SHEPHERDSTOWN, W. Va. – The Slippery Rock University softball team overcame a pair of one-run deficits to pick up a determined 8-7 game-two victory at Shepherd University after falling in game one 6-1 Monday on the road.
 
Slippery Rock's second split in as many games gives The Rock a 2-2 start to the season, while the Rams likewise begin at .500 with a 1-1 mark.
 
SRU's game two win was also head coach Stacey Rice's 184^th career victory, tying her with Vashion Johnson as the all-time winningest coach in Rock softball history.
 
Emma Kennedy kept the offense rejuvenated by hitting 3-for-7 (.429) on the day. Aubrey Mansfield went 2-for-6 with a double and two RBI, while Julia Montie logged a 2-for-7 day at the plate with two doubles and two RBI.
 
Grace Smith notched her first home run of the season in a 1-for-4 day at the plate, bagging two runs in the process. Arielle Brown (1-for-6), Alexsa Hurd (1-for-7) and Julia Nutter (1-for-6 all came away with a hit in the split as well.
 
Paige Gresgott shattered a career-high four strikeouts by fanning 10 batters over the course of 6.0 innings pitched in game one. She got the start and came back into finish the game after Kayla Williams (0-1) suffered the loss in her SRU debut.
 
Hurd (1-0, 1) got the game two start and earned a save in a six-strikeout effort over 5.0 innings. Her time in the circle bookended one strikeout in 2.0 innings of relief from Alexa Uphold (1-0) that turned into her first career win for The Rock.
 
GAME ONE – Shepherd 6, Slippery Rock 1
Slippery Rock dropped a 6-1 decision in a contest that had the early likening of a pitchers' duel. Shepherd held a 1-0 lead all the way from the second inning until the sixth, enduring eight strikeouts from Gresgott in the opening five frames.
 
Brown got on base in the top of the sixth and was brought home on an error that landed Hurd at first, tying the game at 1-1. A combination of walks, a single and a passed ball gave Shepherd the lead, and while Gresgott came back in for relief of Williams and tossed two strikeouts, the Rams were able to extend their lead to 6-1 on a four-hit inning.
 
Kennedy singled in the top of the seventh with two outs but SRU wasn't able to rally any further than that in the five-run loss.
 
Kennedy (2-for-3) and Brown (1-for-3) made up SRU's hitting in the game, as the Rams built an 8-3 advantage in hits. Williams (0-1) was the pitcher of record after facing four batters, while Gresgott ended the game with 10 strikeouts in 6.0 innings.
 
Madelayne Ruffner (1-0) threw 10 strikeouts and allowed no walks for Shepherd, while Lexi Clattterbuck led the Rams with one RBI on 2-for-2 batting.
 
GAME TWO – Slippery Rock 8, Shepherd 7
The Rock had to put together a full-team effort throughout all seven innings to snag an 8-7 win in game two and get back to .500 on the day.
 
A 1-0 Shepherd lead after the first inning was answered by a Smith home run that brought herself and Mansfield home in the top of the second, giving SRU a 2-1 lead.
 
The floodgates opened in the third inning, a column that saw a combined 10 runs between the two sides. SRU utilized five hits and an error in the top half of the third to take a 6-1 lead, getting three consecutive RBI-doubles from Hurd, Montie and Mansfield.
 
Shepherd responded with six runs of its own in the bottom of the third, an inning highlighted by a three-RBI-triple that brought its deficit down to one run. The Rams took a 7-6 lead into the fourth after SRU's infield committed an error trying to catch a runner stealing as well as a Shepherd double down the left line.
 
The scoring frenzy continued for Slippery Rock, as Montie registered an RBI-double up the middle to score Jeanna Sukey and knot the game up, 7-7. Mansfield followed that up by singling up the middle, allowing Montie to reach home for an 8-7 edge.
 
Uphold allowed just two hits as SRU took the lead, handing the reins back over to Hurd for the final 2.2 innings. Uphold (1-0) got her first career win in an SRU uniform with one strikeout, while Hurd (1-0, 1) recorded her third career save.
 
Mansfield (2-for-3) and Montie (2-for-4) claimed two RBI each with two more runs batted in coming courtesy of Smith's (1-for-4) home run. Hurd (1-for-4) drove in a run, while Kennedy (1-for-4) and Nutter (1-for-4) also got hits.
 
Sam Colaw (0-1) was the pitcher of record for Shepherd after a two-strikeout showing in the final 4.2 innings. Colaw came into the game in relief of Trynda Mantz, who dealt four Ks in the opening 2.1 innings. Brenna Collis (2-for-4) and Lauren Moore (2-for-5) led the Rams at the plate, while Haylee Hartman (1-for-2) collected three RBI on her triple.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock is next scheduled to host D'Youville University and Lock Haven University in a two-day, round-robin invitational weekend at Kasnevich Field Saturday and Sunday.





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