CARY, N.C. - A ninth-inning rally by the Slippery Rock University baseball team fell just short in a 5-4 loss to Frostburg State University Saturday at the USA Baseball Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.
 
Saturday's result moves The Rock's record to 2-1 overall in the early stages of the 2025 season while Frostburg State earned a season-opening win for the reigning Mountain East Conference Northern Division champions.
 
Slippery Rock was led in the loss by Brandon Butler and Clay Wiesen. The duo combined to produce four of The Rock's eight hits Saturday with identical 2-for-4, one-run, one-RBI, one-triple performances.
 
Jimmy Sadler, Tyler Cerame, Michael Kitko and Cam Panyko Morris accounted for SRU's other four hits with singles while Darryn Callahan and Treston Nemeth provided Slippery Rock with one RBI apiece.  
 
Cerame, Sadler and Panyko Morris have all recorded hits in each of The Rock's first three games this season.
 
Slippery Rock used three pitchers over the nine-inning game. Starter Joe Purcell went four innings, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out five batters before giving way to Robert Herr (0-1) in the fifth.
 
Herr was the pitcher of record of the SRU after surrendering two unearned runs over the next 2.2 innings. He exited the game with three strikeouts and four hits allowed. Joey Vanzin made his 2025 debut with two strikeouts in 1.1 innings of scoreless relief work.
 
Trailing 2-0 through the opening two innings, Slippery Rock evened the score in the third thanks to a pair of sacrifice fly outs by Callahan and Nemeth. Callahan plated Wiesen, who tripled to lead off the frame, while Nemeth brought in Sadler, who reached base with a single before matriculating to third courtesy of a Cerame base hit.
 
FSU starting pitcher Jack Ray limited the damage by stranding a pair of baserunners.
 
The Rock and Bobcats traded runs over the next two half innings with SRU's third score of the night coming by way of a Butler single up the middle that drove in Panyko Morris from second.
 
Frostburg State once again limited its potential trouble when reliever Joe Pippin came on for Ray to record the final two outs of the inning with a pair of Rock runners on base.  
 
The 3-3 tie was short-lived as Frostburg State took advantage of two Rock miscues in the field for a two-run fifth inning.
 
The SRU and FSU pitching staffs went on to pitch three shutout innings to send the game into the ninth with the Bobcats ahead 5-3.
 
Down to its final two outs, Butler ignited the late comeback bid with a triple off reliver Nate Vermillion - the sixth pitcher used by FSU of the game – before scoring on a fielding error on the ensuing at-bat which also allowed Wiesen to reach first.
 
However, the rally ended there as Vermillion closed out the FSU win by tallying consecutive strikeouts.
 
Doyle McNew went 2-for-3 with two RBI to highlight the Frostburg State offense. Pippin (1-0) earned the win on the mound after tossing 2.2 shutout innings and Vermillion registered the save after limiting SRU to one run in the ninth inning.
 
Slippery Rock concludes its time at the USA Baseball Training Complex with a nine-inning game 1:30 p.m. Sunday against Goldey-Beacom College.  




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