GAME PROGRAM INFO
Slippery Rock has moved away from printed game programs for all sports in 2023-24. This page will serve as the "Digital Game Program" for this week's game. To navigate to all gameday info for any SRU home events this year, simply visit rockathletics.com/gameday or scan the QR code on the "Gameday Info" posters hanging in each facility.
 

Slippery Rock vs. West Virginia State
The Rock (5-1)	Yellow Jackets (5-6)
Roster	Roster
Schedule	Schedule
Statistics	Statistics
Coach Jeff Messer	Coach Sean Loyd
Program Records	Program Records
PSAC Standings
PSAC Leaders
PSAC Schedule
Jack Critchfield Park

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team will look to continue its hot start to the 2024 season when it hosts West Virginia State University for a three-game series this weekend at Jack Critchfield Park.
 
SCHEDULE FORMAT
The Rock and Yellow Jackets open the series with a doubleheader Friday with first pitch of game one being set for 1 p.m. The two Atlantic Region foes will close out the weekend with a single nine-inning game 12 p.m. Saturday.
 
WATCH ON YOUR TV - "ROCK ATHLETICS DIGITAL NETWORK" APPS
• Fans can watch all three games live and on-demand for free on the Rock Athletics Digital Network, created and operated by the SRU athletic communication office.
 
• Search for Rock Athletics Digital Network in the app stores on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Android TV devices. The streaming web player linked above will also integrate with Chrome Cast devices to allow viewers to cast the game to those devices.
 
SERIES DETAILS
Opponent: West Virginia State
Games 1-2: Friday (1 p.m. / 3:30 p.m.)
Games 3: Sunday (12 p.m.)
Venue: Critchfield Park
Video: Link
Live Stats: Link
In-game Updates: Twitter/X (@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: SRU leads 13-8
Last Played: March 12, 2023 (SRU won 2-0)
 
SERIES HISTORY
Slippery Rock holds a 13-8 all-time record against West Virginia State. SRU and the WVSU have met annually since 2019. The Rock took two of three games from the Yellow Jackets a year ago in West Virginia.
 
Top Rock Performers vs. WVSU
Cam Panyko Morris: 2 Games, .667 (2-3), 2 Runs, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 1 Walks
Joey Purcell: 7 IP, 0.00 ERA, 9 K, 0 BB, .167 AVG
Mark Wilbur Jr.: 1 Save, 1.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3 K, .200 AVG
 
SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
Overall Record: 5-1
NCBWA Regional Ranking: 9th
Home Record: 2-0
Away Record: 0-0
Neutral Site Record: 3-1
Streak: L1
Last Five Games: 4-1
Head Coach: Jeff Messer | 39th season (1,100-724-5 / .603)
 
SRU'S RECENT RESULTS
March 1 – vs. Pace – W, 3-2
March 1 – vs. Pace – W, 3-2 (12 Inn.)
March 2 – Dominican – W, 11-0
March 3 – St. Thomas Aquinas – L, 10-0
 
THE SEASON SO FAR
Slippery Rock has had a great start to its 2024 season with five wins over its first six games. After sweeping a home doubleheader against Dominican to begin the season, SRU went to the Cary Challenge to win three of four games by way of a doubleheader sweep of Pace, a nine-inning win over Dominican and a loss to St. Thomas Aquinas.
 
WINNING THE CLOSE ONES
Four of The Rock's five wins this year have come in one-run games. SRU defeated Dominican 7-6 in back-to-back doubleheaders followed by a pair of 3-2 victories against Pace. Additionally, three of the wins came via walkoff hits with another being a 12-inning victory.
 
SRU's four one-run victories this season already match its entire one-run win total from a season ago.
 
ROCK ENTERS REGIONAL RANKINGS
On the back of its great start to the year, The Rock were slotted ninth in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Atlantic Region Top-10. SRU was the third team out of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division in the poll behind No. 4 Seton Hill and No. 7 California.
 
NCBWA Atlantic Region Top-10
1. Millersville (10-3)
2. West Chester (7-0)
3. East Stroudsburg (6-3)
4. Seton Hill (6-3)
5. Charleston (8-3)
6. Shippensburg (6-3)
7. California (4-2)
8. Concord (5-5)
9. Slippery Rock (5-1)
10. Frostburg State (5-5)
 
MESSER GETS WIN #1,100
Slippery Rock's 11-0 victory over Dominican on March 2 served as win No. 1,100 in the career of Slippery Rock head coach Jeff Messer.
 
Already the 11th winningest head coach in Division II history, the victory over Dominican propelled Messer, a 2023 American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee, into even more elite company.
 
Messer is now one of just 60 coaches in NCAA baseball history – regardless of division – to have won at least 1,100 games.
 
HOMESTAND AHEAD
The West Virginia State series opens a season-long eight-game homestand for The Rock at Critchfield Park.
 
After its three-game slate against WVSU, SRU will host Saint Anselm for three games (March 16-17) followed by a PSAC West doubleheader against Pitt-Johnstown (March 22).
 
Since its opening during the 2002 season, Slippery Rock is an impressive 244-140 (.635) in games played at the friendly confines of Jack Critchfield Park. SRU has been particularly tough to beat at home as of late as SRU is 54-27 (.667) over the last three years.
 
WINNING WITH PITCHING
Slippery Rock enters the the third weekend of its season ranked 14th in the nation in team ERA at 3.57. Seven of the eight Rock pitchers that have thrown at least four innings this yaer have allowed no more than three runs.
 
• Gage Gillott has pitched 10 innings across two starts this year, going 1-0 with a 0.90 ERA and 11 strikeouts with just one walk surrendered to go along with a .237 opponent batting average.
 
