain showers falling throughout the doubleheader.
Alex Bell and
Ty Zimmerman led SRU on the day. Bell extended his reached base streak to 18 games with a pair of multi-hit games. On the day, he went 5-for-7 with three runs scored, three RBI, two doubles and one home run, his seventh of the season. Bell now has 34 RBI in 2016. Zimmerman produced a 5-for-8, three-run, two-RBI, one-home run performance over the two games.
Saturday was Pediatric Cancer Awareness Day at Jack Critchfield Park. The Slippery Rock baseball team all dawned gold shoelaces and other gold equipment to promote awareness in addition to raising funds to be donated to youth cancer research. Gold is the official color of pediatric cancer awareness.
GAME ONE: Indiana 11 – Slippery Rock 5The Crimson Hawks scored nine runs over the opening five innings to take a commanding 9-2 lead over The Rock on the way to its six-run win in game one.
Slippery Rock cut the Crimson Hawks' lead down to four runs with a three-run fifth inning thanks to an RBI-double by Bell,
Preston Falascino being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and
Joe Campagna hitting a sacrifice fly that brought in
James Divosevic from third. However, IUP pitcher Matt Douglas got out of the jam by stranding two runners on base thus limiting any further damage.
SRU left two more runners on base in a scoreless sixth inning and IUP added two more runs in the seventh to secure its 11-5 win.
Zimmerman and Bell both had two hits in game one with Bell also driving in one run. Campagna added a two-run home run to go with his aforementioned sacrifice fly for a three-RBI game. The home run was his second of the season.
Matt Gordon (3-3) took the loss on the mound for The Rock after giving up six runs on 10 hits in a game in which Gordon pitched much better then his final stat line would indicate.
Stephen McKee threw the next 4.1 innings out of the SRU bullpen, allowing five runs on three hits and six walks.
Wyatt Daugherty came on to record the final out of the seventh inning.
Dan Sepic had five RBI and two home runs to pace the Crimson Hawks.
GAME TWO: Indiana 11 – Slippery Rock 10Slippery Rock responded to its loss in the opener with a powerful start in game two. The Rock's bats exploded for six runs over the first four innings all off of home runs as
Carson Kessler hit a solo shot in the second while
Tyler Walters hit a two-run homer in the third followed promptly by a Bell home run with
Frankie Jezioro capping off the hitting display with a two-run home run in the fourth.
Indiana, which scored two runs of its own in the second inning, answered back with a seven-run fifth frame to take a 9-6 lead. Slippery Rock chipped away at the IUP lead with one run in the bottom of the fifth via a
Jordan Faretta single that plated Bell, who doubled earlier in the inning, and eventually retook the lead in the sixth by tallying three more runs to take a 10-9 advantage into the seventh.
Zimmerman highlighted the sixth with a two-run home run while Bell stroked a run-scoring single that brought in Campagna from third. However, the lead was short-lived as IUP plated a pair of runs in the seventh to pull ahead 11-10.
The Rock attempted to mount a two-out rally in the bottom of the inning as Zimmerman hit a double and then took third on a wild pitch, but Sepic was able to secure the game's final out with a strikeout of Campagna to escape with the one-run win.
Zimmerman and Bell each had three hits, one home run and two RBI in the nightcap. Walters added two hits, two RBI and one home run of his own, as did Jezioro. Jezioro hit three home runs in four games against IUP.
Walters exits the weekend with a team-high 10 home runs and 39 RBI on the season. He now has 23 career home runs, the fifth most in Rock history. Walters is just two homers away from tying Matt Adams for fourth place in the SRU record book for home runs in a career.
Shawn Holman got the start for SRU in game two and received a no decision after tossing 4.1 innings and striking out a season-high seven batters while giving up seven runs. Divosevic relieved Holman in the fifth, but gave up two runs and did not record an out before being subbed out for Falascino (1-3), who pitched the final 2.2 innings in the loss.
Slippery Rock returns to action Tuesday when hit hosts Mansfield University in a non-conference doubleheader at Jack Critchfield Park. First pitch of game one is set for 1 p.m.
