LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team split a road Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division doubleheader against Lock Haven Saturday at Watkins Field.
 
On a day in which both games in the doubleheader went eight innings, Slippery Rock grabbed an 11-8 victory in the opener before Lock Haven took a 5-4 win in game two. Saturday's split, combined with its doubleheader sweep Friday, gives SRU the 3-1 series win.
 
Slippery Rock exits the weekend holding a 22-15 overall record and a 9-11 mark inside the PSAC West. Saturday's split moves Lock Haven's record to 6-32 overall and 2-17 in league games.
 
With eight conference games remaining in the regular season, Slippery Rock sits fifth in the PSAC West standings, two games behind IUP (11-9) and California (11-9) as well as a half game in front of Clarion (8-11). The top five teams in both the PSAC West and PSAC East division standings at the end of the regular season qualify for the conference tournament.
 
Overall, Slippery Rock scored 42 runs on 46 hits over the course of its series victory against the Bald Eagles. 14 of SRU's hits went for extra bases (10 doubles, three home runs, one triple).

Slippery Rock's offense Saturday was led by Michael Kitko, who went 6-for-9 over the doubleheader with one run scored and two RBIs.
 
Kitko compiled five hits in game one for what was the first five-hit contest by a Slippery Rock athlete since Noah Ross went 5-for-6 against Alliance in 2023. He is now batting .419 on the year with 42 RBIs.
 
GAME 1: SRU 11 – LHU 8 (8 Innings)
W: Michael Kitko (2-2)
L: Caleb Zimmerman (0-2)
 
Slippery Rock battled back from a four-run deficit and later fended off a late Lock Haven comeback bid to earn an 11-8 eight-inning victory in game one.
 
Trailing 4-0 entering the fifth inning, Slippery Rock plated five runs by taking advantage of three Lock Haven errors in addition to a two-run single off the bat of Jake Robinson to grab a 5-4 lead.
 
SRU added three more runs in the top of the seventh by way of run-scoring hits from Robinson and Kitko as well as Darryn Callahan drawing a bases loaded walk only for Lock Haven to answer back to force extra innings following a four-run bottom of the seventh that was capped off by a game-tying three-run homer from Nick Negola to force extra innings.
 
However, the eighth inning belonged to The Rock as Stone Powell produced the go-ahead run via a sacrifice fly that brought in Morgen Billotte and Treston Nemeth then providing a pair of insurance tallies with a two-run single.
 
Kitko, who came on in the seventh inning, worked around a leadoff Bald Eagle walk in the bottom of the eighth to record the game's final three outs and seal a Rock victory.
 
At the plate, Kitko went 5-for-5 with one run and an RBI. He was also the pitcher of record for SRU after throwing the final 1.2 innings with three strikeouts and being charged with two runs on the way to his second win of 2026.
 
Robinson registered a 3-for-5 game one performance that included two runs scored, three RBIs and one stolen base. Callahan also reached base twice via two walks to go with one run and an RBI.
 
Nemeth, Billotte and Gage Gillott accounted for Slippery Rock remaining three hits with Gillott scoring three runs and Nemeth driving in two runs in addition to drawing one walk.  
 
Prior to Kitko's time on the mound The Rock used starting pitcher Parker Hogge and Nolan Comerford. Hogge gave up four runs (two earned) on six hits with three strikeouts in 2.2 innings before giving way to Comerford who struck out four batters and allowed two runs in 3.2 innings of relief work.
 
Caleb Zimmerman (0-2) took the loss on the mound for Lock Haven after giving up four runs in one inning.
 
GAME 2: SRU 5 – LHU 4 (8 Innings)
W: Nate Mostosky (2-0)
L: Joey Vanzin (2-2)
 
The Rock and Bald Eagles once again played a tight game in the nightcap with SRU forcing extra innings thanks to a three-run seventh, but Lock Haven taking advantage of a pair of errors in extra innings to avoid the sweep with a 5-4 win.
 
Slippery Rock recorded eight hits in game two. Clay Wiesen (2-for-3) and Stone Powell (2-for-4) both collected multi-hit games. Powell drove in two runs, scored another and etched one double. Wiesen also had an RBI.
 
Gillott, Nemeth, Kitko and Max Bernadowski all had one-hit games in the nightcap with Gillott, Nemeth and Bernadowski each reaching base an additional time via walks. Gillott also scored two runs from his spot atop The Rock's batting order.
 
Zachary Hare was solid in his eighth start of the year, scattering two unearned runs on four hits and three walks over five innings while striking out six batters. Joey Vanzin (2-2) entered for Hare in the sixth, pitching two innings with three unearned runs allowed to go with two hits and two strikeouts.
 
Trailing 4-1 at the conclusion of six innings, Slippery Rock entered the seventh in search of a big inning which the top of its batting order helped find.
 
Following a Gillott leadoff single and a Robinson walk, Powell registered a base hit that scored Gillott directly giving way to another single from Nemeth which loaded the bases with no outs.
 
The back-to-back hits led to a Lock Haven pitching change before Kitko came to the plate and reached on a fielder's choice that also brought in Robinson and moved Powell to third base with The Rock trailing 4-3 and Wiesen coming to the plate.
 
Slippery Rock's second baseman drove a ball deep to centerfield that, while caught, easily allowed Powell to score on. Wiesen's sacrifice fly brought The Rock even with Lock Haven at 4-4 before Bald Eagle reliever Nate Mostosky could retire the side with an inning-ending strikeout.
 
Vanzin forced Lock Haven into a pair of groundouts and a flyout in the seventh, sending the game into extra innings.
 
However, Slippery Rock's momentum ended there as Mostosky did not allow a base runner in the top of the eighth while back-to-back Rock miscues in the field allowed Lock Haven to register a walk off victory in the bottom of the inning.
Mostosky (2-0) garnered the win for Lock Haven thanks to his two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
 
Slippery Rock will now head to Ashland University for a non-conference game 3 p.m. April 21. SRU and Ashland last played a season ago with The Rock earning a 7-6 road victory.
  
 
 
 
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