SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Arielle Brown, Julia Montie and Alyssa Sheely all hit home runs in a 10-2 game two victory over Gannon University after the Slippery Rock University softball team lost game one, 1-0, Wednesday in SRU's home opener at Kasnevich Field.
 
The Rock moves to 12-19 overall with a 5-7 record in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. The Golden Knights are now 14-10 on the season and 9-5 in the conference.
 
Brown went 2-for-5 on the day with four RBI in addition to her game two homer. Alexsa Hurd logged The Rock's lone game one hit, launching a 2-for-7 effort with a double and two stolen bases. Montie also stole a pair of bags through the doubleheader, going 1-for-6 at the plate with an RBI on the win-clinching home run.
 
Sheely (1-5) drove in two runs on her homer while Sarah Brown (1-for-3) batted in a run on a double. Julia Nutter (1-for-3) rounded out the offense alongside Jeanna Sukey, who tacked on a double for SRU in a 1-for-3 day.
 
Kelsi Anderson (3-8) got back in the win column after throwing a quartet of strikeouts through six innings in game two, allowing just three hits and one earned run. Alexsa Hurd (4-7) suffered a loss in the game one pitchers' duel despite tossing eight strikeouts.
 
GAME ONE – Gannon 1, Slippery Rock 0
Slippery Rock came up a hit or two shy late in a 1-0 loss after Gannon's Maggie Lenda lost a perfect game in the seventh inning.
 
Three of GU's six hits occurred in the sixth inning, as well as Gannon's game-winning RBI-single to put a 1-0 score on the board.
 
The Rock spoiled Gannon's perfect game when Arielle Brown walked to lead off in the bottom of the seventh. The no-hitter was broken up with SRU's only hit of the game coming off the bat of Hurd for a single that moved Brown to third. Despite loading the bases on a fielder's choice that put Emma Kennedy on base, GU picked up the 1-0 win on a groundout.
 
Lenda (8-2) needed only two strikeouts in her near-perfect outing while throwing just 73 total pitches. Hurd (4-7) netted 117 pitches from the circle while dealing an octave of Ks to the 30 Golden Knight batters faced.
 
GAME TWO – Slippery Rock 10, Gannon 2 (6 innings)
Slippery Rock snapped Gannon's five-game winning streak with a dominant 10-2 victory that ended in six innings.
 
The Rock took a 2-1 lead in the first inning after GU notched two of its three total hits.  Slippery Rock responded with an RBI-double by Hurd down the left line and a sac fly courtesy of Aubrey Mansfield.
 
Arielle Brown propelled Slippery Rock to a 5-1 lead in the second inning when she plated Nutter and Sukey on a three-run home run, her first of the season.
 
Gannon got one run back to cut the score to 5-2 in the third before the floodgates opened with a two-bagger into left field by Sheely in the bottom of the third. Sarah Brown scored Nutter on an RBI-double into right center, and Arielle Brown posted an RBI-single later in the same inning to give The Rock a 9-2 pedestal.  
 
With Gannon being held without a hit for the remainder of the afternoon, Montie capped things off with a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth that secured the 10-2 victory for The Rock.
 
Montie (2-for-4) and Arielle Brown (2-for-3) led SRU at the dish with additional hits coming from Hurd (1-for-4), Nutter (1-for-1), Sheely (1-for-3), Sukey (1-for-3) and Sarah Brown (1-for-2). The Rock led in hits, 9-3, while both teams errored once.
 
Anderson (3-8) allowed just one earned run through six innings, needing only 95 pitches to strike out four of the 24 batters she faced. Katie Armstrong (2-1) took her first loss of the year after throwing for 1.1 innings and allowing four runs for the Golden Knights.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Slippery Rock will get a day off before its scheduled return to Kasnevich Field 2 p.m. Friday in a doubleheader with Clarion. SRU claimed a 10-2 game two win over the Golden Eagles in a road split March 25.





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