SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University softball team will play eight games over the next six days with doubleheaders against Pitt-Johnstown, Wheeling University, Clarion University and California University (Pa.).
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live coverage links for this weeks games can be found below.
 
UPJ
Live Stats: Link

WHEELING
Live Stats: Link
 
CLARION
Watch: Link
Live Stats: Link
 
CAL U
Live Stats: Link
 
SCHEDULE
Monday: Pitt-Johnstown – (1 p.m. / 3 p.m.) – Ebensburg, Pa
Wednesday: Wheeling (3 p.m. / 5 p.m.) – Wheeling, W. Va.
Friday: Clarion (2:30 p.m. / 4:30 p.m.) – Clarion, Pa.
Saturday: California (Pa.) (1 p.m. / 3 p.m.) – Slippery Rock, Pa.
 
SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
Season Stats: Link
Overall Record: 11-12-1
PSAC West Record: 0-2
Home Record: 4-2
Away Record: 4-1-1
Neutral Record: 3-9
Streak: L2
Last Five Games: 2-2-1
Head Coach: Stacey Rice | Eighth season at SRU (124-167-1)
 
SCOUTING THE ROCK
LAST TIME OUT: Prior to schedule changes due to inclement weather, Slippery Rock opened Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference competition April 2 against Gannon University. The Golden Knights claimed 1-0 and 5-3 victories over The Rock at the SRU Softball Complex
 
ROCK PITCHERS: SRU standout Kelsi Anderson comes into the week with a 6-4 record and team-low 2.60 ERA. In 13 starts, Anderson has struck out an impressive 86 batters this year. She has surrendered just three earned runs over her last 29 innings pitched since SRU returned from its spring break trip.
 
Chloe Sharman, The Rock's trusted No. 2 pitcher is 4-3 with a 3.58 ERA and in 13 appearances has struck out 30 batters. Sharman has yielded more than one run in just one of her last seven appearances.
 
Opponents are hitting a mere .241 combined on the year against Sharman and Anderson.
 
Rounding out the staff are Alexsa Hurd and Claire Zimmerman. Hurd is 0-4 with a 4.51 ERA in 40.1 innings pitched and has struck out 26 batters. Zimmerman is 1-1 with a 2.74 ERA and has struck out five batters and allowed five runs with just three being earned over 7.2 innings of work.

ROCK HITTERS: Erin Gardner and Arielle Brown serve as SRU's leadoff and No. 2 hitters and are the lone players to have started all 24 contests. The duo have done a solid job pacing The Rock as they have combined to hit .325 (50-for-154) with 31 total runs scored and six collective RBI.
 
Gardner has recorded six multi-hit games over The Rock's last seven contests.
 
Mackenzie Freeman remains a key batter in the middle of SRU's lineup having hit a team-high six home runs this season to go along with 26 RBI. Freeman has a .536 slugging percentage and is batting .355 with runners in scoring position. In two-out situations, Freeman has drove in eight RBI.
 
Cami Fisk ties Gardner for first on the team in doubles at five apiece while Hurd is The Rock's lone player to have hit a triple this season.
 
Emma Kennedy has SRU's second most RBI at nine while Hurd is third with seven. Fisk, Anna Villies and Julia Nutter have six RBI each while Julia Montie is second for Slippery Rock in home runs at two.
 
RECORD WATCH: Numerous active Rock softball players continue to make their way up the SRU career record books.
 
Anderson's 15 strikeouts against Gannon, pushed her career total to 185, the seventh most in program history. She is also 12th in shutouts (4), 16th in innings pitched (185) and 19th in wins (12).
 
Freeman is just one home run away from moving into a tie for 15th place on The Rock's single-season home run ledger. Additionally, Freeman has cracked SRU's single-season top-20 ranking in RBI with 26 total.
 
For her career, Sharman is eighth in strikeouts (179), 12th in innings pitched (257.1) and 17th in wins (14).
 
Entering an eight-game week, Head coach Rice is just four wins away from passing Jan Kasnevich (1977-86) and becoming the second winningest coach in program history behind only Vashion Johnson's 184 wins from 2004-11.
 
PSAC RANKINGS: A pair of SRU players rank in the top five in the conference in at least one category. Anderson is second in the PSAC in both strikeouts and batters struck out looking (22). Freeman is third in RBI as well as being tied for fifth in home runs.
 
PREVIOUS SERIES STANDOUTS
Against UPJ – The Rock and Pitt-Johnstown most recently met for a conference doubleheader April 24, 2021. The Mountain Cats swept the day with 8-0 and 4-2 victories. Gardner helped pace SRU's offense with one RBI.
 
In the circle for game one, Anderson yielded eight runs, four being earned, on seven hits before giving way to Zimmerman who allowed two walks and struck out one without allowing a run in the final inning. In game two Sharman allowed four runs, three being earned, on six hits while walking four batters and striking out five.
 
