SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Now winners in 16 of its last 17 home games, the Slippery Rock University softball team posted two more victories on the season by defeating Clarion 3-1 and 4-1 Friday at Kasnevich Field.
 
The sweep improves The Rock's overall record to 20-17 while moving SRU's mark in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division play to 14-5. The Rock remained on top of the PSAC West standings by 1.5 games.
 
Alexsa Hurd (12-5) broke Slippery Rock's single-season strikeouts record by tossing 11 Ks in game one, surpassing Kelsi Anderson's 176 strikeouts in 2023 and moving to 182 on the year. She also went 1-for-7 at the plate with an RBI and a run.
 
Kayla Williams (3-2) picked up the win in her second career start, allowing just three hits in the opening 4.0 innings of game two. Paige Gresgott (3-8, 1) tossed five strikeouts and allowed no walks in the final 3.0 innings of the twin bill to earn her first save.
 
Shaylyn Shall went 3-for-6 at the plate with an RBI and a double, while Aubrey Mansfield tallied a team-high three RBI in a 2-for-4 afternoon that featured a double. Julia Montie also contributed two hits batting 2-for-6 with a double. Jessica Goldhardt (1-for-1) posted the first triple of her career, driving in a run at the same time. She also stole two bases.
 
Emma Kennedy (1-for-3), Alyssa Sheely (1-for-4), Julia Nutter (1-for-6), Kayla Williams (1-for-2) and Sydney Brown (1-for-3, 1 RBI) all added one hit. Arielle Brown (0-for-2) scored one run and stole one base.
 
GAME ONE – Slippery Rock 3, Clarion 1
Three early runs were all it took for Slippery Rock to earn a game-one win over Clarion, 3-1.
 
The Golden Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to an RBI-double into centerfield, but The Rock responded in the bottom half of the frame with a tying run on an RBI-single from Shall.
 
After Clarion left bases loaded in the second, Slippery Rock pounced on the Golden Eagles in the bottom of the third, scoring two runs on four hits and an error with three left on itself.
 
Hurd singled up the middle to score Shall, who reached third on a single and an error to lead off. A Sydney Brown infield single with bases loaded brought another run home to make it 3-1.
 
The game did not see another hit through the final four innings with Clarion's Ainsley Perdicaris (5-9) tossing a perfect final 3.1 frames. She suffered the loss for the Golden Eagles with three strikeouts and two walks in 6.0 innings. Hurd (12-5) far surpassed SRU's single-season strikeout record with 11 Ks and just three hits allowed in the 7.0-inning win.
 
Shall led The Rock offensively going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a run. Montie (1-for-3) and Mansfield (1-for-3) each contributed a double. Hurd (1-for-3), Sydney Brown (1-for-3) and Sheely (1-for-3) each added a hit as well, while Arielle Brown (0-for-2) stole a base and scored one run.
 
SRU outhit Clarion 7-3, while both teams committed one error. The Rock finished the game with six left on base compared to Clarion's five.
 
GAME TWO – Slippery Rock 4, Clarion 1
Slippery Rock earned the season series win over Clarion by taking game two from the Golden Eagles, 4-1.
 
SRU took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning on a two-out, two-run single by Mansfield that scored both Montie and Goldhardt. The Golden Eagles responded with one run in the top of the fourth on two hits to cut The Rock's lead to 2-1 but simultaneously left two runners on base.
 
Williams led off for The Rock in the bottom of the fourth with an infield single and was brought home on Goldhardt's first career triple, lifting SRU to another 3-1 advantage. The Rock tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth by way of a Mansfield sac-fly that sent Shall to the plate for a 4-1 lead.
 
The Golden Eagles left a runner at third base in a scoreless sixth inning and had a runner get caught stealing in a two-hit seventh, unable to get back into the game.
 
Williams (3-2) earned the win for Slippery Rock in her second career start, allowing just three hits and one run through the opening 4.0 innings. Gresgott (3-8, 1) notched her first career save by hurling five strikeouts in the closing 3.0 innings, holding Clarion without any additional runs.
 
Goldhardt's triple highlighted a 1-for-1 showing that came with an RBI and a run, while Shall's double headlined a 1-for-3 game with a run. Montie (1-for-3), Mansfield (1-for-1, 3 RBI), Nutter (1-for-3), Williams (1-for-2) and Kennedy (1-for-1) all recorded a hit for SRU. Goldhardt stole two bases in the contest.
 
Angelina Pepe (2-4) threw one strikeout and allowed only one walk in the complete game for Clarion. Delanie Davison's second double of the day came as part of a 1-for-3 game, while Desi Allen went 2-for-3.
 
Both teams finished up game two with seven hits and no errors. The Rock left six runners on base, while the Golden Eagles stranded seven.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock will return to action 2 p.m. Monday to host Pitt-Johnstown in a PSAC West doubleheader at Kasnevich Field. The Rock swept the Mountain Cats on the road March 21, 5-1 and 18-4.





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