ERIE, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team lost a pair of one-run games to No. 4 Mercyhurst University Saturday afternoon at the Mercyhurst Baseball Field in Erie, Pennsylvania.
 
Slippery Rock dropped the opener to Mercyhurst, 3-2, before falling in the nightcap, 4-3. Nine of SRU's 23 games this season have been decided by one run.
 
The doubleheader loss drops The Rock's record to 15-8 overall and 7-3 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division competition. Mercyhurst improves to 20-2 overall and 9-1 in league games.
 
Mitchell Wood led SRU on the day, going a combined 3-for-6 in the doubleheader with two runs scored and two RBIs. Luca Fuscardo also had hits in each game, finishing 2-for-4. James Divosevic was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and Frankie Jezioro was SRU's fourth player to compile hits in both portions of the doubleheader on a 2-for-7 day.
 
GAME ONE: Mercyhurst 3 – Slippery Rock 2
Mercyhurst was limited to just four hits and did all of its scoring in the first three innings, but a late Rock rally fell just short in SRU's one-run loss in the opener.
 
Trailing 3-0, Slippery Rock put a dent in Mercyhurst's lead with one run in the top of the fifth inning. Wood and Tyler Merigliano each got on base to lead off the inning with a single and walk, respectively. The pair then advanced to second and third on a wild pitch before Divosevic plated Wood with a sacrifice fly to make it a 3-1 game. However, Laker pitcher Matt Minnick got out of the inning by recording two consecutive outs to keep the Mercyhurst lead intact.
 
The Rock pitching combination of Alex Pantuso and Andrew Null kept The Rock's deficit at just two runs by holding the high-scoring Lakers to no runs over the fifth and sixth innings, giving SRU a legitimate chance to tie the game in the seventh.
 
With one out in the final inning, Wood gave SRU life with a double to right field. After advancing to third base on fly out by Kyle Wise, Wood scored his second run of the game by way of a Divosevic single. However, SRU's rally was once again cut short when Mercyhurst relief pitcher Matt Keating came on for Minnick following Divosevic's single and proceeded to record the final out of the game to give the Lakers a 3-2 win.
 
Pantuso (2-1) gave up just three runs and recorded nine strikeouts over five innings against the nationally ranked Lakers in the loss. He has now had at least seven strikeouts in five of his six starts this season. Null had two strikeouts in a scoreless sixth inning out of the bullpen.
 
Wood went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. Divosevic had one hit and drove in both Rock runs while Merigliano, Jezioro and Fuscardo all recorded base hits as well.
 
Minnick (4-1) earned the win for Mercyhurst after allowing six hits and two runs to go with seven strikeouts over 6.2 innings pitched. The save was Keating's second of the year. Dan Elliott was 1-for-2 with two RBIs to pace the Mercyhurst bats.
 
GAME TWO: Mercyhurst 4 – Slippery Rock 3
A sixth-inning home run by Jared Kapturasky proved to be the difference in game two for Slippery Rock as the late homer enabled the Lakers to eke out the doubleheader sweep over The Rock, 4-3.
 
SRU struck first in game two on an RBI-single by Carson Kessler in the first that brought in Jezioro from second base. Mercyhurst answered back with one run in the bottom of the first and two more in the second on Kapturasky's first home run of the day, a two-run shot, giving the Lakers an early 3-1 edge.
 
Following a turbulent first two innings by starting pitchers Preston Falascino and Russell Lamovec settled in. Falascino threw three straight scoreless innings following the second while Lamovec kept The Rock's bats relatively silent for four straight frames after Kessler's run-scoring hit in the first.
 
SRU kept battling Lamovec and eventually broke through once again in the sixth with two runs to tie the game at 3-3. Kessler started the rally with a one-out single and Wise later joined him on the base paths with a walk. A wild pitch would then advance each runner a base to bring Wood to the plate with two runners in scoring position and two outs. As he did in the first game, Wood once again came through with a much-needed hit in the form of a two-run, game-tying single. Wood's hit knocked Lamovec out of the game in favor of Keating, who was able to finally get Mercyhurst out of the inning.
 
Falascino made quick work of the first two Mercyhurst batters in the bottom half of the sixth, but Kapturasky spoiled SRU's comeback bid with a solo home run to give the Lakers a 4-3 edge it would never relinquish.
 
Divosevic singled to start the seventh inning and later advanced to second base on a groundout before Keating ended the threat with the game's final two outs to seal the MU win.
 
Kessler and Christian Porterfield both finished game two with two hits. Kessler also scored one run and drove in another while Porterfield walked once in addition to his pair of hits. Wood, Fuscardo, Wise and Divosevic all registered hits as well.
 
Falascino (4-2) took the loss on the mound for Slippery Rock, finishing the game with eight strikeouts over 5.2 innings while allowing four runs on six hits and six walks. Wyatt Daugherty relieved Falascino following the Kapturasky home run to get the final out of the sixth, a strikeout of Jimmy Latona.
 
Keating held SRU without a run in 1.1 innings out of the bullpen for Lamovec, who had nine strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Kapturasky finished the contest 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBIs.
 
Slippery Rock and Mercyhurst will conclude their four-game series with a doubleheader Sunday at Kelly Automotive Park in Butler, Pennsylvania. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
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