SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team swept Lock Haven University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division doubleheader Saturday at Critchfield Park to put the finishing touches on a four-game series sweep of the Bald Eagles.
 
Saturday's wins complete a five-victory week for The Rock while improving their record to 22-11 overall and 11-5 in the PSAC West. The Bald Eagles leave SRU at 12-23 overall, 2-13 in the PSAC West and on a 10-game losing streak.  
 
Michael Kitko was productive in Saturday's sweep, going a combined 4-for-6 from the plate over the doubleheader with two runs scored, three RBI and a walk all the while pitching two innings in game two. Kitko exits the weekend as The Rock's leader in RBI with 23.
 
Stone Powell compiled four RBIs and two runs scored with a pair of extra-base hits – a double and a triple. The freshman is now batting .355 in his first 23 collegiate games played.
 
Brandon Butler and Clay Wiesen also had hits across both ends of Saturday's doubleheader. Butler was 3-for-5 on the day with two runs and walk while Wiesen went 2-for-5 with an RBI, a walk and a stolen base.
 
Gage Gillott followed up a two-hit, one-run, one-stolen base performance in the opener by pitching three solid innings in game two in what was his first appearance on the mound since March 15.

GAME 1: SRU 4 – LHU 3
Slippery Rock posted another big opening inning and staved off a Lock Haven comeback bid on the way to a 4-3 victory in game one.
 
As was the case in Friday's game one victory, Slippery Rock jumped out to another sizable lead Saturday with a four-run first inning that featured an RBI-double by Kitko, a two-run triple off the bat of Powell, who eventually scored the final run of the inning thanks to a Tyler Cerame RBI.
 
While The Rock were limited to just two hits over the remainder of the game, the early scoring barrage was plenty of support for pitchers Joe Purcell and Mark Wilbur.
 
Purcell was solid on the mound for the third time in his last four starts as he worked through the Lock Haven batting order with limited trouble. While the Bald Eagles were able tally single-run innings in the second, third and fifth, Purcell avoided allowing any big frames before turning over a 4-3 lead to Wilbur in the sixth inning.
 
Lock Haven put runners to second and third with two outs in the sixth to bring leadoff hitter Morgen Billotte to the plate. Billotte drove a ball deep to centerfield only for Cam Panyko Morris to perfectly track the shot, make the game-saving catch and hold onto the ball after running hard into the wall.
 
Wilbur closed out the victory by working around a two-out single in the seventh with a game-ending strikeout of Ethan Nagy.
 
Purcell improved to 4-2 on the season after giving up three runs – two of which were earned – on four hits and three walks alongside three strikeouts. Wilbur registered his fifth save of 2025 after tossing two shutout innings.
 
Hitting atop The Rock's batting order, Gillott was 2-for-3 with one run and his 10th stolen base of the season. Wiesen also reached base twice as part of a 1-for-2, two-walk, one-stolen base showing.
 
Kitko, Powell and Butler were all 1-for-3 with one run scored with Powell driving in two runs off his triple and Kitko collecting one RBI via his double.
 
Will Stambaugh (1-2) pitched a complete game for Lock Haven in a losing effort. He surrendered four runs on six hits and one walk.  

GAME 2: SRU 8 – LHU 6
The Rock erased a three-run deficit by matching their highest single-inning scoring output of the season to spur on a comeback and clinch the series sweep with an 8-6 win over Lock Haven in game two of the doubleheader.
 
Trailing 4-1 and seeing its hopes of a four-game sweep dwindling, SRU began its comeback bid in the bottom of the fifth inning.
 
Kitko and Butler registered back-to-back singles to lead off the frame, allowing Powell to continue his big doubleheader with a two-run double to the gap in right field. A Cerame walk then chased reliever Kevin Grenninger from the game in favor of Caleb Zimmerman with no outs and the tying and go-ahead runs on base.   
 
Zimmerman did not fare much better than Grenninger as a wild pitch moved The Rock's runners to second and third to setup a pair of run-scoring sacrifice flyouts by Wiesen and Robert Herr with a Purcell walk sandwiched between to give SRU a 5-4 edge.
 
SRU continued its remarkable rally thanks to an RBI-double by Treston Nemeth that resulted in Zimmerman being pulled for Jace Szaflarski, who yielded a two-run single to Kitko – the first batter he faced – before the inning concluded with Slippery Rock firmly in control 8-4.
 
After delivering his clutch hit in the fifth, Kitko moved in from right field to pitch the final two innings. Kitko's fifth relief appearance of the year saw him throw a scoreless sixth inning as well as bouncing back from a two-run home run in the seventh with three consecutive outs – the third being a strikeout of Stephen McMillan to wrap up the 8-6 win.
 
Slippery Rock racked up 12 hits in the nightcap led by Kitko, who was 3-for-3 with one run, two RBI and a walk. Butler closed the victory at 2-for-2 with one run and a walk. Nemeth rounded out the trio of multi-hit performers by going 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
 
Powell, Cerame, Wiesen, Herr and Andrew Frye all had hits as well while Jimmy Sadler walked twice and scored one run.
 
Gillott returned to the mound, going three innings with two strikeouts and just one unearned run allowed.
 
Joey Vanzin entered for Gillott in the fourth and pitched the following 1.2 innings before Gino Marra (2-0) got SRU out of the fifth inning by coming in after two runs had already been scored and forcing an inning-ending groundout with two runners on base. Kitko struck out two batters in his two innings pitched.
 
Lock Haven used five pitchers in game two. Grenninger took the loss with his four runs allowed in 0.2 innings in place of Nagy, who gave up one run in the first 3.1 innings.
 
Slippery Rock continues its six-game homestand when it hosts Cedarville University 3 p.m. April 15 at Critchfield Park.





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