SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University softball team rolled to 6-2 and 10-1 wins over California (Pa.) on Senior Day to wrap up the regular season Sunday at Kasnevich Field. Alexsa Hurd broke the school's all-time home runs and RBI records, joining three other seniors in launching home runs.
 
All six seniors honored prior to the doubleheader – Hurd, Julia Montie, Jeanna Sukey, Arielle Brown, Naomi Childs, Julia Nutter and Emma Kennedy – all recorded at least one hit and scored at least one run. Everyone in the SRU batting order for both games contributed with at least a hit and a run.
 
Hurd's game-two home run marked the 41^st of her career, surpassing Jessica Kortz's record from 2010. Hurd simultaneously broke the school's all-time RBI record, now with 154. Kortz held that record as well with 153. Hurd's two-run homer also marked the 186^th hit of her career, tying head coach Stacey Rice's program record set in 2008.
 
The Rock finish their historic regular season at 27-19 overall and 21-7 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. On top of the program's first PSAC West championship, Slippery Rock's 21 wins in conference play set a new program-high. The Vulcans drop to 17-31 on the year and 14-14 in PSAC West play.
 
After Hurd (16-5) struck 11 batters out in a 6-4 game-one win, The Rock cut game two short with a 10-1 win in five innings that featured four home runs. Paige Gresgott (6-9) earned the game-two win with six strikeouts throughout the 5.0 innings.
 
Brown racked up a team-high four RBI in a 4-for-7 day that came with her first home run of the season. Kennedy went 4-for-6 with a home run, a double and three RBI, while Hurd contributed three RBI with a home run in a 2-for-6 showing.
 
Childs (2-for-4), Montie (2-for-6, 2 2B, 1 RBI) and Shaylyn Shall (2-for-6) each added two hits. Sukey (1-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI), Nutter (1-for-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI), and Aubrey Mansfield (1-for-6, 1 2B) each helped pile onto the attack.
 
GAME ONE: Slippery Rock 6, California 2
Slippery Rock picked up a 6-2 game-one win after overcoming an early two-run deficit. The Vulcans picked up one run in both the second and third innings with two hits in both frames to jump out to the 2-0 edge.
 
Slippery Rock responded with two runs in the bottom of the third to tie the game at 2-2, stemming from singles by Brown and Hurd and a double to centerfield from Montie. The Rock pulled ahead to a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning as Brown plated Sukey on a two-out RBI-single.
 
SRU doubled its tally from a 3-2 edge to 6-2 in the fifth inning, scoring the three runs on three hits. A Mansfield double was followed up by a Kennedy RBI-single, and The Rock earned a fifth run on a wild pitch. SRU's sixth run came courtesy of an RBI-double from Sukey that brought Nutter across the plate.
 
Slippery Rock held Cal to just one baserunner in the top of the seventh from a walk, allowing no further runs in the game-one win. Hurd (16-5) tied Slippery Rock's all-time wins record with 11 Ks in the 7.0-inning victory.
 
Brown led the squad hitting 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Shall (1-for-4), Hurd (1-for-3, 1 RBI), Montie (1-for-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI), Mansfield (1-for-3, 1 2B), Kennedy (1-for-3, 1 RBI), Sukey (1-for-2, 1 2B, 1 RBI) and Childs (1-for-3) all contributed offensively.
 
Taylor Babcock (8-8) was the pitcher of record for California, tossing one strikeout in 2.0 innings. Cheyenne Beayon and Megan Nidoh combined for 4.0 innings with no strikeouts. Makayla Jerin (1-for-3) logged the Vulcans' lone RBI.
 
Slippery Rock finished the game with nine of the 14 total hits, while Cal committed both errors. SRU left just five runners on base compared to California's seven.
 
GAME TWO: Slippery Rock 10, California 1 (5 inn.)
The Rock again overcame an early deficit and opened the floodgates to earn a 10-1 win in five innings.
 
Cal took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on one hit, a two-out RBI-double into left-center. The Rock batted around in the bottom of the third, an inning that saw eight runs generated on seven hits and an error.
 
After a lead-off bunt-single from Childs, Brown launched her first home run to give The Rock a 2-1 lead. Shall was walked and brought home quickly on Hurd's record-breaking home run for a 4-1 lead.
 
Montie scored on a throwing error from right field after doubling for a 5-1 lead, and a Nutter home run plated her and Kennedy for a 7-1 advantage. Childs scored a second time in the same inning on a two-out RBI-single by Brown, giving Slippery Rock an 8-1 advantage heading into the fourth.
 
The Rock quickly added two runs in the fourth inning for a 10-1 lead, as Kennedy homered over the centerfield wall to score Mansfield, who reached base on an error. A double play between Brown and Nutter and a groundout to Mansfield in the top of the fifth wrapped things up in the run-rule result.
 
Brown (2-for-3, 3 RBI), Hurd (1-for-3, 2 RBI), Kennedy (3-for-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI) and Nutter (1-for-3, 2 RBI) each hit a home run. Montie (1-for-3) doubled in the winning effort, with additional support coming from Shall (1-for-2) and Childs (1-for-1). Gresgott (6-9) totaled six punchouts in the 5.0-inning win.
 
Makenna Curran (0-6) suffered the loss for Cal, a game that again saw three Vulcans pitchers take to the circle. Kaitlyn Achtermeier (0.1 IP) and Nidoh (1.2 IP) also saw time as Cal's pitcher. Jerin went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI at the plate.
 
Slippery Rock outhit California 10-4, while the Vulcans again committed two errors. Both teams left only three runners on base.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock will make a third consecutive PSAC Tournament appearance Wednesday, April 30 in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. As recipients of the top seed in the PSAC West, The Rock will receive a first-round bye and await their opponent after the opening round of competition Wednesday morning.





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