INSTITUTE, W. Va. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team split a doubleheader against West Virginia State University Saturday afternoon at Calvin Bailey Field in Institute, West Virginia.
 
Slippery Rock dropped a 3-2 decision in 10 innings in game one to the Yellow Jackets before bouncing back to earn a 9-2 win in game two. The split moves The Rock's record to 2-3 on the year overall.
 
Slippery Rock received a pair of great starting pitching performances from Chris Anastas and Tanner Stanz while being led at the plate by Frankie Jezioro, who went a combined 5-for-8 over the doubleheader with three runs scored, two RBI, one home run, a double and a stolen base.
 
GAME ONE: WVSU 3 – SRU 2 (10 Innings)
Slippery Rock battled back from a one-run deficit to tie the game in the sixth and force extra innings, but the Yellow Jackets eventually benefitted from a walk-off walk in the 10th to earn the game-one victory, 3-2.
 
Chris Anastas received a no-decision on the mound for The Rock. The senior starting pitcher scattered two runs on five hits and just one walk over six innings while striking out a career-high 10 batters. Reliever Wyatt Daugherty tossed three scoreless innings. He gave way to Luke Trueman (0-1), who took the loss for SRU with three walks and one hit allowed.
 
Anastas has now struck out 16 batters while surrendering just three walks over 11 innings this season. Daugherty is yet to give up a run in his five innings pitched.
 
Frankie Jezioro was a stellar 3-for-4 with one run scored, one double and a stolen base at the palte for SRU. Joe Sibeto went 2-for-4 with one home run and a double. Jon Kozarian racked up The Rock's third multi-hit outing by going 2-for-4. Joe Campagna, Colin Cain and Mike Collins all had hits as well with Campagna and Cain drawing one walk each and Campagna also driving in one run.
 
SRU scored the game's first run when Campagna connected on a single to left field that scored Jezioro from second base in the third inning. The Rock's would be short-lived as WVSU came back in the bottom of frame to plate a pair of runs via a Connor Slagill two-run home run.
 
The Rock and Yellow Jackets proceeded to trade scoreless innings over the fourth and the fifth before Sibeto evened the game at 2-2 with a two-out solo home run in the sixth inning.
 
The game remained tied until the bottom of the 10th when West Virginia State posted the game-winning run. With one out and one runner on first, Slagill doubled to left field followed by consecutive WVSU walks resulting in the go-ahead run scoring from third.
 
Slagill was 2-for-4 with two RBI for the Yellow Jackets. Jacob Bradley tallied 13 strikeouts over eight innings pitched with eight hits and two runs allowed. Matt Harrison (1-1) earned the victory for West Virginia State after throwing two scoreless innings in relief of Bradley.
 
GAME TWO: SRU 9 – WVSU 2
Slippery Rock exploded for six runs in the seventh inning to secure a 9-2 victory in game two.
 
Reigning Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Pitcher of the Week Tanner Stanz (2-0) was dominant in his second start of the season. Stanz allowed only five hits in six innings of work and both of his runs allowed were unearned. Ryan Tapp came on for Stanz in the seventh and proceeded to throw a perfect inning to close out the win.
 
Jezioro followed up a great game at the plate in the opener with another good showing in game two. The senior outfielder went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, one home run, one RBI and a walk. Ray Scala was a near perfect 3-for-4 that included two runs, two RBI and a walk.
 
Trueman earned his first collegiate start as a position player and responded by going 2-for-4 with one run and two RBI. Campagna, Collins, Sibeto and Abraham Mow all had one-hit games as well. Campagna's hit was his fifth double of the year.
 
SRU and WVSU traded runs in the first inning as Mow and Slagill produced matching sacrifice fly RBI. The Yellow Jackets took a brief 2-1 lead in the third inning only for Slippery Rock to answer back in the fourth when Scala drove a single to center field that scored Sibeto from second base. Scala then put The Rock ahead in the sixth with yet another RBI-single.
 
Slippery Rock put the game far out of reach with a six-run seventh, its highest single-inning run output of the year. Collins and Campagna each had run-scoring base hits while Trueman posted a two-RBI single and Jezioro launched a two-run home run, his first of the season, to account for The Rock's onslaught in the inning.
 
Tapp made quick work of West Virginia State in the seventh inducing a fly out, groundout and strikeout for the game's final three outs.
 
The Rock and Yellow Jackets will conclude their four-game series at WVSU Sunday with another doubleheader. First pitch of game one is set for 12 p.m.