The Rock softball team was able to secure a playoff spot on Sunday with a win in a doubleheader split against Gannon University. It was also senior day for Slippery Rock. Before the games, Slippery Rock honored seniors Stacey Herzog, Katie Kaiser, Megan Maloney and Ashley Samluk for their outstanding careers.
Slippery Rock won the opening game 1-0 due to the fantastic pitching performance from sophomore Brooke Dawson (9-8, 3.08 ERA).
Dawson pitched a complete game two-hit shutout. She finished with four strikeouts and one walk on 103 pitches.
The Rock’s only run they would need was scored on an RBI single by freshman Megan Brown, scoring Herzog in the fourth inning.
Slippery Rock won the game 1-0. With the win, The Rock had to wait for the results of the California (Pa.) and Seton Hill games to see their playoff fate.
In the meantime, Gannon took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning of game two. Slippery Rock did rally back to tie the game in the sixth inning, but it was not enough to pull off the win.
The Rock’s only runs were unearned in the sixth inning. Scoring the runs were Kaiser and Samluk.
The final score was 3-2 in favor of Gannon.
After the games, Slippery Rock would learn their playoff fate. California defeated Seton Hill, thus putting SRU into the playoffs.
Slippery Rock earned themselves a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoff berth for the first time since 2009.
Slippery Rock’s next matchup will be on April 27th against Millersville University in Quakertown, Pa. It will be game one of the PSAC tournament for The Rock.
