SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — The Slippery Rock University softball team will make a second straight appearance in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time in 40 years when it opens playoff action against Bloomsburg University 10 a.m. Wednesday in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.
 
The Rock enter their eighth PSAC Tournament in program history after compiling a 25-25 overall record and an 18-13 mark in PSAC West play. Slippery Rock's first opponent of the playoffs will be the PSAC East's Bloomsburg Huskies, coming off a 31-20 season with an 18-14 showing in conference play to earn the final of five PSAC East seeds.
 

Slippery Rock vs. Bloomsburg
The Rock (25-25, 18-13 PSAC West)	Huskies (31-20, 18-14 PSAC East)
Roster	Roster
Schedule	Schedule
Statistics	Statistics
Coach Stacey Rice	Coach Susan Kocher
Program Records	Program Records
PSAC Standings
PSAC Leaders
PSAC Tournament Central
Veterans Park - Quakertown, Pa.
WATCH LIVE  |   LIVE STATS   |   TICKETS

TICKETS
Tickets for the PSAC Tournament will be sold online HERE. No cash will be accepted at the gate, and there will be no refunds for rainouts.
 
Day 1 & 2 Passes - $15
Day 3 & 4 Passes - $10
Students with PSAC Institutional IDs – FREE
Children 12 & under - FREE
 
WATCH LIVE
Fans can watch all PSAC Tournament games live and on demand for free via the links below provided by the PSAC.
 
PSAC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
For more details as well as a complete look at the playoff bracket and game schedule, please visit the PSAC Tournament Central page.

GAME 53 – PSAC TOURNAMENT GAME 8
Opponent: Loser of Shippensburg vs. Gannon
Date: Wednesday – 5:30 p.m.
Location: Quakertown, Pennsylvania
Venue: Veterans Park – Field #4
Live Video: PSAC Sports Digital Network
Live Stats: PSAC Strategic Communications
In-game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: 26-60 vs. Gannon • 7-10 vs. Shippensburg
Current Streak: L1 vs. Gannon • W1 vs. Shippensburg
Last Played: April 22, 2024 - L, 5-3 @ Gannon • March 3, 2024 - L, 2-3 / W, 9-6 @ Shippensburg
 
TOP ACTIVE SRU CAREER STATS IN THE PSAC TOURNAMENT
Alexsa Hurd (.500) – 5-for-10, 2 HR, 1 2B, 5 RBI, 2 runs (3 GP)
Emma Kennedy (.444) – 4-for-9, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 3 runs (3 GP)
Aubrey Mansfield (.364) – 4-for-11, 4 RBI, 1 run (3 GP)
Julia Montie (.250), - 2-for-8, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 run (3 GP)
Alexsa Hurd (1-1), 3.50 ERA, 9 strikeouts (10.0 IP)
 

TEAM COMPARISON
The Rock	Stat	Ship	Gannon
25-26	Overall Record	32-17	30-11
18-13	Conference Record	18-14	25-6
.274	Batting Avg.	.324	.340
4.8	Runs per Game	5.9	6.7
4.6	Opp. Runs per Game	3.9	4.1
7.3	Hits per Game	8.9	9.4
6.8	Opp. Hits per Game	7.2	6.9
1.3	Errors per Game	0.9	1.0
0.9	HR per Game	1.0	0.9
.437	SLG%	.510	.524
.364	OB%	.401	.405
.955	FLD%	.968	.966
3.64	ERA	3.35	3.74
.263	Opp. Batting Avg.	.273	.266

 
THE ROCK BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 25-25
PSAC West Record: 18-13
Home Record: 12-4
Away Record: 7-12
Neutral Record: 6-9
PSAC West Rank: 4th 
Streak: L1
Last Five Games: 4-1
Head Coach: Stacey Rice | 10th season at SRU (182-226-1)
 
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock needed to win just one of its final four games to clinch a berth in the PSAC Tournament and went on to record a 3-1 record in that span.
 
Most notably, The Rock began their weekend with a stunning sweep of then-PSAC Wes leader Seton Hill April 26 by posting 4-3 and 6-5 wins at Kasnevich Field.
 
Slippery Rock concluded its regular season tenure with a high-scoring split at Edinboro, claiming a 12-9 win in game one before dropping game two, 9-7.
 
RECAPPING THE WEEKEND
4/26 vs. Seton Hill – W, 4-3 (8 inn.)
4/26 vs. Seton Hill – W, 6-5
4/27 @ Edinboro – W, 12-9
4/27 @ Edinboro – L, 9-7
 
THE FIELD IS SET
Slippery Rock enters the 2024 PSAC Tournament as the fourth seed in the PSAC West. The four-day tournament features a double-elimination playoff with the top three teams in each division getting a bye past the first round. As the fourth seed in the PSAC West, SRU will be designated as the home team versus Bloomsburg, the fifth seed in the PSAC East.
 

