As of Monday, March 24, Slippery Rock's doubleheader at Gannon University originally scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday has been postponed to 2 p.m. Thursday, March 27.
 

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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — The Slippery Rock University softball team will begin its double round-robin play through the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division with twinbills at Pitt-Johnstown 2 p.m. Friday and Gannon University 2 p.m. Tuesday.
 
The Rock are looking to string together a win streak, now at 6-12 after sweeping Wheeling University Wednesday.
 
The Mountain Cats of Pitt-Johnstown will play their home opener against The Rock, beginning the series with a 3-11 record.
 
The Gannon Golden Knights will not face SRU until traveling to Indiana University (Pa.) and UPJ Friday and Saturday respectively. GU starts the weekend with a 10-8 mark on the season that includes a 1-1 entrance into PSAC West play.
 
MOTHER NATURE IS UNPREDICTABLE
With the unpredictable spring weather in western Pennsylvania, fans are reminded that any time / location / date changes will be posted on rockathletics.com and all of SRU athletics' official social media accounts as information becomes available. Updates regarding potential postponements and rescheduled games will be included below.
 
WATCH LIVE
Fans can watch Friday's games live for free via the links below provided by Pitt-Johnstown Sports Information and Tuesday's games via the links below provided by Gannon Media Relations.
 
GAMES 19-20 of 48
Opponent: Pitt-Johnstown
Date: Friday – 2 p.m. / 4 p.m.
Location: Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Venue: Pitt-Johnstown Softball Field
Live Video: PSAC Sports Digital Network
Live Stats: Pitt-Johnstown Sports Information
In-game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: 8-6
Current Streak: W1
Last Played: April 21, 2024 at UPJ (Game One: L, 7-3 | Game Two: W, 18-10)
 
TOP ACTIVE SRU CAREER STATS vs. PITT-JOHNSTOWN
Alexsa Hurd (.515) – 17-for-33, 7 HR, 1 2B, 16 RBI, 8 runs (10 GP)
Arielle Brown (.429) – 15-for-35, 1 HR, 1 2B, 4 RBI, 12 runs (10 GP)
Julia Montie (.375) – 12-for-32, 4 HR, 4 2B, 12 RBI, 8 runs (10 GP)
Julia Nutter (.500) – 5-for-10, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 5 runs (6 GP)
Alexsa Hurd (1-3), 6.30 ERA, 20 strikeouts (20.0 IP)
 
SERIES HISTORY vs. PITT-JOHNSTOWN
The Rock and the Mountain Cats will be meeting for the 15^th and 16^th times Friday, as Slippery Rock looks to improve upon an 8-6 all-time record versus UPJ. The two sides most recently played a four-game series in a two-day span last year, with Slippery Rock taking three wins including an 18-10 decision on the road.
 
SRU is 5-3 when traveling to Pitt-Johnstown, splitting the trip last year. Prior to the 18-10 win, The Rock dropped a 7-3 result to the Mountain Cats after Pitt-Johnstown scored six runs in the first inning.
 
Through the four games against Pitt-Johnstown last season, The Rock outscored the Mountain Cats 39-11.
 
GAMES 21-22 of 48
Opponent: Gannon
Date: Tuesday – 2 p.m. / 4 p.m.
Location: Erie, Pennsylvania
Venue: McConnell Family Stadium
Live Video: PSAC Sports Digital Network
Live Stats: Gannon Media Relations
In-game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: 26-61
Current Streak: L2
Last Played: May 1, 2024 (Gannon won 6-4)
 
TOP ACTIVE SRU CAREER STATS vs. GANNON
Julia Montie (.323) – 10-for-31, 2 HR, 2 2B, 5 RBI, 4 runs (10 GP)
Alexsa Hurd (.290) – 9-for-31, 3 2B, 2 RBI, 5 runs (10 GP)
Emma Kennedy (.400) – 8-for-20, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 4 runs (8 GP)
Arielle Brown (.226) – 7-for-31, 1 HR, 1 2B, 8 RBI, 4 runs (10 GP)
Alexsa Hurd (1-3), 4.10 ERA, 36 strikeouts (29.0 IP)
 
SERIES HISTORY vs. GANNON
Games 88 and 89 in series history will commence next Tuesday, a matchup that the Golden Knights hold a 61-26 advantage in. Gannon went 3-1 against SRU last season, eliminating The Rock from the PSAC Tournament with a 6-4 result May 1. Slippery Rock's lone win over Gannon last year came in a 10-2 game-two victory at Kasnevich Field in six innings.
 
