QUAKERTOWN, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University softball team came out on top of the highest-scoring game in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament history in a dramatic 16-11 victory over Bloomsburg University to kick off its 2025 postseason run Wednesday in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.
 
Slippery Rock remains in the winners' bracket and is guaranteed at least two more games in the PSAC Tournament this year, next facing No. 18 Kutztown University 10 a.m. Thursday. The Huskies fall into the elimination bracket and will play either Shippensburg University or Seton Hill University 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

The Rock improve to 28-19 on the season with the victory, while the Huskies drop to 30-17. The game featured the first recorded instance of 27 runs being scored in a PSAC Tournament game. Slippery Rock is the first team to total 16 runs in a playoff game since Bloomsburg defeated Kutztown University 16-0 in 2017.
 
The victory marks Slippery Rock's second PSAC Tournament win since 1983 and just its fourth all-time win over Bloomsburg in program history.
 
Aubrey Mansfield piled up four RBI in a 2-for-5 game, while Arielle Brown and Shaylyn Shall both went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a double. Julia Montie homered in a 1-for-3 showing, while Emma Kennedy logged a double in a 2-for-4 appearance.
 
Naomi Childs went 3-for-4 and scored three runs, while Alyssa Sheely batted 2-for-4 with two RBI. Alexsa Hurd brought three runs to the plate as well, with Brown stealing two bases.
 
Hurd tossed two strikeouts in the opening 3.2 innings, with Paige Gresgott (7-9) earning her first career playoff victory with one strikeout in the final 3.1 innings.
 
Bloomsburg's lone lead of the day came early, as the Huskies went up 2-0 on a two-out double in the top of the first. Slippery Rock responded with three runs, first getting on the board with a sac-fly from Montie and then taking a 3-2 lead on a two-run single by Mansfield.
 
The Rock doubled their tally to six runs in the second inning. Shall drove a run in with a single into left field for a 4-2 edge before Mansfield again registered two RBI on a single into centerfield to grant Slippery Rock its 6-2 lead.
 
The Huskies loaded the bases in the top of the third, but an impressive 5-2-3 double play with quick work by Mansfield, Kennedy and Nutter retired the side.
 
Slippery Rock continued its trend of scoring three runs an inning in the third, seeing run support generated by an RBI-groundout by Brown, an RBI-single into centerfield from Shall and an error that allowed Montie to reach base.
 
SRU's seemingly comfortable 9-2 lead was put to the test in the top of the fourth, where Bloomsburg rallied for six runs on four hits to cut the difference to 9-8. The Huskies again loaded the bases and got two runs in on RBI-walks, only to bring the deficit down to one on a grand slam.
 
Slippery Rock was swift to respond once again, tacking on three runs from four hits in the bottom of the fourth. Sheely singled down the right-field line to allow Nutter and Kennedy to score for an 11-8 lead. Childs was then brought home on an RBI-single from Brown to give Slippery Rock a 12-8 cushion.
 
After both teams went 1-2-3 in the fifth inning, Bloomsburg again threatened with three runs on four hits in the top of the sixth, this time scoring on back-to-back triples.
 
Slippery Rock extended its 12-11 lead with four more runs in the home half of the inning. Brown singled into right field to once again score Childs, and Shall crushed a double into centerfield to bring Childs into home. Montie put the icing on the cake with a two-run shot that brought Hurd in to score alongside her, lifting The Rock to a 16-11 advantage.
 
The Huskies loaded the bases in the seventh inning but were ultimately not allowed any additional runs from Gresgott and Slippery Rock's defense.
 
Slippery Rock finished the game with 16 hits, two errors and seven left on base, while Bloomsburg concluded the contest with 12 hits, two errors and eight runners stranded.
 
BU's Callie Sowers (14-6) suffered the loss with three strikeouts in a combined 3.1 innings, one of four Bloomsburg pitchers to see time in the circle. Allie Wenrich led the Huskies batting 3-for-3 with eight RBI on the grand slam, a triple and a double.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock will look to remain in the winner's bracket when it faces off with No. 18 Kutztown University 10 a.m. Thursday. The Golden Bears are the first nationally ranked opponent SRU will face in six years.
 
A win over Kutztown would leave The Rock as one of two remaining teams in the winners' bracket 10 a.m. Friday, where SRU would play either East Stroudsburg University or Shepherd University. A loss to the Golden Bears would force Slippery Rock to play at 3 p.m. Thursday in the elimination bracket versus either Gannon University, California (Pa.) or Indiana University (Pa.).





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