2024 PSAC TOURNAMENT SEEDS (CONFERENCE RECORDS)
PSAC WEST	PSAC EAST
1. Gannon (25-6)	1. East Stroudsburg (23-9)
2. Seton Hill (23-9)	2. Kutztown (19-13)
3. California (20-12)	3. West Chester (18-13)
4. Slippery Rock (18-13)	4. Shippensburg (18-14)
5. Indiana (15-17)	5. Bloomsburg (18-14)

 
For a full look at the PSAC Tournament bracket with a game-by-game breakdown, visit the PSAC Tournament Central page.
 
THE ROCK IN THE PSAC TOURNAMENT
Slippery Rock will be making its eighth showing in the PSAC Tournament and its second straight cameo for the first time since qualifying in 1983-84. In between now and then, The Rock made conference postseason appearances in 2009 and 2016.
 
Slippery Rock has a 7-11 overall record in PSAC Tournament history, picking up the first postseason win since 1983 last year with an 11-10 victory over East Stroudsburg University.
 
SRU is one of 10 schools to have won a PSAC Tournament Championship in conference history, claiming the second edition of the tournament in 1981 after defeating Shippensburg University, 1-0, and Lock Haven University, 3-1 and 4-3.
 
LEADING THE ROCK
Arielle Brown (.309), Alexsa Hurd (.310) and Julia Montie (.310) have combined to become a three-headed monster of an attack at the plate with near-identical batting averages.
 
Brown has served SRU well in the lead-off batting position this season, going 46-for-149 in the box with a team-high .464 on-base clip. Brown has tallied 28 RBI on the year with one home run.
 
Montie has accounted for 12 of the team's 48 home runs, leading Slippery Rock with 36 RBI and 13 doubles. Slugging .639, Montie has hit 48-of-155 in total while starting all 50 games as an outfielder.
 
Hurd combines Brown's consistency and Montie's power hitting, also going 48-for-155 with 10 home runs and 10 doubles. The utility player has slugged .568 this year with a .407 on-base percentage. Hurd enters the postseason with hits in 14 of her last 15 games, featuring eight home runs in that time.
 
Julia Nutter (.296) has converted 34 of her 115 trips to the plate with eight home runs, three doubles and 23 RBI. The first baseman ended her 2024 regular season on a nine-game hitting streak including four home runs.
 
Aubrey Mansfield has stuck around the top of the order this season with a .274 showing at the plate, going 43-for-157. She has hit .296 in conference play with four of her five home runs and nine of her 11 extra-base hits having come in PSAC competition.
 
STACKING Ws and TOSSING Ks
Slippery Rock concluded its regular season campaign with wins in eight of its last 11 games. Many of those games featured strong pitching highlighted by the two veteran wings of the team – Hurd (10-10, 1) and Kelsi Anderson (10-10).
 
As a team, Slippery Rock ranks ninth in Division II with 7.5 strikeouts per seven innings, while Hurd and Anderson both stack up in the top 40 individually in that category. Throughout the PSAC, Hurd ranks fourth with 8.7 strikeouts per seven innings while Anderson's 8.2 Ks per seven render her sixth.
 
Both pitchers ended the season on a hot streak, with Anderson earning wins in six of her last seven decisions and Hurd picking up wins in six of her last eight.  
 
THE BOMBSQUAD
With 48 total home runs, Slippery Rock broke its single-season program record this year. Previously, The Rock chased a 46-homer mark set in 2007. SRU followed its 2007 campaign up with 42 home runs hit in 2008, which ranks third all-time.
 
11 of the 22 rostered players hit at least one home run this season, led by Montie with a dozen. Hurd totaled 10 home runs while Nutter contributed eight. Mansfield has earned five homers this year while both Grace Smith and Mackenzie Freeman have hammered out a trio.
 
Both Emma Kennedy and Alyssa Sheely posted a pair of home runs while Arielle Brown tacked one on as well. The 2024 circuit also saw the first career home runs for Sarah Brown and Jeanna Sukey who both have one.
 
Slippery Rock sent at least one homer past the fence in 15 of its last 17 games with seven of those 15 outings being multi-home run games. SRU broke its single-game record April 21 in an 18-10 win at Pitt-Johnstown that featured six home runs.
 
HOME-FIELD HEROICS
Slippery Rock wrapped up its time at Kasnevich Field this season with a 12-4 home record, the most wins at home since 2007 when The Rock went 12-5 on the home diamond. Slippery Rock outscored its opponents at Kasnevich Field this season, 95-56.
 
