BUTLER, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team opened its four-game Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division series against Clarion with a doubleheader sweep Friday at Pullman Park in Butler, Pennsylvania.
 
The Rock claimed a 2-0 shutout victory in the opener followed by a 7-2 win in game two. Friday's sweep improves SRU's record to 25-15 overall and 11-11 inside the PSAC West. Clarion ends the day at 18-22 overall and 8-13 in divisional play.
 
Slippery Rock sits in fifth place in the PSAC West Standings with six conference contests remaining in the regular season. The Rock are 2.5 games ahead of sixth-place Clarion and just one game behind fourth-place California. The top five teams in the final regular season standings in both the PSAC West and PSAC East qualify for the PSAC Tournament.
 
SRU earned its two wins Friday thanks in no small part to great pitching performances. Gage Gillott and Joey Vanzin combined for The Rock's second shutout of 2026 in game one followed by Cole Grady and Nolan Comerford shutting down the Golden Eagles in game two.
 
Offensively, Slippery Rock was paced by Michael Kitko and Treston Nemeth. The reigning PSAC West Athlete of the Week, Kitko went 4-for-7 over the doubleheader with one RBI. Nemeth also turned in a 4-for-7 doubleheader in addition to scoring three runs and collecting three RBIs.

GAME ONE: SRU 2 – CLARION 0
W: Gage Gillott (3-2)
S: Joey Vanzin (5)
L: Zach Kelly (2-5)
 
The Rock set the tone for the day by outlasting Clarion in the opener, 2-0.
 
Gillott scattered five hits and four walks across 5.1 shutout innings while striking out six batters before giving way to Vanzin, who tossed 1.2 scoreless innings to close out the game-one win.
 
On the way to improving his record to 3-2 on the year, Gillott has now pitched 10.1 shutout innings over his last two starts. Vanzin's save was his fifth of the season and ninth of his career which is tied for the fifth most in program history.
 
At the plate, Slippery Rock racked up nine hits as Nemeth and Kitko each went 2-for-3 with Nemeth tallying an RBI. Gillott, Jake Robinson, Stone Powell, Clay Wiesen and Max Bernadowski collected one base hit each. Powell also scored one run and compiled one RBI.
 
Gillott and his counterpart Zach Kelly (2-5) traded scoreless innings through the first five frames before SRU pushed two runs across in the sixth courtesy of back-to-back run-scoring hits from Powell and Nemeth.
 
While Clarion put two runners on base in both the sixth and seventh innings, the Golden Eagles were unable to etch out a run as Vanzin stranded the four runners to finish out the win.

GAME 2: SRU 7 – CLARION 2
W: Cole Grady (4-0)
L: Luke Pietrandrea (2-3)
 
In what's become a reoccurring theme throughout the season, Grady was once again solid on the mound, while a big seventh inning for The Rock at the plate proved the difference in a 7-2 SRU victory.
 
Holding on to a 2-1 lead thanks to runs in the second and fourth innings, Slippery Rock exploded for a five-run seventh that was highlighted by a two-run Nemeth double and Landon Hamer's second career home run.
 
The six-run cushion was more than enough for Slippery Rock's pitching as Grady registered two outs in the seventh with just one additional run surrendered before giving way to Comerford, who registered a game-ending strikeout with two runners on base for the 7-2 win.
 
In 6.2 innings pitched, Grady registered three strikeouts with two runs allowed (one earned) on four hits and four walks. Grady is now 4-0 with a 2.66 ERA and a .209 opponent batting average in nine appearances this season.
 
As was the case in game one, SRU once again reached a collective nine hits in the nightcap. Hamer was a perfect 2-for-2 with one run, one home run and two RBIs. Nemeth and Kitko had matching 2-for-4 showings. Nemeth also scored twice, driving two runs and hitting The Rock's lone double of the game.
 
Rounding out SRU's top performers in game two was Wiesen (1-for-3, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 triple), Powell (1-for-4), Gillott (1 walk, 1 run) and Aari Fox (1-for-3).
 
Luke Pietrandrea (2-3) took the loss on the mound for Clarion after giving up five runs in 6.1 innings.
 
Slippery Rock and Clarion close out their PSAC West series with a doubleheader Saturday at Critchfield Park. First pitch of game one is set for 3 p.m.





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