SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – The Slippery Rock University softball team fell in narrow 4-3 and 6-4 defeats in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover doubleheader Monday at Shepherd University.
 
The pair of losses dips The Rock's overall record to 2-5, while the Rams scratched .500 for the first time this season at 4-4.
 
Emma Kennedy combined for a team-high 3-for-4 effort in the batter's box with two RBI and a double. Leadoff batter Arielle Brown was also solid for The Rock, hitting 3-for-7 with an RBI.
 
Aubrey Mansfield and Grace Smith each batted in a run with their lone hits of the afternoon.
 
Mackenzie Borkovich (1-2) pitched the majority of the day for SRU, combining for two strikeouts over 5.2 innings. Alexsa Hurd (1-0) threw four strikeouts in 96 pitches, all coming in game two. Kelsi Anderson (0-2) and Paige Gresgott (0-1) both saw time in the circle as well.
 
GAME ONE – Shepherd 4, Slippery Rock 3
Slippery Rock was clipped in game one, 4-3, despite building a 2-0 lead in the opening inning. After both Brown and Hurd were walked in the game's first two at-bats, an RBI-single to right field from Mansfield paired with an error was enough to bring both baserunners home.
 
Shepherd did not record a hit until the third inning, which proved to be the go-ahead frame for the Rams. In near-identical fashion to how SRU began the scoring, Shepherd brought two walked batters home with an RBI-single to right field.
 
The Rams were able to end the third inning with 3-2 lead with two outs against them, when the runner on first base took off for second, averting the defense's attention away from the runner on third base who came across the plate before SRU got the tag at first.  
 
Shepherd extended its lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning on two hits and a fielding error.
 
Back-to-back hits from Brown and Julia Nutter brought one run back on the board for The Rock to cut it to 4-3 in the fifth inning. SRU was held without a hit in the sixth inning before leaving two runners on base in the seventh.
 
Brown was SRU's lone batter with more than one hit, going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI. Nutter, who went 1-for-2 with a double, joined Brown and Hurd in each scoring a run. Julia Montie's one hit of the game also resulted in a double.  
 
Anderson was relieved early in the third inning after throwing one strikeout in six at-bats, allowing no hits in her pitching stint. Borkovich, who finished up the final four innings, also struck out one batter in the game.
 
GAME TWO – Shepherd 6, Slippery Rock 4
The Rock fell victim to a 6-4 loss in another game that began with a strong start and a 4-0 lead in the first inning.  
 
Slippery Rock got off to a hot start thanks to a three-hit effort paired with an error. Kennedy racked up two RBI with a single up the middle before Smith put a ball into play that advanced runners to make the score 3-0. A fielding error on a flyout from Nutter allowed Kennedy to round the bases, capping off SRU's quartet of runs.
 
The Rams were again held without a hit through the first two innings, eventually striking with a three-run homer with two outs stacked against them in the bottom of the third.
 
A pitching duel that included a 10-strikeout performance from Shepherd's Madelayne Ruffner kept the score at 4-3 until Shepherd found strength in the bats again in the sixth. The Rams were able to use three hits and an error to drive in three runs for a 6-4 lead heading into the final column.  
 
SRU saw Nutter get on base via a walk in the top of the seventh, but that would be the only runner of the inning, as Shepherd swiftly collected the three needed outs to secure the sweep.
 
Kennedy led SRU offensively going 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double. Smith had the third of SRU's three RBI in a 1-for-3 showing in the batter's box. Brown, Kennedy, Mansfield and Sheely were Slippery Rock's four scorers.
 
Hurd threw 96 pitches in the opening four innings, recording four strikeouts along the way. Borkovich came in for 1.2 innings with a strikeout before Gresgott threw for the final out.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Slippery Rock will commence its 12-game route through The Spring Games in Winter Haven, Florida with a matchup against Notre Dame College 9 a.m. Saturday. The Rock will also play Caldwell University later that morning at approximately 11:30 a.m.




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