CARY, N.C. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team scored four runs in the ninth inning to earn a 9-7 come-from-behind victory over Franklin Pierce University Friday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.
 
The victory, which was also the 997th in the career of SRU head coach Jeff Messer, improves The Rock's record to 3-3 on the season overall. Franklin Pierce drops to 4-2 in the loss. Friday's game was the first of three scheduled contests between The Rock and Ravens over the next seven days.
 
Slippery Rock trailed Franklin Pierce 6-0 through the first four innings before scoring nine straight runs to help secure the comeback win.
 
Eight players combined to produce The Rock's 11 hits, six of which were doubles, Friday with the trio of Luke Trueman, Joe Campagna and Abraham Mow leading the way.
 
Trueman was 2-for-5 with with one run scored and three RBI. Both of Trueman's hits were doubles. Campagna continued his hot start to the year by going 2-for-3 with a pair of runs, one RBI and a walk. Each of Campagna's hits went for extra bases via a double and triple. Mow also tallied a multi-hit game, going 2-for-5 with two runs, one RBI and a double.
 
Kyle Bowser made his first collegiate hit a big one as the sophomore backup catcher went 1-for-2 with a two-run double in the ninth. Starting catcher Joe Sibeto also had a double along with one RBI in three at-bats.
 
Ray Scala, Tyler Merigliano and Bo Williams all posted hits as well with Scala walking once and Merigliano driving in a run. Jon Kozarian also reached base on the day with a walk.
 
Chris Anastas got the start on the mound for The Rock, going three innings while allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks to go with two strikeouts. JT Wolke came on for The Rock in the fourth for one inning of relief, allowing three runs on two hits and three walks.
 
After Franklin Pierce scored six runs early, the reliever triad of Alex Worthington, Joe Dombrowski and Colin Cain (1-0) came on to shut down the upstart Ravens offense. All three hurlers were making their first appearances of the season and combined to not surrender a run over four innings. Worthington and Cain each pitched one inning with two scoreless frames from Dombrowski sandwiched in between.
 
With FPU's bats silenced, SRU went to work on overcoming the six-run deficit. Slippery Rock plated back-to-back runs in the fifth and sixth innings to trim Franklin Pierce's lead to 6-2. The Rock went on to score three runs in the seventh to set the stage for a dramatic ninth inning.

Down to The Rock's final three outs and still trailing 6-5, Campagna delivered a huge leadoff triple and quickly scored the next at-bat when Mow came through with a run-scoring double that tied the game and put the go-ahead run on second base with no outs. The next three Rock batters all reached base and scored with the inning being capped off by Bowser's two-run double that put The Rock ahead 9-6 heading into the bottom of the ninth.
 
Wyatt Daugherty entered the game in the bottom of the ninth inning and finished strong after a shaky start to his appearance that saw FPU load the bases with just one out before the senior closer forced a sacrifice fly and a groundout to get past the jam and secure The Rock's victory with only one run allowed for the 9-7 win.
 
The save was the 15th in his career. He is now just one save away from tying John Kovalik (2011-14) for first place in program history in career saves. Cain earned the win, his first at the collegiate level.
 
Franklin Pierce relief pitcher Shane Kittila (1-1) took the loss after allowing four runs in the ninth. James Boria and Jone Ozuna combed to produce four RBI to pace the Ravens' bats.
 
Slippery Rock continues its time at the USA Baseball National Training Complex 10:30 a.m. Saturday against LIU Post.
 
 


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