The Rock are 9-31 when playing Gannon on the road, only getting one game in Erie last season due to inclement weather. Slippery Rock swept Gannon in its 2023 road trip, coming away with 10-8 and 1-0 wins. Those wins were SRU's first road victories against GU since 2011.
 

TEAM COMPARISON (as of March 20)
The Rock	Stat	UPJ	Gannon
6-12	Overall Record	3-11	10-8
0-0	Conference Record	0-0	1-1
.216	Batting Avg.	.221	.283
3.4	Runs per Game	2.0	5.9
6.2	Opp. Runs per Game	6.1	3.6
5.7	Hits per Game	5.6	7.5
7.8	Opp. Hits per Game	8.1	6.4
1.8	Errors per Game	1.8	0.9
0.6	HR per Game	0.1	0.7
.331	SLG%	.278	.447
.300	OB%	.276	.366
.941	FLD%	.940	.965
3.92	ERA	5.41	2.49
.288	Opp. Batting Avg.	.299	.255

 
THE ROCK BY THE NUMBERS   |   Roster   |   Stats
Overall Record: 6-12
2024 PSAC West Record: 18-13
Home Record: 2-0
Away Record: 2-2
Neutral Record: 2-10
Last Five Games: 2-3
Streak: W2
2024 PSAC West Rank: 4^th of 9
Head Coach: Stacey Rice | 11^th season at SRU (188-240-1)
 
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock earned a 5-2 win in game one over Wheeling and overcame a seven-run deficit in the sixth and a four-run deficit in the eighth to rally for a 15-14 win in nine innings in game two.
 
Emma Kennedy walked the Cardinals off in the bottom of the ninth, capping off a 4-for-5 day with two doubles, two RBI and three runs. Sydney Brown went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two triples, while Julia Nutter posted a 5-for-9 day with two doubles and three RBI. Alexsa Hurd launched a home run in a 2-for-8 day that also came with a double.
 
Hurd (4-3) picked up the game one win, throwing 10 strikeouts in 7.0 innings while allowing no walks and just two runs. Kayla Williams (1-2) earned her first career victory in game two when she came into the circle with one strikeout in the ninth inning.
 
LEADING THE ROCK
Kennedy vastly improved her already-team-leading batting average to .368 against Wheeling, now 14-for-38 on the season with four RBI. The catcher from Monroeville, Pennsylvania is 5-for-8 in her last three games with three runs and two doubles in that span.
 
Julia Montie is batting .224 (13-for-58) with four doubles and three home runs, slugging .448. Hurd now leads the high-volume hitters in slugging (.482) with four home runs and four doubles. She is 11-for-56 (.196) overall this season with 72.7 percent of her hits earning at least one extra base.
 
Aubrey Mansfield and Arielle Brown are both batting .200 with two doubles each. The duo has combined for nine RBI and 19 hits. Arielle Brown leads the high-volume batters with a .418 on-base percentage.
 
Of all batters on the team, Sydney Brown leads the way hitting .455 (5-for-11). She has the team's only two triples on the year as well as five RBI. Shaylyn Shall has gone 13-for-36 this year for a .361 batting average that includes three doubles and five RBI.
 
THE BULLPEN REPORT
Hurd (4-3, 1) has now racked up 74 strikeouts in 54.2 innings, ranking 14^th in Division II with 9.5 Ks per seven innings. Her 74 total strikeouts stack up second in the PSAC. Through nine starts and five complete games, Hurd has tallied a team-best 2.82 ERA.
 
Paige Gresgott (0-6) got the game two start against Wheeling and tossed two strikeouts in 2.0 innings, now with 32 Ks on the year in 41.0 innings pitched. She has also started nine games in the circle and enters PSAC West play with a 4.78 ERA.
 
