NORTH CANTON, Ohio – The Slippery Rock University baseball team overcame an early two-run deficit to beat Walsh University, 5-3, on the road in extra innings Tuesday at Biery Stadium in North Canton, Ohio.
 
Slippery Rock has now won five of its last seven games to improve its record to a healthy 9-6 on the season while the Cavaliers drop to 2-13 following the loss.
 
Walsh scored runs in each of the first two innings to take an early 2-0 advantage. The deficit could have been much worse as the Cavaliers loaded the bases with no outs in the second only for starting pitcher Mark Wilbur to force Walsh into a groundball double play that allowed one run to score followed by another groundout to get out of the jam and avoid a potentially devastating inning.  
 
SRU answered back with runs of its own in the fifth and seventh innings courtesy of respective sacrifice flyouts by Stone Powell and Robert Herr that drove in Brandon Butler and Tyler Cerame.  
 
The Rock and Cavaliers proceeded to trade runs in each of the next half innings with Walsh scoring in the seventh and Cerame coming through with a sacrifice fly of his own in the eighth that scored Gage Gillott, who doubled earlier in the inning before reaching third on a Treston Nemeth single, to pull the game into a 3-3 tie.
 
Walsh seemed poised to re-take the lead in the bottom of the eighth when a pair of hits put runners on first and third with just one out.
 
However, a heads-up defensive play by Nemeth in which The Rock's catcher caught Ryan Bruni creeping too far from third on a failed bunt attempt with a perfect throw to third baseman Jimmy Sadler who in turn applied the tag on the retreating baserunner for the second out of inning. Michael Kitko, who came on to pitch to start the inning, proceeded to get out of the inning with a groundout, maintaining the 3-3 tie.
 
After a scoreless ninth inning, The Rock and Cavaliers headed into extra innings where Nemeth and Cerame drew walks to put two runners on with two outs and Robert Herr coming to the plate.
 
Herr took two pitches for strikes before looping the next to right field, allowing Nemeth to score easily followed by Cerame taking home uncontested courtesy of a defensive lapse that saw Walsh's pitcher and catcher appearing to have thought Herr's flyball was caught and heading for the dugout thus leaving home plate uncovered as Slippery Rock jumped ahead with a 5-3 lead.
 
While Walsh did put the potential tying runs on base in the bottom of the frame, Kitko was able to strand the runners to close out SRU's first extra-inning win of the season.
 
Herr drove in three runs to lead The Rock, tying his career-high for RBI in a single game in the process. He previously collected three RBI at Clarion on April 29, 2023.
 
Cerame went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, one RBI, a walk and two stolen bases. Nemeth was a perfect 2-for-2 in addition to scoring twice, walking three times and stealing one base. Gillott added a 2-for-4 day at the plate for SRU that included a double and one run scored.
 
Also helping SRU to its 10 hits – the team's fourth double-digit hit output of the season – was Sadler, Kitko, Butler and Clay Wiesen with one single each.
 
All four of The Rock's pitchers to take the mound Tuesday were effective. Joey Vanzin came on for Wilbur in the third inning and threw three consecutive scoreless frames with three strikeouts before leaving in the sixth for Parker Hogge, who scattered one run over two innings of work.
 
Kitko rounded out the group with his near-flawless three innings that coincided with four strikeouts. Vanzin and Kitko have yet to surrender a run in a combined 13.1 innings pitched this season.
 
Walsh used seven pitchers in the defeat. Patrick Ciccantelli (0-1) gave up two runs in the 10th to take the loss for the Cavaliers.
 
Slippery Rock now turns its attention to this weekend's four-game Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division series against Pitt-Johnstown. The Rock will host the Mountain Cats for two games Friday at Critchfield Park before traveling to UPJ for a Saturday doubleheader. First pitch of game one on both days is set for 1 p.m.
 
 
 


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