SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Tanner Esposito pitched 4.2 shutout innings in relief and
Alex Robenolt hit a two-run home run in the 12th to give the Slippery Rock University baseball team a 6-4 season-opening victory over Shippensburg University Friday in extra innings.
With the win, Slippery Rock improves to 1-0 while the Raiders fall to 7-3 early on in the 2023 season.
Slippery Rock jumped out to a 4-1 lead through the opening five innings of Friday's contest before the Raiders rallied by scoring three unanswered runs to force extra innings.
After SRU was retired in order in the top of the 10th, Shippensburg put runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the frame only for Esposito, who entered the game in the eighth following a game-tying home run by SU's Mike Heckman, to force an inning-ending pop out to second base.
Following another scoreless inning for The Rock, Esposito struck out the first Shippensburg hitter of the 11th before surrendering his lone walk of the contest. However, he promptly got out of the inning by forcing a double play to keep the score tied at 4-4 heading into the 12th.
With two outs in the top of the 12th inning,
Koby Bubash gave Slippery Rock life courtesy of a double to right field which brought Robenolt, SRU's cleanup hitter, to the plate. After taking a ball to start the at-bat, Robenolt belted the second pitch he saw well over the left field fence, giving SRU a 6-4 lead.
The two-run advantage was more than enough for Espostio, who worked around a leadoff single by registering three consecutive outs to secure Slippery Rock's 6-4 12-inning victory.
All told, Esposito ended the game with five strikeouts and just two hits allowed over 4.2 innings of near perfect work out of The Rock's bullpen.
Robenolt picked up where left off following what was a breakout 2022 campaign as he drove in three RBI, scored three runs and produced two hits, one being his 14th career home run.
Bubash closed SRU's opener with a pair of extra base hits of the double and triple variety in addition to walking once and scoring the go-ahead run. In his first collegiate start,
Joey Purcell reached base three times with two hits and a walk while scoring once.
Colin Cain,
Luke Trueman and Joe Ehland all had hits as well in the win with Trueman's coming by way of a double and Cain's being a run-scoring single.
Evan Knaus rounded out The Rock's top hitters Friday with two RBI and one walk.
Staff ace
Devin Dunn started the game, surrendering just one run over three innings before giving way to
Eoin Rossman, who recorded two outs.
Gino Marra came on for Rossman in the fourth and had a solid outing for much of the next 3.2 innings outside of a pair of pitches that resulted in Shippensburg home runs. Esposito would replace Marra in the eighth and pitch the remainder of the game.
Eric Bohenek (1-1) was the pitcher of record for Shippensburg. He went five innings, striking out five and giving up two runs on five hits and two walks. Noah Nabholz started the game for the Raiders. He lasted seven innings with four runs allowed and six strikeouts.
Heckman and Andrew Chronister both had home runs for Shippensburg in the loss.
Slippery Rock and Shippensburg will conclude their four-game series with a single nine-inning game 1 p.m. Saturday followed by a Sunday doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.
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