JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University softball team came out on the winning end of the highest-scoring game the program has played in 48 years, defeating Pitt-Johnstown 18-14 in a wild game two on the road Friday. Alexsa Hurd hit a game-winning grand slam in game one and threw 12 strikeouts in a 5-1 victory.
 
The Rock begin Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division play with a 2-0 start for the second time in three years, improving to 8-12 overall with their wins. The Mountain Cats begin conference play 0-2 and fall to 3-13 on the season.
 
SRU's game-two win saw the most combined runs in a Rock softball game since a 19-13 loss at Lock Haven University in 1977.
 
Hurd joined Julia Nutter with a grand slam on the day, career-firsts for both batters. Prior to Friday, The Rock had not produced a grand slam since Mackenzie Freeman against Saint Michael's College in 2022.
 
Nutter logged two home runs on the day, both coming in game two. She finished the day 5-for-8 with seven RBI, while Hurd wound up going 6-for-10 with seven RBI.
 
Jessica Goldhardt also hit a home run, batting 2-for-3 throughout the day with two RBI. Shaylyn Shall (3-for-5, 1 2B, 4 RBI), Julia Montie (3-for-9) and Naomi Childs (3-for-5) all recorded three-hit days.
 
Sarah Brown (2-for-5), Emma Kennedy (1-for-4), Sydney Brown (1-for-4), Aubrey Mansfield (1-for-9), Arielle Brown (1-for-3) and Madison Davis (1-for-4, 1 RBI) added to SRU's mountain of offense, which featured 29 hits throughout the doubleheader.
 
Hurd (5-3) pitched the entire first game before closing out the final inning of game two, combining for 15 strikeouts in 8.0 innings. Alexa Uphold (2-1) earned the game-two victory after piloting the circle for 3.0 innings. Paige Gresgott and Kayla Williams each fanned one batter, while they and Mackenzie Borkovich combined for 3.0 innings.
 
GAME ONE – Slippery Rock 5, Pitt-Johnstown 1
Hurd gave herself the run support she needed by launching a game-winning grand slam in the top of the seventh in a 5-1 victory.
 
Pitt-Johnstown pulled ahead in the pitchers' duel with a three-hit showing in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 1-0 lead. SRU left runners on base in every inning but did not score until the seventh.
 
After Arielle Brown singled to lead off, bases quickly loaded. Hurd brought everyone home with her first career grand slam, lifting The Rock ahead 4-1. Nutter scored Kennedy by doubling down the left-field line for a 5-1 lead. Hurd struck out three batters in the seventh to seal the deal.
 
Hurd (5-3) racked up 12 strikeouts in the 7.0-inning game, her fourth consecutive complete game that came with at least 10 Ks. Mia Smith (2-6) suffered the loss for the Mountain Cats with five strikeouts in 7.0 innings.
 
Hurd's grand slam gave her four RBI in a 1-for-4 game. Nutter recorded a double in a 2-for-3 game with one RBI, joining Montie (2-for-4) with two hits. Arielle Brown (1-for-3), Shall (1-for-2), Sydney Brown (1-for-3) and Kennedy (1-for-4) all added to the offense. Arielle Brown and Montie each stole one base.
 
Gianna Surra led UPJ by hitting 2-for-3 with a double. The Rock outhit the Mountain Cats 9-5, while Pitt-Johnstown committed the lone error of the game. SRU stranded 10 runners through the game, while Pitt-Johnstown left nine on.
 
GAME TWO – Slippery Rock 18, Pitt-Johnstown 14
Just two days after an improbable 15-14 win in nine innings over Wheeling University, The Rock rode another roller coaster of a ballgame in an 18-14 victory over the Mountain Cats.
 
A first-inning grand slam from Nutter gave Slippery Rock a 4-0 lead, but UPJ got two back in the bottom half of the frame to cut the score to 4-2. The Mountain Cats jumped into the lead in the third inning, using four hits and an error to generate five runs for a 7-4 advantage.
 
Singles by Shall and Hurd helped prompt two runs in response in the fourth that cut the deficit to 7-6. Nutter, Childs, Hurd and Sarah Brown all recorded hits in the fifth inning to put Slippery Rock back ahead, 10-7.
 
Pitt-Johnstown got one back in the home half of the frame to edit the score to 10-8, but The Rock seemingly put it away in the top of the sixth with an inning that began with a two-run homer from Nutter. SRU tacked on four more runs thanks to a three-RBI Shall double and an RBI-single from Hurd to take a 16-8 lead.
 
The Mountain Cats not only avoided the run-rule ending but clawed back into the game by answering with six runs on four hits and an error in the bottom of the sixth. The Rock entered the seventh with a 16-14 lead, and Goldhardt homered with Davis on base to extend the advantage to 18-14.
 
Hurd was brought back into the circle for the bottom of the seventh, and despite allowing a leadoff single, struck out three batters to guarantee the comeback win.
 
Uphold (2-1) faced 17 batters as the winning pitcher, while Hurd contributed three of the team's five strikeouts. Gresgott fanned one batter in the opening 2.0 innings, while Borkovich and Williams combined for 1.0 inning. Mahlon Yonkin (1-6) suffered the loss for UPJ, tossing three Ks in 5.2 frames before Smith, the game-one pitcher, closed the game.
 
Hurd went 5-for-6 with three RBI, becoming just the second player in Rock softball history to register five hits in a single game. Katie Kaiser became the first against Mercyhurst University in 2013. Nutter had two homers in the same game for the third time in her career, finishing game two batting 3-for-5 with six RBI.
 
Goldhardt's home run highlighted a 2-for-3 day with two RBI, while Shall's double sparked a 2-for-3 game with four RBI. Sarah Brown also had two hits in a 2-for-5 effort. Mansfield (1-for-5), Montie (1-for-5) and Davis (1-for-4) all added one hit.
 
Julia Mooney led Pitt-Johnstown in game two by hitting 2-for-3 with two doubles and five RBI. SRU totaled 20 hits for the fourth time in recorded history. Pitt-Johnstown produced 13 hits with both teams committing three errors and leaving nine runners on base.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock will continue its road stand by traveling to Gannon University 2 p.m. Tuesday for a PSAC doubleheader.





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