HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. – Christian Porterfield hit three home runs to help lead the Slippery Rock University baseball team to a 15-8 victory against Shippensburg University Sunday in Holly Springs, North Carolina.
 
While early in the season, Saturday's win will likely come in handy later in the year in terms of regional rankings as Shippensburg projects to be one of the top teams in the Atlantic Region along with The Rock.
 
Slippery Rock exits its first weekend of the 2018 season with a 3-1 record after splitting two games against Shippensburg and sweeping a doubleheader against West Liberty University.
 
On a day in which SRU produced 18 hits, every Rock position player finished with at least one hit with six registering multi-hit outings.
 
Porterfield was virtually unstoppable Sunday. The senior catcher went 3-for-5 with four runs scored, three home runs, one of which was a grand slam, seven RBI and one walk. Game-by-game individual statistics only go back to 2009, but no Rock player in the last 10 years has hit three home runs in a single game. His seven RBI are tied with Alex Bell (2016), Tyler Walters (2016), Will Kengor (2014) and Jake Weibley (2014) for the most by a Rock player in the last decade as well.
 
Not to be over shadowed, Matt Mandes also had a career day at the plate with two home runs, three RBI and one walk. The homers were the second and third of Mandes' career.
 
Leadoff hitter Luca Fuscardo finished 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and a walk. Frankie Jezioro tallied three hits as well with two RBI and one stolen base, his fourth of the season. Through four games, Jezioro is hitting a team-high .467.
 
Abraham Mow and Watters had two hits apiece as well with Mow also tallying an RBI and a double in his second collegiate game. Kyle Wise, Joe Campagna and Mitchell Wood rounded out The Rock's top hitters with one hit each.
 
SRU set the tone for the game early on with a seven-run second inning that featured an RBI-single by Mow, a two-run home run by Mandes and Porterfield's grand slam.
 
The Raiders came back to score three unanswered over the next two innings, but Slippery Rock put any thoughts of a Shippensburg comeback to rest with three scores of its own in the bottom of the fourth via a two-run bomb by Porterfield and Campagna scoring on a passed ball to push The Rock's lead to 10-3.
 
Slippery Rock and Shippensburg went on to score five runs apiece over the game's final five innings as SRU closed out the seven-run victory.
 
Chris Anastas (1-0) picked up the win on the mound for The Rock after going five innings and scattering three runs on seven hits and two walks. Saturday's start marked the longest outing of Anastas' collegiate career.
 
Following 1.2 innings of work by Stephen McKee, Jay Cortese came on to close out the game by allowing just one run and striking out two batters in 2.1 innings pitched.
 
Aaron Cleveland (0-1) got the start for the Raiders on the mound, but lasted just two innings in the loss. Five Raiders worked in relief to finish out the game. Tommy Baggett led the Shippensburg offense by going 4-for-4 with three runs scored and a solo home run.
 
Slippery Rock will next play neutral-site doubleheaders in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania March 3-4 against No. 15 Southern New Hampshire University and Le Moyne College.
 
 
 
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