INSTITUTE, W. Va. - The Slippery Rock University baseball team opened its three-game weekend series at West Virginia State University with a 3-1 loss Friday.
The non-conference defeat moves The Rock's record to 4-4 overall while the host Yellow Jackets improve to 6-5. SRU held a 7-5 edge in hits over WVSU and had four more runners reach base by way of walks but was ultimately unable to translate the production into runs.
Gage Gillott (1-2) turned in another great performance on the mound, going seven innings and striking out four with just two runs allowed on three hits and no walks. Gillott is yet to allow more than two runs in any of his three starts this season.
Hunter Loomis came on for Gillott in the eighth, giving up one run in his inning pitched.
Jimmy Sadler went 2-for-4 with one RBI and a double.
Brandon Butler,
Michael Kitko,
Robert Herr,
Clay Wiesen and
Cam Panyko Morris all had one-hit games, with Butler walking once and Kitko scoring SRU's lone run and extending his hit streak to eight games with a double.
Treton Nemeth rounded out SRU's top performers at the plate with two walks. Through The Rock's opening eight games of 2025, Nemeth has earned a team-high nine walks.
Slippery Rock strung together three consecutive hits to open the scoring in the bottom of the second as a Kitko leadoff double and a Butler single put runners on second and third before Sadler sent a double to left field to plate Kitko.
However, WVSU starting pitcher JT Fabian, limited the damage to just one run as he bounced back from the string of hits to record a strikeout, inducing a groundball that led to Butler being tagged out at home followed by an inning-ending strikeout.
SRU seemed poised to extend its lead in the fourth when Butler drew a leadoff walk followed by an infield single from Sadler only for Fabian to once again avoid trouble with a strikeout and a proceeding double play to keep The Rock's lead at 1-0 entering the middle stages of the game.
WVSU got to Gillott for the first time in the bottom half of the inning as the Yellow Jackets broke up his perfect game with three hits as part of a two-run inning that gave West Virginia State a 2-1 advantage.
The Rock and Yellow Jackets went on to trade scoreless frames over the next three innings. Gillott continued to be nearly untouchable while West Virginia State's pitchers weaved in and out of trouble, particularly in the seventh when SRU produced back-to-back singles by Wiesen and Herr before a Wiesen steal put runners on the corners with no outs.
However, Wiesen would get picked off at third in a close play while West Virginia State reliever Riley Vadasz worked around a
Joe Purcell walk to record consecutive outs, stranding two runners and maintaining WVSU's one-run lead.
West Virginia State closed out the victory by adding an insurance run in the eighth and negating a leadoff single from Panyko Morris in the ninth courtesy of a pair of lineouts and a game-ending groundout on the way to the two-run decision.
Fabian (2-2) took the win for West Virginia State. He struck out seven while giving up one run on four hits and three walks before giving way to the relief trio of Vadasz, Tyrus Baumgardner and Brandon Morrison who combined to pitch four shutout innings. Morrison earned the save after pitching the final two innings.
Carter Ruffner, Brodie Guenther and Michael Bittinger drove in one run apiece to pace the WVSU bats.
Slippery Rock and West Virginia State continue their three-game weekend series with another nine-inning game Saturday. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on 'X' (formerly Twitter, @Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics) and Instagram (RockAthletics).
