SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University baseball team suffered a pair of two-run Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division losses at Critchfield Park Sunday against No. 24 Seton Hill University.
 
Slippery Rock (18-21, 4-16 PSAC West) played the nationally ranked Griffins (33-8, 20-0 PSAC West) close for the entirety of Sunday's doubleheader, but ultimately came out on the wrong end of 3-1 and 5-3 decisions.
 
GAME ONE: SHU 3 – SRU 1
A three-run third inning proved to be the difference in a 3-1 Seton Hill victory in the opener.
 
Both starting pitchers – The Rock's Luke Trueman and Seton Hill's Aidan Layton – were sharp in game one as Trueman (5-3) pitched his fourth complete game of the season with six hits and no walks surrendered in addition to throwing six strikeouts and giving up the three runs while Layton (5-1), who took a shutout into the fifth, gave up just one run over six innings.
 
Complementing his great outing on the mound, Trueman also went 1-for-3 at the plate with his hit being of the triple variety.
 
Joey Purcell was 1-for-2 with a run and a walk while Braden Olson and Robby Barrientos each produced base hits as well with Robert Herr driving in SRU's lone run.
 
Trailing 3-0, Purcell pushed a one-out single in the fifth inning before Olson shot a single of his own up the middle and Barrientos was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Herr then brought in SRU's run via an RBI-groundout. However, The Rock's rally ended there as Layton forced an inning-ending flyout after Herr's at-bat to escape the jam with Seton Hill ahead 3-1.
 
Layton would retire Slippery Rock in order in the sixth before giving way to Caden Wood in the seventh. Wood worked around a one-out walk to close out the Griffins' two-run win.
 
GAME TWO: SHU 5 – SRU 3
A mid-game rally fell just short as Seton Hill closed out the series sweep with a 5-3 victory in game two.
 
Seton Hill led 3-0 following three completed innings. SRU and SHU proceeded to trade home runs over the next two innings with Cam Panyko Morris launching his second of the season in the fourth only for Jack Oberdorf to stretch Seton Hill's lead back out to three runs with a leadoff homer in the fifth.
 
The Rock's rally continued in the bottom of the fifth as Koby Bubash slugged a run-scoring triple which plated Alex Robenolt from first followed an inning later by Panyko Morris sending a triple of his own to right field and later scoring on a balk to trim Seton Hill's lead to just one run at 4-3 after six innings.
 
However, SRU comeback bid was halted as the Griffins tacked on an insurance run in the seventh while Blake Barker regrouped after giving up a Robenolt single and hitting Bubash in the seventh to record the game's final two outs, stranding the game-tying run at first for the 5-3 win.
 
Robenolt went 4-for-4 with one run while Panyko Morris finished a double shy of the cycle as part of a three-hit, two-run game two performance. Bubash went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Trueman was 1-for-4 to round out Slippery Rock's offensive leaders.
 
Nate Malak (0-2) was the pitcher of record for Slippery Rock after allowing three runs on four hits and four walks. Tanner Esposito pitched the final four innings out of The Rock's bullpen, scattering two runs on three hits and three walks. Both Malak and Esposito struck out one batter.
 
Andino Vecchiolla (3-2) went 4.1 innings with two runs allowed for Seton Hill. Michael Marinchak (1.2 IP, 1 Run) and Barker (1 IP, 0 Runs) finished off the game for the Griffins.
 
Slippery Rock steps out of league play for a nine-inning game 3 p.m. April 25 at Ashland University. SRU defeated the Eagles, 9-4, in a nine-inning contest earlier in the season at Critchfield Park.





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