SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -  The No. 22 Slippery Rock University baseball team was swept in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division doubleheader against Indiana University (Pa.) Tuesday at Jack Critchfield Park.
 
Slippery Rock held leads in both games Tuesday, but the Crimson Hawks ultimately took the opener from The Rock, 3-2, before closing out the day with an 8-5 win in game two.
 
The losses drop SRU's record to 11-3 on the year overall and 1-3 in league games while IUP improves to 10-7 overall and 3-1 in the PSAC West.
 
Luke Trueman had a great all-around day for The Rock. He had six strikeouts while allowing only three runs over six innings as SRU's starting pitcher in game one before hitting a grand slam for what was his fourth home run of the year in game two.
 
Other top performers over both ends of the doubleheader for The Rock included Connor Hamilton, who reached base a total of four times with one hit and three walks in the two games, and Joe Ehland, who had RBI in both contests.
 
GAME ONE: IUP 3 – SRU 2
Trueman (3-1) and Jimmy Tooley (2-0) engaged in a quality pitcher's duel in the opener as IUP was able to edge The Rock with a late surge to earn a 3-2 victory.
 
Tooley and Trueman exchanged scoreless innings through the game's opening four frames before Slippery Rock posted a pair of runs in the fifth to take a 2-0 lead as Ehland produced a run-scoring single to score Braden Olson while Abraham Mow brought in Anthony Cinicola on a sacrifice fly.
 
However, Indiana answered back in the sixth when the Crimson Hawks registered three straight hits to open the third, tallying two runs in the process, to tie the game before Torrey Roper put IUP ahead two batters later with the inning's fourth hit that plated another runner before Trueman was able to get out of the inning.
 
IUP closer Eli Glass came on in the seventh to record three consecutive fly outs to secure the narrow one-run Crimson Hawk win.
 
All told, Trueman scattered three runs, two of which were earned, on six hits and a walk over six innings while striking out six batters.
 
Cinicola was responsible for two of The Rock's five hits in a 2-for-3, one-run performance. Ehland, Hamilton and Jon Kozarian had hits as well with Ehland and Mow both compiling an RBI each while Hamilton also walked once.
 
Tooley earned the win after striking out eight batters and giving up two runs over six innings before giving way to Glass in the seventh.
 
GAME TWO: IUP 8 – SRU 5
As was the case in game one, Slippery Rock once again struck first in the nightcap before Indiana scored eight of the game's final nine runs en route to an 8-5 victory.
 
Things seemed promising for The Rock early on as Trueman, one of the top two-way players in the Atlantic Region, took to the plate in game two following a solid showing on the mound in the opener, proceeding to belt a first-inning grand slam that put Slippery Rock ahead 4-0 early on.
 
However, IUP once again responded by way of a two-run home run by Nick Hess in the bottom of the first inning followed by four runs in the third inning, all of which came with two outs, to give Indiana a 6-4 advantage after three innings.
 
Slippery Rock cut Indiana's lead to 6-5 via an RBI-groundout by Ehland in the sixth inning, but was unable to find the game-tying score as SRU stranded two runners on base. Indiana went on to post a pair of additional insurance runs in the bottom of the frame before Glass, in his second appearance of the day, retired the side in the seventh to close out the win.
 
Andy McClymonds (2-1) took the loss on the mound for Slippery Rock in game two after giving up six runs on six hits and two walks over three innings pitched. Travis Holman pitched 2.2 innings of relief, surrendering two runs on four hits and two walks before Colby Anderson came on to record the final out in the sixth.
 
Rock pitchers totaled seven strikeouts in game two with McClymonds tallying four, Holman two and Anderson one.
 
Trueman ended the game 1-for-2 with two runs, one home run, four RBI and a walk. Mow went 1-for-3 with one run, a double and walk while Robenolt and Morris each scored once as well. Robenolt was also one of three SRU hitters, along with Hamilton and Joel Spishock to walk twice in the contest.
 
Joe Dolansky (1-0) earned the win for IUP following 3.1 scoreless innings of relief work while Glass earned another save after pitching two scoreless innings to conclude the game.
 
Slippery Rock will look to return to its winning ways when it steps out of league play Wednesday for a non-conference doubleheader at West Liberty University. First pitch of game one is set for 2 p.m.
 
 
 
 
 
 

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