CARY, N.C. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team split a pair of games Saturday on day two of the Division II Challenge at the USA Baseball Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.
 
Slippery Rock (5-2) opened the day with a 5-1 victory against Walsh University (4-4) before closing the day by losing to the College of Saint Rose (5-6), 5-2.
 
Five Rock players collected hits in both games Saturday with Jon Kozarian leading the way after combining to go 4-for-7 with two runs, two walks and a pair of doubles. Kozarian has hit safely in all seven games for The Rock this season.
 
Alex Robenolt also racked up four hits Saturday as part of a 4-for-9 performance that included one RBI, a walk and a double. Leadoff hitter Abraham Mow had three hits over the two games while scoring one run and driving in another.
 
Rounding out The Rock's top offensive contributors in the two games were Koby Bubash and Connor Hamilton. Bubash had two hits, two RBI and a walk while Hamilton tallied two hits, two walks, a run scored and an RBI.
 
Slippery Rock also received quality outings from starting pitchers Andy McClymonds (2-0) and Luke Trueman (1-0). The duo combined to throw 11 innings with just two runs allowed.
 
GAME ONE: Slippery Rock 5 – Walsh 1
A lone first-inning run was all Walsh could manage as The Rock's pitching combination of McClymonds and JT Wolke proceeded to shutdown the Cavaliers' bats while SRU's offense parlayed a big second inning into a 5-1 Slippery Rock victory.
 
Trailing 1-0, Slippery Rock's offense came alive in the second inning as SRU plated four runs in the frame when Vince Donato scored on error to tie the game followed by a two-run double by Bubash and an RBI-single by Mow to send The Rock into the bottom of the inning leading 4-1.
 
The game belonged to McClymonds and Wolke the rest of the way. McClymonds went on to throw five consecutive scoreless innings before giving way to Wolke in the seventh. Wolke picked up right where McClymonds left off, throwing two near perfect innings before finishing off the game by stranding two Walsh runners on base.
 
While it ultimately was not needed, Slippery Rock added its fifth run of the game in the fifth inning when Mow, who led off the inning with a triple, scored on a single off the bat of Hamilton.
 
McClymonds improved to 2-0 in 2020 after allowing just one unearned run on three hits and two walks to go with two strikeouts. Wolke picked up a three-inning save thanks to three relief innings of one-hit baseball that included four strikeouts. Wolke is yet to allow an earned run in seven innings pitched this season.
 
Mow paced The Rock's bats with a two-hit, one-run, one-RBI showing from his leadoff position. Robenolt also collected two hits with Hamitlon, Bubash, Donato, Trueman and Kozarian all tallying hits as well with Bubash driving in a game-high two runs.
 
Walsh's Hyatt Shenefield (1-2) took the loss on the mound for the Cavaliers after allowing all five Rock runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings pitched.
 
GAME TWO: Saint Rose 5 – Slippery Rock 2
Slippery Rock held a two-run lead through four innings, but Saint Rose rallied back to score five unanswered runs to snap The Rock's five-game winning streak and earn a 5-2 victory.
 
SRU struck first with two runs in the third inning courtesy of back-to-back RBI-singles from Robenolt and Zach Mancz. Saint Rose starting pitcher Jared Restmeyer was able to get out of the inning with two runners on base.
 
Trueman tossed four shutout innings before the Golden Knights were finally able to get to him by scoring a run in the fifth to cut their deficit to just one run. Saint Rose went on to tie the game in the sixth and eventually take the lead with two more runs in seventh to go with an additional insurance run in the eighth to pull ahead of The Rock, 5-2, heading into the ninth inning.
 
Slippery Rock, which left 13 runners on base against Saint Rose, loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth inning, but closer Nick Zuba was able to halt The Rock's comeback effort by forcing Quentin Brown into a game-ending groundout.
 
Trueman gave up one run over five innings in his second start of the year. Christian Seelhorst (0-1) took the loss for SRU after surrendering three runs, two of which were earned, in 1.2 innings of work. Derek Boben came on for Seelhorst to pitch the final 1.1 innings, allowing one run and striking out three batters.
 
Kozarian was a perfect 3-for-3 with two walks at the plate for The Rock against the Golden Knights. Robenolt went 2-for-4 with one RBI while Mancz, Mow, Hamilton, Bubash Joe Sibeto and Anthony Cinicola accounted for one hit apiece in a game that saw Slippery Rock post 11 hits.
 
Saint Rose reliever Austin Cole (1-1) did not allow a run in 3.2 innings pitched to earn the win
 
Slippery Rock will conclude its time at the Division II Challenge 9 a.m. Sunday against Dominican College.




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