INDIANA, Pa. – Seventh-inning home runs from Julia Montie in game one and Alexsa Hurd in game two secured the Slippery Rock University softball team important 8-6 and 7-4 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division wins over Indiana University (Pa.) Tuesday on the road.
 
The sweep gives The Rock a 23-18 overall record that contains a 17-6 mark in the PSAC West. Slippery Rock's wins paired with Seton Hill University's split against Pitt-Johnstown Tuesday lends a 2.5-game cushion on top of the PSAC West standings for Slippery Rock with five games remaining in the regular season.
 
The two losses for IUP drop the Crimson Hawks to 23-15 on the year and 14-10 in the PSAC West, dropping them from second to fourth in the divisional standings.
 
Montie's game-one-winning home run headlined a 2-for-7 day with two RBI, while Hurd's game-two winner stood out in a 3-for-8 day that included a double and a team-high five RBI.
 
Arielle Brown led Slippery Rock offensively batting 5-for-7 with a double and an RBI through the two games, while Emma Kennedy went 4-for-8 at the plate with a home run, a double and four RBI. Julia Nutter also homered, concluding the twin bill 3-for-6 with a double and two RBI.
 
Aubrey Mansfield (3-for-8) and Shaylyn Shall (3-for-8, 1 RBI) both provided three hits throughout the day, while Sydney Brown (2-for-5) and Naomi Childs (1-for-4) added to the offensive efforts as well.
 
Hurd (14-5) tied Slippery Rock's single-season wins record after tossing eight strikeouts in 7.0 innings in game one. Paige Gresgott (4-8) went the complete-game distance in game two for The Rock, tossing six Ks while allowing only four runs.
 
GAME ONE – Slippery Rock 8, Indiana 6
Three home runs including a dramatic seventh-inning shot from Montie propelled The Rock over the Crimson Hawks to take game one, 8-6.
 
Kennedy homered with Nutter on base to give Slippery Rock a 2-0 lead in the second, and The Rock got out of the inning with a 3-0 lead after Shall produced an RBI-single to plate Arielle Brown.
 
IUP generated its first hit in the third inning and quickly scored after a bunt-single and a wild pitch, cutting Slippery Rock's lead to 3-1. Indiana followed two more hits and a walk with a grand slam, lunging ahead 5-3 heading into the fourth.
 
Slippery Rock responded with a lead-off single from Sydney Brown, and a base-hit from Arielle Brown paired with a fielding error brought a run to the plate to make it 5-4. The Rock took a 6-5 lead in the fifth inning on a two-run homer from Nutter that also scored Mansfield.
 
The Crimson Hawks only needed one hit in the home half of the fifth to tie things up at 6-6, scoring on a two-out RBI-double.
 
Montie led off in the seventh with a solo home run to give Slippery Rock a 7-6 lead, and Kennedy gave The Rock an insurance run and an 8-6 lead when a single into right field scored Jessica Goldhardt.
 
A walk and a hit-by-pitch with one out gave IUP two baserunners and a glimmer of hope, but two quick putouts from Kennedy and Nutter wrapped things up and secured the two-run win for SRU.
 
Slippery Rock hit three home runs in the same game for the sixth time this season, courtesy of Kennedy (2-for-4, 3 RBI), Montie (2-for-4, 1 RBI) and Nutter (2-for-3, 2 RBI). Nutter also logged a double and scored a team-leading two runs. Arielle Brown went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Shall (1-for-4, 1 RBI), Mansfield (2-for-4) and Sydney Brown (2-for-4) made significant contributions as well.
 
Hurd (14-5) earned the victory after tossing eight strikeouts in the complete-game showing. Now at 201 strikeouts through 130.1 innings pitched on the season, Hurd became the first pitcher in Rock softball history to reach 200 strikeouts in a single season Tuesday.
 
Kendall Young (14-4) suffered the loss with four strikeouts in 7.0 innings for IUP. Jordan Sylvia (1-for-4, 4 RBI) hit the grand slam for the Crimson Hawks, while Reagan Rand went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a double.
 
Slippery Rock outhit Indiana 14-8, with IUP committing the lone error of the game. Both sides left seven runners on base.
 
GAME TWO – Slippery Rock 7, Indiana 4
Slippery Rock claimed the sweep on the day and the season-series victory over Indiana with another nail-biting win in game two, 7-4.
 
The Rock wasted no time getting back to business, earning a 1-0 lead just four batters into the game on a sac-fly from Montie that scored Arielle Brown. Slippery Rock doubled its lead to 2-0 in the third inning by way of a two-out double from Hurd that moved Shall to the plate.
 
The Rock added a third run in the shutout on an RBI-single from Hurd that advanced Goldhardt for a 3-0 lead, but Indiana avoided being blanked with one run on one hit and one left on in the bottom half of the fifth.
 
Slippery Rock padded its lead in the top of the sixth for a 4-1 advantage on an RBI-double by Kennedy, but Indiana answered with three runs on a bases-clearing double.
 
The two teams entered the seventh inning tied 4-4, but Slippery Rock poured on five hits including a three-run home run from Hurd to stake out a 7-4 edge. Indiana led off with a single in the bottom of the seventh, but could not muster any additional offense, handing SRU another win on the second seventh-inning home run of the day.
 
Hurd finished the game with a single, a double and a home run, batting 3-for-4 with five RBI. Kennedy doubled in a 2-for-4 game with an RBI, while Montie (0-for-3) also picked up an RBI. Arielle Brown (2-for-3), Shall (2-for-4), Mansfield (1-for-4), Nutter (1-for-3) and Childs (1-for-4) each added hits for Slippery Rock as well.
 
Gresgott (4-8) pitched the entire 7.0-inning effort for Slippery Rock, tossing six strikeouts in the win. Elizabeth Kasper (0-3) also pitched a complete game for Indiana, hurling six Ks in the loss. Sylvia led the Crimson Hawks offensively with two doubles and three RBI in a 2-for-3 game.
 
Slippery Rock accounted for 12 of the game's 22 hits, while IUP committed the only two errors of the game. The Rock left seven runners on base compared to Indiana's seven.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock will host Gannon University 3 p.m. Thursday at Kasnevich Field to resume the teams' April 15 game that was suspended due to inclement weather. The game will be picked up exactly as it was left off with Slippery Rock trailing the Golden Knights 1-0 in the bottom of the second.





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