WASHINGTON, Pa. - The No. 22 Slippery Rock University baseball team split a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division doubleheader Saturday against California University (Pa.) at Wild Things Park in Washington, Pennsylvania.
 
Following a 5-4 loss in the opener, SRU rebounded to salvage the day with a 2-0 victory in game two.
 
The split moves The Rock's record to 14-4 on the season overall and 2-4 in the PSAC West while the Vulcans exit the day at 16-6 overall and 2-2 in league play. Slippery Rock has now registered shutouts in three of its last four games.
 
Slippery Rock's offense was led on the day by the familiar trio of Eddie Morris, Jon Kozarian and Connor Hamilton.
 
Morris went a combined 4-for-6 over the doubleheader with one run scored, two RBI and a pair of doubles. Hamilton also went 4-for-6 with one run and one RBI while Kozarian tallied hits in both ends of the doubleheader with one RBI in both contests including a home run, his first of the year.
 
GAME ONE: CAL 5 – SRU 4
Slippery Rock produced runs in each of the first three innings to take an early lead before the Vulcans rallied with five unanswered runs, including four in the sixth inning, to earn a 5-4 win.
 
Kozarian homered in the first inning followed by Morris scoring on a California error in the second and then plating two runs for SRU in the third courtesy of bases-clearing double to give Slippery Rock a seemingly safe 4-0 lead midway through the game.
 
The Vulcans got one run back in the fourth when Jacobe McCaskey scored on a wild pitch to cut SRU's lead to 4-1. Slippery Rock maintained its three-run advantage until the sixth inning when Justin Stewart hit a two-out grand slam to push Cal U ahead, 5-4.
 
California starting pitcher Dylan Brosky went on to retire The Rock in order in the seventh inning to secure the narrow one-run victory.
 
Morris accounted for three of SRU's seven hits in game one with a 3-for-3, one-run, two-RBI, two-double performance. Kozarian, Hamilton, Alex Robenolt and Joel Spishock all had hits as well with Kozarian's being his solo home run. Koby Bubash also walked once.
 
Devin Dunn (4-1) was the pitcher of record for The Rock after giving up five runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out seven batters over six innings. Brosky (4-2) took the complete-game win for the Vulcans with four runs allowed on seven hits and a walk.
 
GAME TWO: SRU 2 – CAL 0
Slippery Rock earned the doubleheader split with a great bounce-back effort in game two as Ricky Mineo (3-1) provided SRU with another great outing while Hamilton and Kozarian came through with clutch hitting late to finish out a 2-0 victory.
 
Mineo picked up his first complete-game shutout of the season after scattering six hits and just one walk all the while striking out eight batters on 104 pitches. Mineo's one walk was a season-low.
 
Both teams had their chances to score early on, but Mineo and his counterpart Devin Foster both avoided any damage through the first six innings as The Rock and Vulcans combined to leave 15 runners on base as the contest headed to the seventh inning in a scoreless tie.
 
With Vulcan closer Aidan Ruiz on in place of Foster, Joe Ehland and Abraham Mow rattled off back-to-back one-out singles to set the table for the heart of The Rock's lineup. Kozarian and Hamilton then promptly produced consecutive run-scoring base hits to give SRU a 2-0 lead before Ruiz was able to eventually get out of the inning.
 
The two-run cushion was more than enough for Mineo who came back out in the seventh and proceeded to record three straight outs, giving SRU the 2-0 victory.
 
Hamilton went 3-for-4 with one RBI in game two while Mow and Ehland both tallied two-hit games with Kozarian, Morris and Evan Knaus each compiling base hits in the victory.
 
Slippery Rock and California conclude their four-game PSAC West series Sunday with a doubleheader at Jack Critchfield Park. First pitch of game one is set for 1 p.m.







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