• Ethan Edkins has also made two starts this season for The Rock. After a shaky first appearance, Edkins settled in for his second start of the year against Pace where he yielded just two runs on five hits over five innings while striking out six batters.
 
• Joey Purcell (1-1) and Hunter Loomis have started one game apiece early on for The Rock as well.
 
• After throwing two shutout innings to earn the win out of the bullpen in SRU's 7-6 victory against Dominican, Purcell pitched well in his first start of the year against St. Thomas Aquinas despite the loss as he matched his career-high with nine strikeouts in addition to giving up just three runs in seven innings of work.
 
• Loomis went 3.2 innings with one allowed in The Rock's game-one victory over Pace.
 
• The Rock's relief pitching has been a point of strength for the majority of the season. In 27 innings, SRU relievers have held opponents to a .223 batting average while giving up 15 runs - seven of which came in the 10-0 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas.  
 
• Robert Herr (0-0, 1 save) has been nearly flawless in two appearances this season. He is yet to allow a run or a hit in addition to walking just two batters in five innings pitched.  
 
• Parker Hogge (1-0) and Michael Kitko (1-0) have also pitched effectively out of the bullpen this year. Both second-year hurlers have made two appearances with Hogge tallying seven strikeouts, a 1.59 ERA as well as a .200 opponent batting average over 5.2 innings and Kitko racking up eight strikeouts to just one walk with a 3.38 ERA in 5.1 innings.
 
• Hogge has not allowed any of his five inherited runners to score this year.
 
• Mark Wilbur Jr., who led SRU with two saves a season ago, opened his 2024 season with a strong appearance in The Rock's extra-inning victory over Pace as he scattered five hits and a walk over four scoreless innings of work.
 
BATS CAN GET IT DONE TOO
• 15 different Rock athletes have started at least one game early on this season. With the middle infield duo of Tyler Cerame and Koby Bubash as well as right fielder Eddie Morris each having started all six games.
 
• Cerame is The Rock's leader in total hits with seven, three of which have gone for extra bases to go with four runs scored and three RBI.
 
• Bubash has five hits early on, four of which have produced runs.
 
• Kitko, a starter in left field for three games, has totaled five hits in 12 at-bats for a team-high .417 batting average while driving in three runs and scoring three more.
 
• In addition to scoring a team-best five runs, Purcell has also posted an SRU-best .545 on-base percentage courtesy of three hits and three walks while splitting time at first base with Darryn Callahan, who has SRU's only home run of the season.
 
• Purcell is 3-for-4 with runners in scoring position.
 
• While sharing centerfield duties with Herr, Cam Panyko Morris has went 5-for-15 (.333) with four runs scored and four RBI.
 
• In addition to his pitching exploits, Gillott also hits .286 with a pair of RBI in 14 at-bats. Of his four hits, two have been triples.
 
• Freshman Brandon Butler has started four games at third base as a rookie. A leadoff hitter when in the lineup, Butler has hit .286 (4-for-14).
 
• Noah Ross and Robby Barrientos have each started five games as SRU's designated hitter and catcher, respectively. Ross is tied for the team lead in walks (3) and is tied for second in total hits (5).
 
ACTIVE ROCK STREAKS
Hitting
Gage Gillott: 4
Noah Ross: 3
 
Reached Base
Noah Ross: 5
Gage Gillott: 4
Joey Purcell: 3
Michael Kitko: 3
Darryn Callahan: 3
 
WEST VIRGINIA STATE PRIMER
Overall Record: 5-6
Home Record: 3-2
Away Record: 0-1
Neutral Site Record: 2-3
Streak: W1
Last Five Games: 2-3
Head Coach: Sean Loyd | 10th season (235-170 / .580)
 
SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
• West Virginia State comes to The Rock fresh off a 14-5 victory over Bluefield State on Tuesday.
 
• Offensively, WVSU averages 5.2 runs per game with a .227 team batting average. The Yellow Jackets are led by the trio of Mike Huber, Nathan Paulsen and Kyle Waters who have combined for 35 hits over 109 at-bats (.321), 22 runs, six home runs and 21 RBI.
 
• The West Virginia State pitching staff gives up 5.5 runs a contest and has a team ERA of 4.75.

TOP WVSU HITTERS
Mike Huber: .324 (11-34) – 5 runs – 2 HR - 10 RBI - .439 OBP
Nate Paulsen: .324 (11-34) – 8 runs – 2 HR - 7 RBI - .452 OBP
Kyle Waters: .317 (13-41) – 9 runs – 2 HR - 4 RBI - .370 OBP
Chris Morris: .214 (9-42) – 9 runs – 1 HR - 6 RBI - .292 OBP
 
TOP WVSU PITCHERS
Chris Morris: 0-1 – 16.1 IP – 2.20 ERA –  13 K / 8 BB - .170 OBA
Ayden Hodges: 1-1 – 15.1 IP – 3.52 ERA –  17 K / 8 BB - .185 OBA
Nick Loftis: 0-2 – 9.1 IP – 3.86 ERA –  8 K / 5 BB - .270 OBA
Tyrus Baumgardner: 1 SV – 5.1 IP – 0.00 ERA –  5 K / 1 BB - .227 OBA
 
WVSU'S RECENT RESULTS
Feb. 24 – vs. Lock Haven – W, 6-0
March 2 – vs. IUP – L, 3-1
March 2 – vs. IUP – L, 4-2
March 5 – vs. Bluefield State – W, 14-5
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock continues its nine-game homestand with a three-game set March 16-17 against Saint Anselm at Critchfield Park.






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