Rock baseball (2-6) rolled over Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division rival California (Pa.) 18-5 Monday to pick up the team’s second win of the season at the Dinwiddie Invitational in Virginia.
The Rock’s offense jumped out to an early 11-1 lead through four innings of play, and its pitching staff was able to keep the Vulcans offense at bay for the rest of the contest. SRU added another seven runs in sixth inning.
Sophomore Tyler Walters bolstered The Rock’s offense with two home runs and seven total runs batted in (RBI). Junior Preston Falascino also had a big offensive outing for SRU, collecting two hits with five RBI’s.
Walters’ seven RBI’s are a new career-high for him in a single game, and he has now hit four home runs in the past four ball games. His career total for home runs stands at 17 which is ranked 10th all-time in SRU history. He is only 11 home runs shy of the second place mark which stands at 28.
Junior’s Ty Zimmerman and James Divosevic each set career highs in hits in a single game with four apiece.
Sophomore Matt Gordon started on the pitcher’s mound for SRU, going six innings and striking out four to pick up his first win of the season. Sophomore Stephen McKee and redshirt-junior Logan Brown each combined to throw in the final three innings of the game out of the bullpen. Brown threw a scoreless ninth inning after McKee allowed three runs in the seventh and eighth.
Slippery Rock now heads south to the sunny weather in Florida for its annual spring break slew of games. SRU will play 11 teams over the eight-day stretch at the Russmatt Invitational in Auberndale. The first game is set for Saturday against Northwood University at 1 p.m.