No PSAC West opponent swept The Rock when visiting SRU. In total, The Rock split with four teams at home (Mercyhurst, Cal, Gannon and Edinboro) and swept four conference opponents as well (IUP, Clarion, Pitt-Johnstown and Seton Hill).
 
STRUMMING THE BASES
Arielle Brown begins postseason play with a team-leading on-base percentage of .464. On top of a .310 batting average, Brown ranks third in the PSAC in both walks per game with 0.6 and in hits-by-pitch per game at 0.2.
 
Once on base, Brown has been eager to advance further, racking up 0.4 stolen bases per game which is good enough for 10^th in the conference.
 
OUTWORKING THE OPPONENTS
The Rock came away from its 25-25 season with a 244-235 advantage in runs over its opponents as well as the upper hand in hits (370-343), doubles (67-56), home runs (48-29), batting average (.278-.264) and slugging (.444-.389).
 
Defensively, The Rock held edges over the opposition in hits allowed (343-370), earned runs allowed (173-188) as well as total strikeouts thrown (352-255).
 
MOVE HER ON OVER
Childs' 0.24 sacrifice bunts per game stands atop the entirety of the PSAC and ranks 30^th in Division II. The outfielder from Boise, Idaho has sac-bunted nine times this year. With 41 total sacrifice bunts, SRU ranks second in the conference behind Bloomsburg's 59.
 
THE BULLPEN REPORT
Hurd (10-10, 1) has led Slippery Rock from the circle for much of the season with a team-leading 2.73 ERA. She has appeared in 25 games, tallying 146 strikeouts in 118.0 innings pitched. Hurd also leads the pitching staff in opposing batting average, holding the opponent to a .239 at the plate.
 
Anderson (10-10) enters the postseason with a 3.99 ERA. She has started an SRU-high 26 games while leading the team with 150 total strikeouts delivered in 128.0 innings. Anderson did not record a decision in last year's PSAC Tournament showing but dealt five strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched.
 
Mackenzie Borkovich (5-3) helped Slippery Rock through its busy last couple of weeks in regular season play, stepping in the circle for 4.0 innings against both Seton Hill and Edinboro. The sophomore reliever begins postseason competition with a 3.79 ERA on the year, compiled from her 22 total appearances.
 
Paige Gresgott (0-1) and Alexa Uphold (0-1) both saw pitching stints for Slippery Rock last weekend as well, combining for six strikeouts through 4.0 innings at Edinboro.
 
Collectively, Slippery Rock has logged a 3.69 ERA ranking second in the PSAC West just behind Seton Hill's 3.59. Of the 10 teams that made the PSAC Tournament, Slippery Rock's opposing batting average ranks fourth, while only ESU has thrown more strikeouts than The Rock.  
 
EAST BOUND AND DOWN
Slippery Rock has nine wins in its last five years against PSAC East schools including a 9-6 nine-inning victory at Shippensburg University March 3. After dropping game one, 3-2, The Rock took the reining PSAC Tournament champions to extra innings and outlasted the Raiders when Nutter and Hurd both recorded RBI singles in the ninth inning.
 
TEAM SINGLE-SEASON RECORD WATCH
• Slippery Rock has slugged .444 this season, ranking seventh all-time in program history. Breaking .467 would bump this year's SRU squad up into the top five. A .528 slugging percentage from 1983 leads the way.
 
• Slippery Rock played a program-high 53 games last season, thanks to three postseason contests on top of the 50 regular season games. Slippery Rock completed 50 games this season and is guaranteed at least two more in the PSAC Tournament.
 
• 244 runs have been scored this year, ranking third behind 2007-08, seasons in which The Rock came across home plate 261 and 254 times, respectively.
 
• The Rock hit 67 doubles this season, ranking fourth in program history. SRU broke that record last season with 73. 72 doubles were hit in both 2007 and 2010.
 
• The Rock got walked 162 times this season, shattering last year's record-breaking year that saw 142 bases on balls.
 
• Slippery Rock's bullpen could break its record for most strikeouts per seven innings for the third straight year, currently at 7.52. 6.8 Ks per seven frames broke the record in 2022 before 2023's pitching staff bumped up to 6.9 strikeouts per seven innings.
 
• 25 wins ranks fourth all-time for most wins, a record that was broken last season with 29. SRU won 26 times in 2007 and took 27 Ws just one year later.
 
INDIVIDUAL SINGLE-SEASON RECORD WATCH
• Arielle Brown's .464 on-base percentage currently stands at 10^th all-time, surpassing Hurd's .459 on-base rate from the 2023 season.
 
