The Slippery Rock University baseball team (14-5, 5-3 in the PSAC) will be at home this Friday to take on the Clarion Golden Eagles (4-13, 2-6 in the PSAC) in doubleheader action. The team will travel to Clarion’s Memorial Stadium Saturday to face off again in doubleheader fashion, capping off the four-game series.
The two teams met nearly a month ago at Jack Critchfield Park for a four-game weekend set that saw The Rock take three of the four games. Clarion’s offense will look to provide more support as they only plated 7 runs across the 4 games against Slippery Rock in March.
The Green and White have been playing as a complete unit their last 10 games, going 7-3 and getting contributions from across the team. Clarion will be looking to start a hot streak of its own as they have been 2-8 over their last 10. The Rock sits at third in the PSAC West before the weekend’s games and will be looking to improve and cement their position with division wins in the series.
SRU will be looking to offensive contributors including Jon Kozarian, Connor Hamilton, and Alex Robenolt, as keys to its success. The junior, Kozarian, was crucial to team success against Gannon going 10-13 (.769) and knocking in 8 RBIs. Hamilton, a catcher, is a rally starter for the team, as he carries a .548 OBP and has scored 19 runs this season. Robenolt reached base in every game in the Gannon series and carries a .439 batting average. He will look to stay hot this weekend.
The pitching staff for Slippery Rock has given the team a chance in nearly every game they played, as the carry a staff 3.72 earned run average in the first leg of the season. Five members of the staff carry a qualified ERA below 4.00 including Ricky Mineo, Andy McClymonds Luke Trueman, Travis Holman, and Christian Seelhorst. Ricky Mineo leads the staff in strikeouts, innings pitched, and holds a perfect 4-0 record.
Clarion’s offense is keyed by the trio of Nick Fugh, Lavin Thomas, and Alex Ficorilli as they all carry a batting average over .300. Senior Lavin Thomas leads the team in RBIs and home runs. Alex Ficorilli and Nick Fugh lead the team in doubles, each with six.
The Golden Eagle’s pitching staff will look to get back on the right track in the series and limit the dangerous Slippery Rock offense. Trevor McGee leads the staff in strikeouts and has an admirable WHIP of 1.53.
Chilly weather is expected for the weekend’s games, first pitch is at 1:00 p.m. Friday at Jack Critchfield Park.
