Mercyhurst 5, Slippery Rock 4
Mercyhurst 7, Slippery Rock 0
ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst College softball team closed out the first rotation of divisional play with a sweep over visiting Slippery Rock Saturday, April 3. The Lakers earned a 5-4 victory with a rally in the seventh inning of game one before shutting out The Rock, 7-0, in the nightcap.
With two wins Saturday, the Lakers improve to 17-17 on the season, including a 4-4 mark in PSAC West competition. The Rock, playing its fifth doubleheader in as many days, falls to 15-12, 3-3 in divisional games.
In game one,
Emily Redig batted 3-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI. Additionally, she scored the game-winning run on a
Megan Houston bunt single.
Michelle Schmitz drove in two runs during the first game.
The Rock took a quick 2-0 lead with a pair after loading the bases with nobody out in the first inning. Mercyhurst claimed a 3-2 lead with three runs in the bottom of the third inning, as Redig singled in
Julie Harmon and Schmitz drove in Redig and
Kara Gorgos.
Slippery Rock tied the game on a Sheree Horvath home run in the fifth inning, and went ahead, 4-3 on an RBI single from Whitney Warmus in the top of the sixth.
The Lakers earned the victory in their last at-bats, scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Andrea Sauers walked, and scored after a misplay in the outfield on a Redig single. Houston pinch-hit, plating Redig with a bunt to win the game, 5-4.
Amanda Norman went the distance for her seventh win of the season, allowing four runs on eight hits while striking out four. Three Rock pitchers combined to allow five runs, three earned, on 10 hits. Shaylee Ianno drew the loss, falling to 2-3 on the season.
Game two featured a three-hit shutout from sophomore
Kristi Janoske, and 11 Laker hits in a 7-0 Mercyhurst victory.
Janoske (8-11) pitched her second shutout of the season, allowing three hits while fanning two batters. Lindsay Grace (5-7) suffered the loss, yielding seven runs, five earned, in four innings.
Schmitz belted two home runs during game two, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI.
Anna Glomb and
Amber Rapose each posted 2-for-3 games in game two.
Schmitz opened the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning. In the second, Mercyhurst added two runs on RBI singles from Glomb and Redig, building a 3-0 lead. Schmitz led off the third inning with a homer, and Glomb drove in Rapose for a 5-0 advantage.
Slippery Rock registered its first hit of the game against Janoske in the fourth inning. After another scoreless Rock inning, Mercyhurst added two runs, as Schmitz plated Redig, and scored on an error by the center fielder. The Rock recorded two hits in the fifth, but the Lakers turned a double play during the inning, holding SRU off the scoreboard.
The Lakers double-header against Clarion, originally scheduled for Tuesday, April 6, has been canceled, and will not be made up. Mercyhurst will next compete Thursday, April 8 at Gannon. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m.