ERIE, Pa. – Slippery Rock University softball star Alexsa Hurd dismantled her own single-game school record by hurling 19 strikeouts in a 4-2 win at Gannon University Thursday. Hurd then joined Julia Montie and Shaylyn Shall in producing home runs to lift The Rock to a 5-2 win in game two.
 
The Rock pick up their sixth straight win and improve to 10-12 overall. SRU also remains the lone undefeated Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference team in league play, moving to 4-0 in the PSAC West. The Golden Knights fall to 12-12 on the season and 3-5 within the PSAC West.
 
Hurd's 19 strikeouts in game one crushed her own record of 16 strikeouts that was set last year at Clarion. Her 19 Ks came in 8.0 innings of action in game one, lifting her to 6-3 on the year. She also batted 3-for-5 on the day with one home run, a double, two RBI and two runs.
 
Paige Gresgott (1-6) earned her first career win in the circle in game two, delivering five stirkeouts in 4.0 innings. Kayla Williams (1-2, 1) picked up her first career save by fanning two batters in the final 3.0 frames. Together in game two, Gresgott and Williams allowed just two hits.
 
Montie batted 2-for-3 on the day with a home run and four RBI, posting a cumulative .833 on-base percentage. Shall's home run highlighted a 1-for-5 game that came with one RBI and a team-leading three runs.
 
Arielle Brown went 2-for-8 with a double, while Naomi Childs (1-for-3), Alyssa Sheely (1-for-4), Sydney Brown (1-for-4) and Emma Kennedy (1-for-4) all contributed to SRU's batting.
 
GAME ONE – Slippery Rock 4, Gannon 2 (8 innings)
Hurd reached her record-breaking 19 strikeouts in eight innings of play as Slippery Rock grinded out a 4-2 game-one victory over Gannon. Slippery Rock's win marked the team's ninth consecutive victory in games that have gone to extra innings.
 
Hurd racked up six strikeouts in the first two innings but gave up a first-inning home run in the process that put Gannon up 1-0. That lead remained until the fourth inning when Sydney Brown singled and scored as bases quickly loaded for SRU. Shall also came home in the inning, with The Rock taking a 2-1 lead while leaving bases loaded.
 
The Golden Knights knotted things up at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth with a hit and an error. Hurd kept Gannon off the board for the remainder of regulation, but SRU was unable to pull ahead producing one hit in each of the final three innings.
 
A Hurd double moved Jessica Goldhardt over to third at the outset of the eighth inning, and a Montie single up the middle brought Goldhardt home for a 3-2 lead. Hurd scored to give Slippery Rock a 4-2 edge on an RBI-single by Kennedy.
 
Two batters were walked and one Golden Knight doubled in the bottom of the eighth, but three more strikeouts from Hurd fittingly clinched Slippery Rock's fifth consecutive win.
 
Hurd's (6-3) 19 strikeouts came in 8.0 innings of play. She allowed five walks and gave up just one earned run in the process. She led the team offensively by batting 2-for-3 with a double and a run.
 
Montie went 1-for-1 in the game with two RBI, as SRU also benefitted from base-hits from Arielle Brown (1-fof-4), Sydney Brown (1-for-4, 1 run), Kennedy (1-for-4, 1 RBI) and Sheely (1-for-4). Shall and Goldhardt each scored a run, while Goldhardt stole one base.
 
Maggie Lenda tossed three strikeouts for GU in the opening 5.0 innings before Josie Spano (1-3) recorded one K in the final 3.0 frames. Natalia Mallozzi spearheaded Gannon's offense hitting 4-for-4 with two doubles, while Jenna Clontz logged the home run in a 1-for-3 game.
 
Slippery Rock outhit Gannon, 7-6, picking up the lone error of the game. SRU left eight runners on base, while the Golden Knights stranded nine.
 
GAME TWO – Slippery Rock 5, Gannon 2
The Rock quieted the Golden Knights' bats in a 5-2 win to pick up their second two-game sweep over Gannon in three years.
 
Montie got SRU's slugfest going with a two-run homer in the first, and Hurd doubled The Rock's lead to 4-0 in the top of the third inning with her turn to bag a two-run home run.
 
Gannon was held without a hit until the fourth inning when the Golden Knights paired a single and an error to cut Slippery Rock's lead in half to 4-2. Shall responded with a solo home run in the top of the fifth to edge ahead 5-2, a lead that remained through the rest of the game.
 
The Golden Knights produced the only other hit the game saw in the bottom of the sixth but could not get any additional run support on the board.
 
Hurd (1-for-2, 2 RBI), Montie (1-for-2, 2 RBI) and Shall (1-for-3, 1 RBI) comprised Slippery Rock's third three-home run game of the season – as well as its second in three games. Arielle Brown went 1-for-4 with a double joining Childs (1-fof-3) with a hit.
 
Gresgott (1-6) notched her first career win with five strikeouts in 4.0 innings, allowing just one hit in that span. Williams (1-2, 1) picked up the save while striking out GU twice and holding the Golden Knights to one hit in the final 3.0 innings.
 
Katie Armstrong (8-3) suffered the loss for Gannon despite five strikeouts in the opening 4.2 innings. Jessica Westmiller no-hit The Rock through the final 2.1 innings with two strikeouts and two walks. Abbey Girman doubled in a 1-for-2 game, while Ashley Fox went 1-for-3 with Gannon's only other hit.
 
Slippery Rock finished the game with a 5-2 advantage in hitting while committing one error. SRU left just three runners aboard with Gannon leaving six on base.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock will see a quick turnaround on the road, traveling to Clarion Friday where first pitch has been pushed up to 12 p.m.





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