CLARION, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University baseball team concluded its four-game series against Clarion Saturday by splitting a road Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division doubleheader.
 
The Rock took the opener, 5-3, but lost 5-4 in a 12-inning game two. Following the split, SRU's record moves to 26-13 overall and 13-7 in the PSAC West while Clarion ends the weekend at 18-20 overall and 9-11 in league games.
 
Slippery Rock is currently positioned third in the PSAC West standings with eight conference contests remaining in the regular season. SRU trails second-place Seton Hill by one game and is 2.5 games in back of first-place California (Pa.).
 
In addition to earning the win on the mound in game one, Gage Gillott also reached base four times in game two as part of a 2-for-4, one RBI, one double, two walk showing. Gillott has now produced six consecutive multi-hit games.
 
Brandon Butler, Cam Panyko Morris and Stone Powell all had three hits over the doubleheader as well.
 
GAME ONE: SRU 5 – Clarion 3
Slippery Rock took an early lead and fended off a Clarion rally to claim a 5-3 victory in game one.
 
Gillott (3-2) got the win on the mound for The Rock in game one. Aside from solo home runs to lead off the second and fourth innings, Clarion's batters were largely ineffective against Gillott, who pitched four innings with three strikeouts and two runs allowed.
 
Mark Wilbur pitched the fifth inning and yielded one run before turning the game over to Michael Kitko, who threw two shutout innings to lock down the win and grab his third save of the year in the process.
 
Kitko and Tyler Cerame accounted for four of The Rock's 10 hits in the opener. They both had two hits with Kitko driving in one run and Cerame scoring once.
 
Panyko Morris went 1-for-3 with one run, two RBIs and a stolen base. Butler, Powell, Robert Herr, Andrew Frye and Luke Anderton all had hits as well. Frye and Anderton supplied SRU with its only extra-base hits of the game courtesy of matching doubles while Frye also compiled one RBI.
 
Slippery Rock posted three runs in the second inning. Panyko Morris ignited the inning when his single up the middle drove in Butler and Powell for the game's first runs. Panyko Morris would later score off Frye's RBI-double before Clarion could get out of the inning.
 
The aforementioned Clarion home runs cut Slippery Rock's lead to 3-2 heading into a fifth frame that saw both The Rock and Golden Eagles trade runs, sending the game to the sixth with SRU ahead 4-3.
 
Following a scoreless sixth inning, Slippery Rock added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Anderton, who doubled to lead off the inning before moving to third on a Herr groundout, scored via a wild pitch.
 
The extra run turned out to not be necessary as Kitko posted a pair of strikeouts sandwiched around a Clarion groundout in the bottom of the inning to finish off The Rock's two-run victory.
 
Braden Fetherolf (2-2) took the loss on the mound for Clarion after giving up four runs on nine hits in five innings. Randy Carlo went 2-for-4 with one run, one home run and two RBIs at the plate for the Golden Eagles.
 
GAME TWO: Clarion 5 – SRU 4 (12 Innings)
Following a two-hour rain delay, Slippery Rock and Clarion played a 12-inning contest in game two with the Golden Eagles eking out a 5-4 win.
 
A three-hit first inning capped off by a two-run double off the bat of Powell provided SRU with an early 2-0 lead. Clarion cut into The Rock's advantage with a run in the second before plating two in the third to take a 3-2 edge of its own.  
 
The Golden Eagles' lead held all the way into the seventh inning with two outs before Powell shot a clutch single to left field that scored Nemeth, who got into scoring position by reaching on a fielders choice and advancing to third on a Butler single.
 
While Clarion was able to get out of the top of the seventh without allowing SRU to plate the go-ahead run, starting pitcher Joe Purcell worked around a walk and hit in the bottom of the seventh to strand the potential game-winning run on second base and force extra innings.
 
The Rock and Golden Eagles traded runs in the eighth with Gillott ripping an RBI double in the top of the frame that scored Panyko Morris and Clarion countering with a game-saving run-scoring hit by Doran Mast.
 
A stalemate ensued over the following three-and-a-half innings before the fateful bottom of the 12th where Caden Contant drew a one-out walk and then taking second on a wild pitch en route to eventually scoring the deciding run courtesy of a Brody Hinkle RBI-single.
 
SRU used four pitchers in the nightcap. Purcell went seven innings in the no-decision start, scattering three runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out six. Parker Hogge faced one batter in the eighth before being pulled in favor of Joey Vanzin, who went on to pitch 3.1 innings with six strikeouts and no runs charged to the sophomore.
 
Gino Marra (3-1) was the losing pitcher for SRU after pitching a scoreless 11th and giving up the game-winning run in the 12th.
 
Five Rock batters had multi-hit games in game two. Powell produced three RBIs on a 2-for-5 showing that included a double. Gillott went 2-for-4 with two walks, a stolen base and a RBI.
 
Panyko Morris (2-for-5, 1 run), Zack Streightif (2-for-2, 1 walk) and Butler (2-for-4, 1 run) rounded out the multi-hit grouping.
 
Clarion's Aiden Hartle (3-2) pitched the final 5.1 innings in relief of Reilly Shafer to get the win with one run allowed. Hinkle drove in two of Clarion's five runs.
 
Slippery Rock returns to the diamond when it steps out of PSAC West competition for a 3 p.m. April 22 non-conference game at Ashland University.




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