Continuing on its weekend road trip, The Rock softball team made a trip to Greensburg, Pa. on Saturday to take on the Seton Hill University Griffins. The Rock needed to bounce back after dropping two tough Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) games against Mercyhurst on Friday.
The first game was all Slippery Rock. In the fourth inning, The Rock got on the board with a solo home run from senior Ashley Samluk. In the fifth and sixth innings, the Rock would score three more unearned runs, giving them a 4-0 lead.
Four runs would be all sophomore pitcher Brooke Dawson (7-7, 3.12 ERA) would need. Dawson pitched seven strong innings, giving up five hits and not allowing a run. She also struck out four batters and was able to get her seventh win of the season.
Game two was a little more of a test for The Rock. The game went into extra innings with the most runs being scored in the final inning of play.
The Rock saw great pitching again, from both Dawson and junior Carly DeRose (8-5, 3.01 ERA). Dawson started the game, going 2.1 innings giving up two hits, one run and striking out one. DeRose would pick up the win, going 5.2 innings surrendering seven hits and allowing three runs.
After Seton Hill got on the board in the third, Slippery Rock scored a run in the fifth inning tying the game at one. Scoring would not continue for either team until the eighth inning.
Senior Stacey Herzog got the Rock back on the board with an RBI single scoring junior Caitlin Baxter. Later, Herzog would score on an error. Senior Megan Maloney would later drive in a run on a single, scoring freshman Caitlyn MacKelvey. The Rock would then get one more unearned run bringing the score to 5-1
Seton Hill continued to battle, scoring three runs in the eighth, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit. The final score was 5-4 in favor of Slippery Rock.
With the wins, The Rock improves to 18-17 overall and 7-7 in PSAC play. Their next matchup will be on Sunday, a doubleheader against California University (Pa.) on the road in California, Pa. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
