SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team split a home doubleheader against California (Pa.) Sunday afternoon at Jack Critchfield Park. SRU rolled to a 12-1 victory in game one before dropping game two, 8-3.
 
The split, combined with The Rock's doubleheader sweep of the Vulcans on Saturday, gives SRU a 3-1 series victory against its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division counterpart.
 
Slippery Rock exits the weekend with an overall record of 21-14 and a league mark of 12-8. SRU is alone in second place in the PSAC West standings, one game ahead of both Seton Hill and Indiana (Pa.), with eight conference games left to play in the regular season. California, which is 18-20 on the year overall, is in fifth place in the PSAC West at 10-10. The top four teams in the PSAC West and PSAC East standings at the conclusion of the regular season qualify for the conference tournament.
 
Christian Porterfield led the way offensively for The Rock Sunday by going 4-for-6 over the doubleheader with two RBI, two runs scored and one walk.
 
Proving that Slippery Rock has one of the deepest lineups in the conference, the trio of Joe Campagna, Mitchell Wood and Matt Mandes (The Rock's seven, eight and nine batters), combined for seven hits, five runs scored and three RBI in the two games. Wood extended his hitting streak to 10 games with three hits in addition to two runs and one RBI. Mandes matched the production with three hits, two runs and one RBI of his own.
 
Tyler Walters was the fourth Rock player to total at least one hit in each game Sunday. He also scored two runs and drove in one more for his team-leading 45th RBI of the season. With 10 games left in the regular season, Walters has already matched his RBI output from last season.  
 
GAME ONE: Slippery Rock 12 – California 1
Everything clicked for Slippery Rock in the opener. The offense produced 12 runs on 17 hits and two walks all the while starting pitcher Preston Falascino (5-2) kept the Vulcans in check for the better part of seven innings.
 
Slippery Rock set the tone for the game with a five-run third inning that featured run-scoring hits by Luca Fuscardo and Walters as well as a stand-up triple by Porterfield that plated another run. Wood and Carson Kessler wrapped up the big inning with a single and double, respectively, that brought in one run each.
 
SRU extended its lead to 8-0 with three more runs in the fourth by way of a two-run single by Kessler and a sacrifice fly out by Kyle Wise that scored Porterfield, who walked earlier in the inning and advanced to third on Kessler's single, from third base.
 
The Rock concluded their scoring barrage with two more runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
 
While Slippery Rock scored early and often, California had trouble getting to Falascino, who did some of his best work with runners on base. The Vulcans put runners on first and third in two of the first three innings, but were held without a run on each occasion.
 
The Vulcans finally broke up Falascino's shutout with a two-out home run by Levi Krause in the fifth inning. However, Falascino quickly regrouped to get out of the inning without allowing any further damage. He proceeded to throw a perfect sixth inning and record the first out in the seventh before a single by Eric Fairman ended his day. Jay Cortese came in from the bullpen to get the final two outs of the game.
 
Falascino finished the contest with four strikeouts and just one run allowed on seven hits and one walk over 6.1 innings.
 
Of the 10 Slippery Rock players to record an at-bat in the opener nine finished with at least one hit including six who tallied multi-hit outings.
 
James Divosevic went 3-for-4 with three runs and one walk atop The Rock's batting order. Porterfield enjoyed a 3-for-3 contest that included two runs and one RBI. Fuscardo, Kessler, Mandes and Frankie Jezioro registered two hits apiece. Kessler drove in a team-high three runs while Jezioro scored twice and stole one base, his 10th of the season. Kessler concluded the series with 11 RBI in four games.
 
GAME TWO: California 8 – Slippery Rock 3
Slippery Rock's bid for a series sweep of the Vulcans was denied as California took advantage of seven walks as well as a great performance on the mound from Nichola Riggle (3-1) to take game two from The Rock, 8-3.
 
California jumped on SRU early by scoring five runs over the first two innings against Rock starting pitcher Trevor Adkins (0-2), who walked five batters and gave up three hits.
 
Slippery Rock cut into the Vulcans' lead in the third inning with two runs thanks to matching RBI by Divosevic and Jezioro. However, California answered back with one run in the fourth and another in the sixth to stretch its lead out to five runs at 7-2.
 
SRU seemed poised for a late rally in the sixth when Walters hit a one-out double before scoring on the next at-bat when Porterfield launched a single to left field. However, Riggle shut down the threat by recording two more outs before Slippery Rock could further cut into California's lead.
 
The Vulcans added a final run in the seventh and Riggle retired the side in order in the bottom half of the inning to close out the 8-3 victory.
 
Riggle had four strikeouts and no walks while allowing just three runs on six hits in the win. Levi Krause and Chris Wastchak had two RBI apiece to pace the California offense.
 
Wyatt Daugherty came on for Adkins in the third and pitched three innings in relief, scattering three hits, a run and a walk. Josh Coleman threw the final two innings of the day and allowed two runs on four hits and one walk.
 
Wood accounted for two of The Rock's six hits as part of a 2-for-3, one-run effort. Walters, Porterfield, Campagna and Mandes all had hits as well.
 
Fuscardo, whose lone plate appearance in game two came as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning, went 0-for-1 thus ending his 17-game hitting streak.
 
Slippery Rock will continue its push towards the postseason when it plays Gannon in a four-game series April 28-29. SRU plays a doubleheader at Gannon on April 28 before coming home to Jack Critchfield Park to host the Golden Knights for two games on April 29. First pitch of game one on both days is scheduled for 1 p.m.


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