ERIE, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team split a pair of games against Gannon University at the McConnell Family Field in Erie, Pennsylvania Friday afternoon. Gannon rallied to defeat The Rock 11-6 in the opener, but SRU salvaged the day with a 5-3 victory in game two.
 
With the doubleheader split, Slippery Rock's record moves to 22-15 on the season overall and 13-9 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division competition. Gannon's record now stands at 18-22 overall and 8-14 in the PSAC West.

With six league games remaining in the regular season, Slippery Rock sits in a three-way tie for second place in the PSAC West standings along with Seton Hill and Indiana (Pa.).
 
GAME ONE: Gannon 11 – Slippery Rock 6
Slippery Rock jumped out to an early six-run lead on Gannon in the opener, but was unable to hold to a seemingly commanding lead as GU scored 11 unanswered runs in an 11-6 Golden Knight victory.
 
SRU started game one in grand fashion with a six-run first inning in which Luca Fuscardo and Frankie Jezioro provided respective one-run and two-run base hits with Joe Campagna capping off the big inning with a three-run home run, his fourth of 2017.
 
Meanwhile, Rock starting pitcher Alex Pantuso dominated the first three innings on the mound as he held the Golden Knights scoreless thanks in part to six strikeouts.
 
However, Gannon pitcher Santiago Mendez (2-0) settled down after the first inning and the Golden Knight offense would finally awaken in the fourth with three runs to trim The Rock's advantage to 6-3.
 
Gannon proceeded to break the game open in the fifth inning when it scored seven runs to take a 10-6 lead. The Golden Knights totaled just two hits in the inning, but benefitted from five walks, two wild pitches and two hit batters.
 
The Golden Knights added an additional insurance run in the sixth while Slippery Rock, which had just one hit over the final six innings, was unable to respond as Gannon pulled away for the 11-6 win.
 
Jezioro went 2-for-3 with one run scored, one double and two RBI to pace The Rock's offense. Fuscardo, Campagna, Tyler Walters, James Divosevic and Carson Kessler all registered one-hit games as well with Fuscardo and Matt Mandes also walking once apiece. Mandes and Wood also stole one base each.
 
Pantuso concluded the start with seven strikeouts over four innings while giving up five runs on six hits and four walks. With the seven strikeouts, Pantuso moved into sixth place in program history in career strikeouts with 168. He is now eight strikeouts away from passing Zach Jeney (2010-12) for fifth place.
 
Josh Coleman (2-3) took the loss for The Rock after coming in with two runners on base and no outs in the fifth inning. He pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up four runs before giving way to Wyatt Daugherty, who got the final out of the inning. Andrew Null threw the final inning of the game for SRU, giving up one run on three hits.
 
GAME TWO: Slippery Rock 5 – Gannon 3
Much like game one, The Rock once again took an early lead, but this time it would not be squandered as SRU staved off a late comeback bid from Gannon to hold on for a 5-3 victory and earn the doubleheader split.
 
With the game tied at 0-0 entering the third inning, Slippery Rock exploded for four runs when Mandes scored on a Gannon error, Walters hit a RBI-single and Christian Porterfield belted a two-run home run.
 
Gannon got one run back in the bottom half of the the inning, but Rock pitcher Matt Gordon (5-2) worked out of trouble and stranded two runners on base to end the threat. Gordon went on to throw two more scoreless innings to help SRU maintain its 4-1 lead heading into the sixth.
 
SRU produced an additional run in the sixth inning when Divosevic struck a run-scoring single to centerfield that plated Campagna from third base to give SRU a 5-1 edge. In the bottom portion of the inning, Gordon gave up two runs and retired a pair of Gannon batters before being replaced by Daugherty, who notched a strikeout to get out of the frame with two runners on base.
 
Daugherty remained in the contest for the seventh inning as the reliable reliever recorded the final three outs of the game while allowing only one hit in the frame to close out The Rock's 5-3 triumph.
 
Gordon earned his fifth win of the season after scattering 10 hits and three runs over 5.2 innings of work to go with four strikeouts. For the third consecutive game, Gordon did not walk a batter. Daugherty earned the four-out save, his third of the year.
 
Divosevic, Porterfield, Mandes and Kyle Wise all had two hits in the nightcap with Porterfield driving in two runs on his fifth home run of the year. Jezioro and Campagna both walked twice in the victory while Walters, who also stole one base, accounted for The Rock's ninth hit. Wood had his 11-game hitting streak come to an end in the victory after going 0-for-4.
 
Slippery Rock and Gannon will conclude their four-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday at Jack Critchfield Park in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. First pitch of game one is set for 1 p.m.
 
 
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