SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – A nine-run deficit in the fifth inning of game two did not faze the Slippery Rock University softball team, which pulled out an extraordinary 12-11 comeback victory over Indiana University (Pa.) when Julia Montie walked off with an eighth-inning homer. SRU also claimed game one in eight innings, 3-2.
 
The pair of wins lift The Rock to .500 in league play by improving to an 8-8 record in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division play, having gone 15-20 overall. The Crimson Hawks fell to 22-15 on the season and 8-9 in the PSAC West.
 
After picking up game one, 3-2, Slippery Rock found itself down 11-2 in the fifth inning of game two. The Rock not only dismantled IUP's run-rule chances in the bottom of the fifth but scored eight runs to cut it to an 11-10 score. After evening things up in the seventh, Montie went yard on the first pitch she saw in extra innings, lifting SRU to victory yet again.
 
Alyssa Sheely combined for a 3-for-6 appearance at the plate, scoring two runs. Aubrey Mansfield went 3-for-8 with a team-high three doubles and three RBI. Montie also drove in three runs going 2-for-8 with a home run and a double.
 
Mackenzie Freeman picked up two RBI hitting 1-for-4 with a double, while Alexsa Hurd homered in game one for a 1-for-6 day with two RBI. Emma Kennedy (0-for-4) snatched two RBI as well. Arielle Brown went 1-for-6, sending one run across the plate. Sarah Brown (1-for-3), Jeanna Sukey (1-for-3) and Grace Smith (1-for-4) additionally chipped in hits.
 
Hurd improved to 6-8 in the circle for SRU after earning both victories in the twin bill. She combined for 11.0 innings across the two games, fanning 12 batters and allowing zero earned runs. Kelsi Anderson (4-8) pitched for the first 3.0 innings of game two with three strikeouts before Mackenzie Borkovich (5-3) also saw 2.0 innings out of the bullpen.   
 
Slippery Rock's first conference sweep of the season leapfrogged the squad over IUP from fifth to fourth in the PSAC West standings.
 
GAME ONE – Slippery Rock 3, Indiana 2 (8 innings)
Slippery Rock fought back from a one-run deficit to pick up a 3-2 extra-innings victory over Indiana in game one.
 
Two hits in the first inning highlighted by an RBI-single gave IUP an early 2-0 advantage. The Rock responded when Hurd sent a solo shot out of the park in the bottom portion of the inning, halving the score to 2-1.
 
The Rock found their 2-2 equalizer when Sheely singled to left field in the bottom of the third, brought home on an RBI-double by Mansfield in the third inning.
 
Neither side saw a runner get to third base until SRU loaded the bags in the bottom of the eighth inning. When Freeman was walked on a full count, Montie jogged the winning run across the plate to take game one, 3-2.
 
Sheely led SRU with a 2-for-3 effort while Hurd, Mansfield and Smith all went 1-for-3. Freeman, Hurd and Mansfield all drove in a run. Hurd tossed all 8.0 innings, dealing eight strikeouts. Kendall Young (9-6) struck out six batters, pitching 7.1 columns for Indiana.
 
SRU's win came despite trailing Indiana, 8-5 in hits with two errors against IUP's one.
 
GAME TWO – Slippery Rock 12, Indiana 11 (8 innings)
While the Crimson Hawks were just about ready to settle for a split up by nine in the fifth inning, The Rock struck back with eight runs to avoid the run rule and storm back for an improbable 12-11 victory in eight innings.
 
Slippery Rock held a 2-1 lead until the third inning thanks to a first-inning RBI-double from Freeman. IUP added three runs to reclaim a 4-2 lead in the third before pouring it on with four runs in the fourth and a trio of runs in the fifth, commandeering an 11-2 lead.
 
SRU's eight-run answer in the bottom of the fifth began when Sukey got on base with an error and made it to second with another error. Sheely and Arielle Brown also got on with fielder's choices prior to back-to-back RBI-doubles from Mansfield and Montie, making the score 11-6.
 
With two outs on the board, Sarah Brown and Montie both scored when Kennedy got on base with a throwing error from third base. Down just 11-8 now, Arielle Brown singled to left center to score Kennedy and blindside the Crimson Hawks with what was all of a sudden an 11-10 game.
 
Sukey brought the tying-run across the plate in the bottom of the seventh when Hurd knocked a sacrifice fly into centerfield to force extra innings in an 11-11 contest.
 
IUP stranded two runners in the top of the eighth, unable to add anymore offense. Montie saw just one pitch in the bottom of the eighth before she crushed the ball through a strong headwind out of the park for a jubilant walk-off home run and a 12-11 stunner.
 
Anderson threw a trio of strikeouts in the opening 3.0 innings pitched before Borkovich gave The Rock 2.0 innings of relief. Hurd retook the circle for the last 3.0 innings, dealing four strikeouts through the final 12 batters faced.
 
Montie's homer was her second hit of a 2-for-5 game that included three RBI. Mansfield (2-for-5) and Kennedy (0-for-1) both brought two runs across the dish while Freeman, Hurd and Arielle Brown all scooped up an RBI, each going 1-for-3.
 
IUP held a 13-9 advantage in hits and committed five errors as opposed to Slippery Rock's two. Indiana's Amanda Fischer (3-4) suffered the loss after pitching the last 2.2 innings with three strikeouts. Olivia Hillegas (3-0) started the game for IUP, tossing four strikeouts but allowing seven runs.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Rock will enjoy a rare day off Monday before it hosts four PSAC West doubleheaders in five days beginning 2 p.m. Tuesday against Mercyhurst University.





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