CLARION, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University softball team saw its win streak snapped at seven games, claiming a 10-1 win in game one before dropping a 13-9 heartbreaker in game two at Clarion Friday.
 
The Rock suffer their first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division loss of the season, falling to 11-13 overall and 5-1 within league play. The Golden Eagles improve to 7-15 overall and 3-3 inside the PSAC West.
 
Julia Nutter led The Rock offensively by batting 5-for-6 with two home runs, a double and three RBI. Emma Kennedy went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI, while Shaylyn Shall drove in a team-best five runs in a 4-for-8 day. Aubrey Mansfield hit 4-for-7 with three doubles and an RBI.
 
Alyssa Sheely (2-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI), Julia Montie (2-for-8, 1 2B), Alexsa Hurd (2-for-8), Sydney Brown (2-for-3), and Jessica Goldhardt (2-for-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI) all had two hits in the twinbill, while Sarah Brown (1-for-2), Naomi Childs (1-for-3) and Arielle Brown (1-for-3, 1 RBI) each added one hit on the day.
 
Hurd (7-4) was the pitcher of record in both games, combining for 12 strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Paige Gresgott tossed three Ks in 4.1 frames with Alexa Uphold and Kayla Williams making up the remaining 1.2 innings.
 
GAME ONE – Slippery Rock 10, Clarion 1 (5 innings)
Slippery Rock took posted a convincing game-one win in five innings, 10-1.
 
A two-RBI-double from Sheely in the second gave SRU its first lead of the day, 2-0. The Rock used seven hits including a home run from both Kennedy and Nutter in the third inning to jump out to an 8-0 lead.
 
Clarion got one back thanks in part to a leadoff triple in the bottom of the fourth, but SRU piled on two more runs to stake out a 10-1 lead in the fifth inning. Shall recorded an RBI-single for the ninth run of the game and stole home later on to get The Rock to 10.
 
Hurd's pitching dominance was capped off in the fifth inning with three additional strikeouts, securing the nine-run win.
 
Hurd tossed 10 Ks in 5.0 innings, holding the Golden Eagles to five hits. Kennedy's home run highlighted a 3-for-4 game with three RBI, while Nutter went 1-for-2 with one RBI and a homer. Sheely added two doubles in a 2-for-3 day with two RBI, while Arielle Brown (1-for-3), Montie (2-for-4) and Mansfield (1-for-3) each cracked a double.
 
Emma Hipps (2-7) suffered the loss with one strikeout in the opening 2.0 innings. She was relieved by Ashley DeWeese, who recorded two Ks in the final 3.0 innings. Delanie Davison went 1-for-3 in the game for Clarion with a triple.
 
The Rock outhit the Golden Eagles 15-5, committing no errors as opposed to Clarion's two. Both sides left eight runners on base.
 
GAME TWO – Clarion 13, Slippery Rock 9
Slippery Rock allowed 13 runs on five hits and lost on a walk-off grand slam in a 13-9 game two result.
 
Clarion's 1-0 lead from the first inning was wiped away by an eight-run fourth inning from SRU that began with Nutter's second home run of the day. Seven total hits from The Rock gave them an 8-1 lead heading into the fifth. SRU gave itself an insurance run from a Shall groundout in the fifth, going up 9-1.
 
The Golden Eagles avoided the run-rule ending in the bottom of the fifth with two runs on two hits, cutting the deficit to 9-3.
 
After stranding two SRU runners on base in the sixth, the Golden Eagles exploded for six runs on just one hit in the home half of the inning, a period that came with difficult pitching conditions that in part led to eight walks.
 
Tied 9-9 to begin the seventh inning, SRU was unable to get anyone on base in response. Clarion loaded the bases with two outs but Emily Buchleitner launched a walk-off grand slam on a full count to swipe away the 13-9 victory.
 
Hurd (7-3) ended out getting the loss with two strikeouts in the final 0.2 innings of relief. Gresgott tossed three strikeouts in 4.1 frames as the starter before Williams and Uphold combined for 1.2 innings in between.
 
Angelina Pepe (2-2) earned the win with one strikeout in the last 3.2 innings, closing out the game began by Ainsley Perdicaris, who fanned two batters in 3.1 innings. Buchleitner's grand slam concluded a team-leading 2-for-3 day, as Clarion benefitted from 15 total walks.
 
Nutter led SRU with a 4-for-4 effort that featured a home run, a double and two RBI, while Shall led off for The Rock with three RBI on a 2-for-5 showing.
 
Despite the final score, Slippery Rock outhit Clarion 14-5. The Rock also committed the lone error of the game while leaving seven runners on as opposed to Clarion's six left on base.
 
UP NEXT
The Rock will return home to Kasnevich Field where it will host Seton Hill University in a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday.





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