Against Wheeling – Slippery Rock earned 4-1 and 6-3 wins over Wheeling on April 13, 2021. Gardner went 5-for-7 over the doubleheader with two RBI, two doubles and two runs scored.
 
Regan Hozak led The Rock offense in game one going 1-for-2 with three RBI while in game two Villies went 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored.
 
In the circle, Anderson gave up just three hits and allowed only one run while striking out five over seven innings of work in game one.
 
Zimmerman earned the win after allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out four over 6.1 innings before giving way to Sharman, who retired both batters she faced to pick up the save. Zimmerman did not allow a run in her first six innings pitched.
 
Against Clarion – SRU and the Golden Eagles met once earlier this season on March 31 with The Rock claiming a 2-1 and 8-7 sweep over Clarion.
 
Slippery Rock's offensive leader over the two games was Gardner who went 2-for-5 with three runs scored, one RBI and two stolen bases over the doubleheader. For the second time this season, Hurd was the game two hero this time with a walk off RBI-single.
 
Anderson earned her fifth complete-game victory of the season in game one allowing just one run. Hurd allowed three runs on three hits in addition to striking out one batter over 1.1 innings pitched before giving way to Sharman who allowed four runs on six hits while striking out six batters and walking just one.
 
Against Cal U – Slippery Rock and California split its most recent series on March 30, 2021 with identical 4-0 wins.
 
Zimmerman recorded a complete-game, three-hit shutout and Fisk went 4-for-4 with an RBI to secure a 4-0 game two victory.
 
PITT-JOHNSTOWN PRIMER
Season Stats: Link
Overall Record: 12-9
Home Record: 1-3
Away Record: 5-5
Neutral Record: 6-1
Streak: W2
Last Five Games: 2-3
Head Coach: Niki Pecora | Seventh season at UPJ (83-128)
 
TOP HITTERS
Taylor Mendicino - .406 (28-for-69) – 17 runs – 4 HR – 11 RBI - .681 SLG% - .447 OB%
Carly Santillo - .386 (22-for-57) – 11 runs – 3 HR – 9 RBI - .614 SLG% - .435 OB%
 
TOP PITCHERS
Julie Shinavski – 3-1 – 2.06 ERA – 34 IP – 16 K / 8 BB
Alyssa Hileman – 7-4 – 3.99 ERA – 66.2 IP – 23 K / 1 BB
 
WHEELING PRIMER
Season Stats: Link
Overall Record: 9-18
Home Record: 2-2
Away Record: 2-8
Neutral Record: 5-8
Streak: L9
Last Five Games: 0-5
Head Coach: Caressa DeRossett | Second season a WU (19-50)
 
TOP HITTERS
Autumn Oehlstrom - .406 (28-for-69) – 14 runs – 3 HR – 19 RBI - .681 SLG% - .456 OB%
Taylor Hradek - .374 (34-for-91) – 14 runs – 13 RBI - .462 SLG% - .394 OB%
 
TOP PITCHERS
Aubrie Lafferty – 2-4 – 6.20 ERA – 49.1 IP – 23 K / 21 BB
Madison Macy – 2-2 – 4.50 ERA – 30 IP – 14 K / 10 BB
 
CLARION PRIMER
Season Stats: Link
Overall Record: 1-22
PSAC West Record: 0-2
Home Record: 0-2
Away Record: 0-9
Neutral Record: 1-11
Streak: L16
Last Five Games: 0-5
Head Coach: Lis Fee | Third season at CU (14-55)
 
TOP HITTERS
Mackenzie Wolfe - .438 (28-for-64) – 10 runs – 3 HR – 10 RBI - .688 SLG% - .500 OB%
Hannah Norton - .333 (22-for-66) – 11 runs – 4 HR – 13 RBI - .530 SLG% - .392 OB%
 
TOP PITCHERS
Kendyl Switzer – 0-5 – 3.36 ERA – 33.1 IP – 14 K / 17 BB
Megan Anderson – 1-4 – 6.16 ERA – 25 IP – 11 K / 18 BB
 
CALIFORNIA (PA) PRIMER
Season Stats: Link
Overall Record: 12-7
PSAC West Record: 2-0
Home Record: 3-1
Neutral Record: 9-6
Streak: W2
Last Five Games: 3-2
Head Coach: Rick Bertagnolli | 29th season at Cal U (910-339)
 
TOP HITTERS
Caleigh Rister - .431 (25-for-58) – 25 runs – 3 HR – 20 RBI - .862 SLG% - .548 OB%
Brooke Wilson - .403 (25-for-62) – 11 runs – 1 HR – 16 RBI - .710 SLG% - .451 OB%
 
TOP PITCHERS
Caleigh Rister – 7-2 – 1.03 ERA – 54.1 IP – 37 K / 10 BB
Kelsey Barron – 5-4 – 2.82 ERA – 49.2 IP – 26 K / 14 BB
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock continues PSAC West competition when it travels to Mercyhurst University for a doubleheader April 23. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.



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