• Mansfield has totaled 157 at-bats this year, fourth all-time behind three players from last season: Hurd (172), Arielle Brown (2023) and Cami Fisk (162).
 
• Arielle Brown's 39 runs this season tied Stacey Rice's 39 runs netted in 2008. Brown is chasing her own record, 46 runs scored last year.
 
• Montie is one of just six SRU softball players to have registered 13 doubles in a single season. Only two players have ever hit 14 in the same year: Rice (15, 2007) and Hurd (14, 2023).
 
• Montie is also chasing her head coach's home run record. With 12 homers this season, the outfielder is just two away from tying Rice's 14 tallied in 2007. Hurd knocked out 13 a year ago.
 
• Hurd is currently averaging 8.66 strikeouts per seven innings, which would break Anderson's record of 8.59 set in 2022. With 8.20 strikeouts per seven, Anderson could take up three of the top five spots in the single-season record book.
 
• With one more start, Anderson will break her 2023 record of 26 games started as a pitcher.
 
CAREER RECORD WATCH
• With 106 runs scored, Arielle Brown is now third all-time behind Rice (143, 2005-08) and Jordan Zeunges (109, 2008-11). Brown could get to second with just three more runs.
 
• Hurd is one double away from getting to third all-time. She is currently just one of five players who have hit at least 28 doubles for The Rock. Her head coach leads the way with 37.
 
• Hurd is also fourth all-time in the home run tally with 27 homers. With 18 home runs, Montie is up to eighth all-time, just four away from 22, which would be good enough to get her into the top five.
 
• In addition to her many other all-time records, Anderson could wrap up her time at SRU with the most strikeouts per seven innings, currently at 7.94. Hurd's active average of 7.35 Ks per seven columns stands at second.
 
• No matter how Anderson ends her time at The Rock, she will leave the program as the all-time leader in strikeouts, innings pitched, wins and games started.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
To guarantee a spot in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament, Slippery Rock will in all likelihood need to win the PSAC Tournament to earn the conference's automatic bid into the national postseason. Slippery Rock has not been listed in this year's weekly regional rankings.





To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on 'X' (formerly Twitter, @Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics) and Instagram (RockAthletics).




 

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GAME 52 – PSAC TOURNAMENT GAME 1
Opponent: Bloomsburg
Date: Wednesday – 10 a.m.
Location: Quakertown, Pennsylvania
Venue: Veterans Park – Field #2
Live Video: PSAC Sports Digital Network
Live Stats: PSAC Strategic Communications
In-game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: Bloomsburg leads, 18-3
Current Streak: Slippery Rock +1
Last Played: March 14, 2018 (W, 3-0)

THE HUSKIES BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 31-20
PSAC West Record: 18-14
Home Record: 11-7
Away Record: 17-11
Neutral Record: 3-2
PSAC East Rank: 5^th
Streak: W2
Last Five Games: 2-3
Head Coach: Susan Kocher | 14^th season at Bloomsburg (389-243, .616)
 
BLOOMSBURG SCOUTING REPORT
The reigning PSAC Tournament runners-up, Bloomsburg snuck into this year's postseason field as the fifth seed in a hotly contested PSAC East. The Huskies went 31-20 overall and 18-14 in conference play. Bloomsburg was 1-1 in crossover competition, defeating Clarion 2-0 and falling to IUP, 1-0.
 
Things came down to the wire for Bloomsburg, sweeping Millersville University April 27 in 7-5 and 13-7 road wins to position itself ahead of the Marauders for the final playoff berth. BU ended its season having lost five of its final eight games.
 
The Huskies have rallied around junior pitcher Callie Sowers (21-5) all year. The Irwin, Pennsylvania native has totaled 220 strikeouts which ranks ninth in Division II. Opposing batters have only been able to hit a .190 off her through the 172.2 innings she has pitched for.
 
Offensively, Bella Culp leads Bloomsburg with a .357 batting average while Josie Straigis has slugged a team-best .571 with seven home runs.

BLOOMSBURG SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday will mark the 22^nd all-time meeting between The Rock and the Huskies and the first game between the two in six years. Slippery Rock blanked Bloomsburg in a 3-0 win in Clermont, Florida March 14, 2018.
 
Prior to that matchup, Bloomsburg strung all 18 of its wins against Slippery Rock in consecutive fashion from 1982-2009. Slippery Rock took the first two games played between the schools in back-to-back wins in 1980-81.
 
The Rock are 0-2 against Bloomsburg in the PSAC Tournament but have not met the Huskies in the conference playoffs since 1984. The programs did see each other in the NCAA Atlantic Regional in 2008 with Bloomsburg taking a 5-4 win.