ERIE, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team earned a doubleheader split on the road Friday against No. 11 Mercyhurst University.
 
Slippery Rock took game one of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division twin bill, 4-3, but dropped game two 4-3 on a walk-off Laker hit.
 
SRU has now won 10 of its last 11 games to improve to 18-8 on the season overall and 11-1 in PSAC West competition. The nationally ranked Lakers are now 21-6 overall and 11-1 in league games after Friday's split.
 
The Rock received a pair of great outings from starting pitchers Alex Pantuso and Matt Gordon. The duo combined to pitch 12 of the 14 innings played Friday while allowing the Lakers to score just five runs to go with 10 strikeouts and only three walks.
 
On a day in which SRU blasted four home runs, Tyler Walters led the offensive attack against the Lakers by combining to go 4-for-6 over the doubleheader with one home run and one RBI.
 
Walters' home run was his seventh of the season, tying him with Christian Porterfield for the most of any Rock player this year. The senior slugger is also now just two home runs away from tying the PSAC career record of 45, currently held by Shippensburg University alum Jake Kennedy.
 
GAME ONE: Slippery Rock 4 – Mercyhurst 3
Pantuso and Mercyhurst's Chris Vallimont showed why they are two of the top pitchers in the Atlantic Region in Friday's opener.
 
Pantuso scattered three runs on six hits and a pair of walks over six strong innings to improve to 4-2 on the season while Vallimont (5-2) countered by striking out 11 batters over seven innings in the complete-game loss.
 
Mercyhurst plated a pair of runs in the second inning to get out to an early lead before Pantuso settled in and proceeded surrendered just three hits in his final four innings.
 
With Pantuso cruising on the mound, Slippery Rock steadily began to chip away at the Lakers' lead. Walters broke the shutout in the fourth inning with a solo home run to left field and Abraham Mow followed suit in the sixth by leading off the inning with a one-run homer of his own to even the score at 2-2. Mow's home run was his fifth of the season.
 
Slippery Rock carried its momentum over into the seventh inning as Luca Fuscardo led off the frame with a base hit with Frankie Jezioro and Tyler Merigliano both reaching base via back-to-back failed fielder's choices in the following two at-bats to load the bases. Kyle Wise promptly delivered a two-run single down the left field line to give SRU its first lead of the game at 4-2 before Vallimont could get out of the jam.
 
Pantuso came out for the seventh inning, but Dan Elliott hit a leadoff home run and Matt Schneider walked to put the go-ahead run at-bat and force The Rock's ace from the game for closer Wyatt Daugherty, who came on to record three straight outs to preserve the win.
 
Daugherty's save was his PSAC high sixth of the season. Walters had SRU's only multi-hit game in the opener. Mow, Fuscardo, Wise and Joe Campagna all had one-hit outings with Wise delivering the game-winning hit.
 
GAME TWO: Mercyhurst 4 – Slippery Rock 3
Slippery Rock came within one out of earning a doubleheader sweep and extending its winning streak to 11 games, but Mercyhurst escaped with the 4-3 win in game two thanks to back-to-back two-out pinch-hit singles.
 
Mitchell Wood got The Rock off to a quick start with a solo home run in the first inning, his first of the season, but Elliott answered back for the Lakers with home runs of his own in the second and fourth to put Mercyhurst ahead 2-1.
 
The Lakers carried their one-run advantage into the seventh, but Campagna evened the score at 2-2 when he connected on his third home run in the last four games to start the frame. Two batters later, Jezioro doubled and shortly thereafter Matt Mandes stroked a single to right field to bring home Jezioro and give SRU a 3-2 lead.
 
Daugherty came in for Gordon at the start of the bottom of the seventh and following a leadoff walk to Elliott recorded two quick outs. However, the Lakers were able to steal a win when Mike Montalbano and Parker Shannon produced consecutive run-scoring pinch-hit singles for the 4-3 victory.
 
Gordon had four strikeouts and two runs allowed on three hits and one walk over six innings pitched. Daugherty fell to 2-2 on the season in narrow the loss.
 
As was the case in game one, SRU tallied six hits in the night cap. Walters went 2-for-3 while Wood, Campagna, Jezioro and Mandes had one hit apiece. Campagna's home run was his fourth of the season.
 
Russell Lamovec got the start on the mound for Mercyhurst, giving up one run in 4.1 innings. Relief pitcher Adam Jeannette allowed two runs in 2.1 innings. Fellow reliver Hunter Treece was awarded the win after getting the lone batter he faced all game out to end the seventh.
 
Slippery Rock and Mercyhurst will finish off their four-game series with a doubleheader at Jack Critchfield Park on Saturday. Game one is set for 12 p.m.


 
 
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