SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University softball team only needed to beat Seton Hill University once to secure a spot in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament but went on to sweep the Griffins in 4-3 and 6-5 nail-biters.
 
While Slippery Rock's seed in the PSAC Tournament is yet to be determined, The Rock are sure to have a spot in the 10-team double-elimination tournament May 1-4 in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. The qualification marks the first back-to-back PSAC Tournament appearances for SRU since 1983-84.
 
The Rock also wrapped up its time at Kasnevich Field with a 12-4 mark within the friendly confines of the home diamond, the most home wins in Slippery Rock softball history.
 
The Rock broke .500 overall for the first time this season at 24-24 with a 17-12 mark in the PSAC West. The Griffins suffered their fourth straight loss, falling out of the top spot in the PSAC West with a 34-14 record and a 22-8 showing in conference play.
 
Alexsa Hurd (10-10) won both games in the circle after tossing a combined six strikeouts through 3.1 innings pitched. She also began game one with a home run, batting 4-for-7 at the plate.
 
Julia Montie hit 4-for-6 through the twin bill, echoing Hurd with a home run of her own and earning four of the 10 RBI on the day. Julia Nutter (3-for-6) and Emma Kennedy (1-for-6) both crushed home runs in game two as well.
 
Paige Parker (1-for-1), Naomi Childs (2-for-3), Arielle Brown (3-for-8), Jeanna Sukey (2-for-6) and Aubrey Mansfield (1-for-8) all gave Slippery Rock offensive pressure in the pair of wins.
 
Kelsi Anderson (9-10) started game one and fanned five batters faced in 6.0 innings. Mackenzie Borkovich (5-3) got the nod for game two through the first 4.0 innings before Paige Gresgott (0-1) gave 1.2 innings of relief.
 
GAME ONE – Slippery Rock 4, Seton Hill 3 (8 innings)
The Griffins loomed with bases loaded in the top of the eighth but could not get a run across, as Slippery Rock prevailed with a 4-3 win to begin the day.
 
The Rock got off to a hot start in the bottom of the first with Hurd hit her sixth home run in nine games to put SRU up, 1-0.
 
The Griffins, who boasted a top-five hitting squad in Division II entering the day, got their first run across in the third with an RBI single to tie things up, 1-1. Montie brought Brown home on a fielder's choice in the home half of the inning to reclaim a one-run lead, now 2-1.
 
SRU had an opportunity to bring more runs across in the fourth with bases loaded but had to wait for an RBI single into centerfield by Brown in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 3-1.
 
Seton Hill made things interesting in the top of the seventh with a leadoff home run and an RBI single to knot the game at 3-3. The Rock got Montie to third in the bottom of the seventh but again struggled to keep the inning alive, seeing the game go to extra innings.
 
The Griffins only hit once in the eighth but filled the bases with just one out, seeing a strikeout and groundout send action to the bottom of the frame. After Sukey singled to begin play in the bottom of the eighth, she quickly got to third on a wild pitch and was brought home with a misplayed grounder to the pitcher for the 4-3 win.
 
Hurd ended the game at 3-for-4 with an RBI from her home run, while Brown (2-for-4) and Montie (2-for-3) both earned two-hit games. Childs (1-for-2), Nutter (1-for-3), Parker (1-for-1) and Sukey (1-for-3) all aided at the dish as well.
 
Hurd dealt four strikeouts in the final 2.0 innings, getting the win after Anderson began the game with five strikeouts in the beginning 6.0 innings. Lauren Dellet (15-9) pitched all 7.1 innings for Seton Hill with the loss. Slippery Rock outhit the Griffins, 11-7.
 
GAME TWO – Slippery Rock 6, Seton Hill 5
Three home runs spearheaded Slippery Rock's game two efforts in a 6-5 victory over Seton Hill.
 
A first-inning home run from Montie lifted The Rock to a 2-0 lead before Nutter added a solo bomb in the second for a 3-0 advantage. The slugfest was not done yet though with Kennedy getting her turn for a home run in the fourth inning to extend SRU's stronghold to 4-0.
 
A three-run home run from SHU in the fifth inning shook things up by cutting the score to 4-3. Montie's terrific day continued in the bottom of the fifth, however, able to respond with an RBI single that cushioned Slippery Rock with a 5-3 lead.
 
A sixth inning that featured a messy start defensively allowed Seton Hill to tie things up with two runs, 5-5, but ended on a high note when Brown doubled deep into left center to bring Sukey home, pulling back ahead with a 6-5 edge.
 
With Hurd having come in as pitching relief to close out a second straight game, she struck out the final two batters in the top of the seventh to secure the sweep for The Rock.
 
Three of Montie's four RBI on the day came in game two as she went 2-for-3 in the box. Nutter also went 2-for-3 as part of the trio with homers that was capped off by Kennedy (1-for-3). Brown (1-for-4), Childs (1-for-1), Mansfield (1-for-3) and Sukey (1-for-3) all added their names to a 10-9 overall advantage in hits.
 
With Borkovich pitching through the first 4.0 innings and Gresgott adding a strikeout in the next 1.2 columns, Hurd earned her second win of the day with a pair of Ks in the final 1.1 innings. Logan Hartman (19-5) snatched four strikeouts to the 29 batters faced but suffered the loss for Seton Hill.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Slippery Rock will play its final doubleheader of the season 1 p.m. Saturday at Edinboro. The Rock split with the Fighting Scots earlier this year, highlighted by Anderson tossing SRU's first no-hitter since 2013.





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