The Rock baseball team lost 13-4 to East Stroudsburg University Thursday evening, handing the team team its first defeat of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament.
The Rock scored its first runs in the fourth inning as sophomore Preston Falascino hit a two-run home run, quickly followed by an RBI single by sophomore Ty Zimmerman. Slippery Rock also scored in the fifth inning as junior Alex Bell hit an RBI double down the left field line. The home run was Falascino’s ninth of the season.
Senior Kyle Schneider was on the mound for SRU. Schneider pitched five innings, allowing seven runs on 10 hits, only six runs being earned. Freshman Alex Pantuso entered the game in the sixth inning, and remained of the mound for the rest of the game. Pantuso allowed six earned runs on eight hits. Schneider was credited with the loss, and now has win-loss record of 5-4.
With this loss, the team will play Mercyhurst University Friday at 9:30 a.m. in an elimination game. The winner of that game will play either Millersville or Seton at 3:30 p.m. in the PSAC Championship Game. The loser of SRU and Mercyhurst will be forced to wait and see if they’re selected into NCAA Division II Tournament. The tournament allows the top six teams from each region, but according to the latest NCAA regional rankings, the Rock has been listed as number seven.
