CARY, N.C. - The Slippery Rock University baseball team used late-inning heroics to record a pair of one-run victories Friday as SRU defeated Pace University 3-2 in both ends of a doubleheader at the USA Baseball Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.
 
The doubleheader sweep improved The Rock's record to 4-0 on the season while the Setters drop to 0-2.
 
The games were reminiscent of SRU's season-opening doubleheader sweep of Dominican University a week ago in that both of Friday's wins featured great pitching from The Rock's bullpen combined with timely hitting late.
 
In game one, Koby Bubash delivered a walkoff run-scoring single while game two saw Darryn Callahan hit a game-tying home run in the seventh followed later by what turned out to be a game-winning hit off the bat of Cam Panyko Morris.
 
On the mound, Slippery Rock received great starts by Ethan Edkins and Hunter Loomis as well as a bullpen effort from Mark Wilbur Jr., Parker Hogge and Michael Kitko in which the relief trio combined to pitch 10.1 innings over the doubleheader with just one run allowed.

GAME ONE: SRU 3 – PACE 2
Slippery Rock opened the day by recording its third walk-off win of the season in a 3-2 victory against Pace.
 
Bubash went 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI in the opener while Gage Gillott was 1-for-2 with two RBI and a walk. Gillott's hit came by way of a triple – already his second of the season.
 
Tyler Cerame, Noah Ross and Joey Purcell rounded out The Rock's top batters in the opener. Cerame and Ross both had hits with Cerame also scoring a run while Purcell walked twice and scored one run.
 
Loomis made the first start of Rock career, going 3.2 innings and allowing just one run on five hits and five walks to go with a pair of strikeouts. Hogge (1-0) earned the win out of the bullpen by scattering one run while posting three strikeouts over 3.1 innings.
 
The Rock and Setters both struck early in the opener as Pace posted a run in the top of the first only for SRU to tack on two in the bottom of the inning thanks Gillott's two-run triple.
 
Pitching took over for the next five innings with SRU and Pace trading scoreless frames to send the game into the top of seventh inning where the Setters evened the score at 2-2 via a sacrifice fly from Mason Baroni that brought in Matthew Rina.
 
The Rock's latest final-inning rally started in earnest with one out when Purcell and Brandon Butler both walked to put runners on first and second with Bubash coming to the plate. The senior second baseman proceeded to deliver a single that scored Purcell, giving SRU a 3-2 win.
 
Bubash's RBI-single marked his first collegiate walk-off hit.
 
Patrick Gleason went 5.1 innings with two strikeouts in the no-decision start for Pace. Cristian Rodriguez (0-1) threw the seventh and was the pitcher of record for the Setters.

GAME TWO: SRU 3 – PACE 2 (12 Innings)
Following its dramatic victory in the opener, The Rock went on to outlast Pace in 12 innings for a 3-2 sweep-clinching win in game two.
 
The 12-inning affair is tied for the second longest game SRU has played since 2009 with the longest being last-season's 20-inning marathon against Mercyhurst University.
 
While Pace did finish game two with 12 hits, the Setters only tallied runs in the first inning with a pair of scores.
 
However, Edkins settled in after the first by tossing four consecutive shutout innings to keep The Rock's deficit at 2-0 heading into the sixth inning where SRU cut the score in half thanks to an RBI-single by Cerame that scored Panyko Morris, who singled earlier in the inning.
 
After the first of four scoreless innings pitched by Wilbur Jr. in the bottom of the sixth, Slippery Rock's bats once again came alive in the seventh in the form of a solo homer from Callahan – the first of his collegiate – which tied the game at 2-2 before PU pitcher Robert Gilchrist was able to get out of the inning.
 
Following Callahan's home run, Slippery Rock and Pace re-commenced their pitcher's duel as Wilbur Jr. and Kitko matched the Setters' Vincent Vartolone with four more scoreless innings heading into the 12th.
 
Callahan led off the 12th by reaching on an error before later scoring the go-ahead run on a Panyko Morris hit, sending the contest to the bottom of the inning where Kitko stranded two runners en route to securing another one-run victory for The Rock.
 
In his second start of the season, Edkins struck out six batters while allowing just two runs in five innings. All told, Wilbur Jr. and Kitko (1-0) combined to pitch seven scoreless innings in relief of Edkins with Kitko striking out six batters to earn his first win of 2024.
 
Panyko Morris accounted for two of The Rock's seven hits in the nightcap. Cerame, Ross, Gillott, Callahan and Robby Barrientos tallied the others – all of which were singles aside from Callahan's shot.
 
Callahan's home run was the first for Slippery Rock this season. Gillott and Cerame stole one base apiece as well.
 
Pace pitcher Dan Brown struck out nine and gave up one run over six innings before giving way to his bullpen. Brian Espinal (0-1) pitched the 12th for the Setters in his first loss of the year.
 
Slippery Rock returns to competition 1 p.m. Saturday with a single nine-inning game against Dominican at Durham Athletic Park in Cary, North Carolina.






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