Mackenzie Borkovich pitched very well against the Cardinals, no-hitting Wheeling through the final four innings of regulation to help force extras. Borkovich is up to six strikeotus in 12.1 innings and has a 3.97 ERA on the year.
 
Williams (1-2) earned her first collegiate win by closing out the game-two marathon against Wheeling, while Alexa Uphold (1-1) faced two batters in the third inning.
 
As a team, Slippery Rock's bullpen has totaled 6.9 strikeouts per seven innings, good enough to rank fourth in the conference and 24^th in the nation.
 
A TRIPLE-DOUBLE? MORE LIKE A DOUBLE-TRIPLE
With Sydney Brown producing The Rock's first two triples of the season in game one against Wheeling, she became the first player in Rock softball history to record two triples in the same game in 21 years.
 
Lori Slozart became the first and only other player to accomplish this with two triples against Fort Valley State University March 9, 2004.
 
ELECTRIC EMMA
Kennedy continued her excellent season by batting 4-for-5 against Wheeling with a double in each game, combining for two RBI and three runs. In 15 games this season, Kennedy has recorded at least one hit nine times. She has generated two hits in five separate games.
 
Kennedy's best single-season batting average came in her sophomore year, hitting .303 with three home runs and eight RBI. She has totaled 19 doubles throughout her career with two against the Cardinals.
 
A REMARKABLE RALLY
Slippery Rock's ninth walk-off win in the last two years required a comeback from trailing 9-2 in the sixth inning. SRU overcame an nine-run deficit last year at home, defeating IUP 12-11 in eight innings after trailing 11-2 in the fifth frame.
 
The win over Wheeling was SRU's second walk-off win of the season, as the team's final win in Florida came in a 2-1 walk-off finish over Bentley University March 13.
 
IMPECCABLE IN EXTRAS
Slippery Rock's 15-14 win over Wheeling marked its eighth straight trip to extra innings that resulted in a win. The Rock have gone 13-2 in their last 15 extra-innings games and are currently on their best streak in program history.
 
EDITING THE RECORD BOOK
Several additions to the single-game record books came about as a result of SRU's monumental win over Wheeling in game two.
 
• The 15-14 win marked the highest-scoring game Rock softball has been involved in since defeating Clarion 23-6 in 2019. The contest also included the most runs allowed by SRU in a win.
 
• With a 4-for-6 game, Nutter tied for second in most single-game hits.
 
• Nutter and Mansfield tied a single-game program-high six at-bats.
 
• Slippery Rock recorded 19 hits in the game as a team, ranking fourth all-time. The team's 42 at-bats tie for fifth.
 
• The game included a "scorigami," a final score that has never happened in Rock softball history before. Prior to the win, Slippery Rock had never won nor lost a 15-14 game in school history.
 
A TOUGH TEAM TO STRIKE OUT
Slippery Rock struck out just four times between the two games against Wheeling, something of a recent trend with SRU's batting. In 18 games, The Rock have been struck out fewer than five times on nine different occasions.
 
Additionally, Slippery Rock enters PSAC West play on a six-game streak of having been struck out five times or less.
 
TAKE YOUR BASE
Arielle Brown has been walked 0.8 times per game, ranking third in the PSAC and 18^th in Division II. The leadoff batter has amassed a .418 on-base percentage with 12 walks and a .200 batting average (8-for-40).
 
OPENING CONFERENCE PLAY
Slippery Rock is beginning PSAC West competition on the road for the third straight year, having gone 3-1 in their last two conference-opening doubleheaders. The Rock split with Clarion last season and came up with a sweep over IUP in 2023.
 
ROCK STARS OF RECENT
• Slippery Rock batted .452 in game two against Wheeling and .310 in game one, the top two offensive performances of the season. Game one came with four doubles, the second time SRU has reached four doubles in a single contest this season (Shepherd University, game two).
 
• Both of Nutter's first doubles and RBI of the season came in each game against Wheeling.
 
