SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University baseball split a non-conference doubleheader Friday against Clarion University at Jack Critchfield Park.
 
SRU saw its six-game winning streak snapped with a 3-1 loss to start the afternoon before salvaging the day by downing the Golden Eagles, 8-1, in game two. Slippery Rock exits the doubleheader with a 7-2 overall record while Clarion moves to 2-5 in 2021 with Friday's split.
 
Slippery Rock was led at the plate by the combination of Jon Kozarian and Joel Spishock. Kozarian went 3-for-7 over the doubleheader with two runs scored and three RBI. All three of his hits went for extra bases in the form of two doubles and one triple. Spishock enjoyed a 3-for-5 day that included one run, one RBI and one walk.
 
Leadoff hitter Abraham Mow also collected hits in each game in addition to scoring three runs and drawing one walk.
 
GAME ONE: Clarion 3 – Slippery Rock 1
Slippery Rock's Luke Trueman went toe-to-toe with Clarion starting pitcher Logan Schlegel for seven innings as both pitchers turned in solid complete-game efforts, but the Golden Eagles offense was able to do just enough in an eventual 3-1 victory in game one.
 
Clarion scored three straight times to open the day with two runs in the third inning followed by an additional score in the fifth to pull ahead of The Rock, 3-0, heading towards the late stages of the contest.
 
SRU started its rally in the sixth as Mow and Kozarian belted back-to-back one-out doubles with Kozarian's hit plating Mow to cut the Golden Eagles' lead to just two runs. However, Schlegel proceeded to force Connor Hamilton to fly out followed by a strikeout of Alex Robenolt to get out of the inning.
 
Schlegel then ended any thoughts of a Rock comeback in the seventh by stranding Spishock, who singled with one out earlier in the inning, at first base to seal Clarion's 3-1 win.
 
Trueman (1-1) gave up just two hits over his final four innings pitched in what turned out to be a hard-luck loss. All told, Trueman ended the afternoon by scattering three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out six batters in what was his first complete game at The Rock.
 
Slippery Rock's typically potent offense was limited to just four hits in the opener. Spishock led the way by going 2-for-3 while Mow and Kozarian added a double apiece with Mow scoring SRU's lone run via a Kozarian RBI.
 
Schlegel (1-0) carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning before Spishock broke through with a sharp single up the middle. Schlegel also registered six strikeouts in the win.
 
GAME TWO: Slippery Rock 8 - Clarion 1
The Rock rebounded from the game one defeat by scoring early and often against the Golden Eagles in the nightcap en route to an impressive 8-1 victory.
 
After having his 15-game hitting streak snapped in the opener, Hamilton, the reigning Division II Hitter of the Week, came alive with a 2-for-4 showing at the plate that included one run scored and three RBI.
 
Kozarian continued his hot streak via a 2-for-4, two-run, two-RBI outing with his two hits coming by way of a double and a triple.
 
The trio of Spishock, Quentin Brown and Colin Cain tallied one hit and one RBI apiece with Brown's being a triple. Mow scored two runs and accounted for Slippery Rock's eighth hit of the afternoon to round out SRU's top hitters in the contest.
 
Meanwhile, the pitching duo of Christian Seelhorst (2-0) and Andy McClymonds turned in great outings on the mound.
 
Seelhorst gave up just one run on four hits while navigating around five walks over 4.1 innings all the while tossing four strikeouts in his second career start. McClymonds came on for Seelhorst in the fifth and proceeded to limit Clarion to just one hit over the remainder of the game in a dominant performance out of The Rock's bullpen.
 
Slippery Rock busted the game open early by scoring four runs in the first inning as Hamilton belted a two-run double followed by a run-scoring flyout from Brown and an RBI-double by Cain later in the frame.
 
SRU stretched its lead to six runs over the following two innings via RBI-singles by Hamilton and Spishock. Clarion scored once in the fifth, but never truly threatened The Rock's lead as McClymonds was nearly unhittable and Kozarian came through with a two-run triple in the sixth on the way to the seven-run victory.
 
Michael Proios (0-1) was the pitcher of record for Clarion. He surrendered four five runs on four hits and two walks in 1.2 innings of work.
 
Slippery Rock and Clarion will close out their four-game series with a doubleheader Saturday at Jack Critchfield Park. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 


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