• Hurd's 10-strikeout game marked her third straight of the like. She begins PSAC West competition with 31 strikeouts in her last 20.0 innings.
 
• 11 different players recorded at least one hit for Slippery Rock in game two, a season-high. 12 different players brought at least one run to the plate for The Rock as well.
 
RECORD WATCH
• Hurd is up to 31 career home runs, now just two away from Jenna Geibel's 33 (2010-13) that rank third all-time. Montie is tied with Meghan McHenry (2006-08) for sixth with 21.
 
• Hurd took sole possession of second all-time with 32 doubles, now chasing Stacey Rice (2005-08) for the program lead with 37. Montie is tied for sixth in school history with 27.
 
• Arielle Brown is up to 84 career walks, two away from matching Rice's program-leading 86.
 
• Hurd made her 73^rd career pitching appearance, tying Lisa Getgen (2006-09) for ninth all-time. She also tied Courtney Conron (2004-07) for seventh with her 27^th win.
 
THE MOUNTAIN CATS BY THE NUMBERS   |   Roster   |   Stats
Overall Record: 3-11
2024 PSAC West Record: 0-2
2024 Home Record: 3-11
Away Record: 2-2
Neutral Record: 1-9
Last Five Games: 2-3
Streak: W1
2024 PSAC West Rank: 9^th of 9
Head Coach: Niki Cognigni-Pecora | 10^th season at UPJ (114-215, .347)
HC Career Record: Same
 
PITT-JOHNSTOWN SCOUTING REPORT
The Mountain Cats will be playing their home opener Friday coming off an upset-split over the University of Charleston that began with a 3-0 win as well as a split at Salem University Wednesday. Pitt-Johnstown went 1-9 during The Spring Games in Clermont, Florida, claiming a 4-1 win over the University of Mary.
 
Audrey Paterson (.310) and Isabella DePalma (.308) lead the team at home plate, but Julia Mooney (.275) has produced 10 of the team's 25 RBI on the year. Mooney, a senior catcher from Drums, Pennsylvania, is slugging .500 with 10 RBI that have stemmed in part from the team's only two home runs.
 
Junior Mia Smith (2-5) of Irwin, Pennsylvania has accumulated a team-leading 4.29 ERA. She has tossed 27 strikeouts in 45.2 innings. Sophomore Mahlon Yonkin (1-5) has logged 13 Ks in 40.2 innings with a 6.02 ERA.
 
THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS   |   Roster   |   Stats (As of March 20)
Overall Record: 10-8
PSAC West Record: 1-1
Home Record: 1-1
Away Record: 3-2
Neutral Record: 6-5
Last Five Games: 2-3
Streak: W1
PSAC West Rank: 1^st of 9
Head Coach: Michelle Wiley | Seventh season at Gannon (147-108, .576)
HC Career Record: Same
 
GANNON SCOUTING REPORT
The Golden Knights kicked PSAC West play off with a 4-3 home loss to Edinboro before jumping in the win column with a 5-1 victory over the Fighting Scots. GU will travel to IUP Friday and UPJ Saturday before hosting Slippery Rock Tuesday.
 
Gannon's pitching staff has been at the core of its team this season, combining for a 1.80 ERA that leads the conference and ranks 11^th nationally. Katie Armstrong (7-1) is second in the PSAC and 13^th in D-II with a 1.01 ERA, ranking seventh within the conference with 8.3 Ks per seven. Maggie Lenda (2-5, 1) has also been a pitching staple for GU with a 2.36 ERA.
 
Emma Smerick leads the group of four high-volume hitters batting above .300 with a .386 batting average. A sophomore from Ford City, Pennsylvania, Smerick has produced two homers, two triples and five doubles. She has also stolen a team-high 23 bases in as many attempts.
 
Grad student Natalia Mallozzi of Woodbridge, Ontario has also bolstered Gannon's .283 team batting average by hitting .370 and racking up a .493 on-base percentage. Mallozzi is slugging .630 this season with a team-high three home runs and 16 RBI.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Slippery Rock will remain on the road to face Clarion 2 p.m. March 28 before returning to Kasnevich Field 1 p.m. March 29 to host Seton Hill University.





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