By Noelle Paratore
The Slippery Rock baseball team came back from a four-run deficit to defeat Ashland University 7-6 on Tuesday at Tomassi Stadium in Ashland, Ohio.
The Rock batted out another 16-run game to match their season high from the Feb. 23 game against Goldey-Beacom.
Five Rock men recorded a two-hit game. Clay Wiesen and Cam Panyko Morris each tallied two runs batted in (RBIs) and one run scored.
The White and Green were slow to get runs on the board, with the Eagles dominating the first three frames. The first three runs came in for AU in the bottom of the second with two advancements and a sacrifice fly. The third inning ended with a homer for the Eagles, putting them in the lead 4-0.
SRU punched back in the fourth, putting up two of their runs coming from Wiesen and Panyko. The Eagles came back and scored another run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth.
Working on their comeback, Michael Kitko scored for The Rock in the fifth while freshman pitcher, Kyle Warnsman, only allowed one run to come in for the Eagles between the fourth and fifth innings.
Four pitching changes came throughout the game. Ethan Edkins, Kyle Warnsman and Parker Hogge all had their turn at the mound. The three pitchers had a collective seven strikeouts before Gino Marra took over to close out the game, having two shutout innings.
The sixth frame left scoreless for both teams before the White and Green secured two more runs for themselves in the seventh. Stone Powell took the opportunity to cross home after an advancement from Treston Nemeth, and Kitko followed right behind tying the game 6-6.
Slippery Rock took the lead for the first time in the game at the top of the eighth with a run delivered by Caelan Bender. The Eagles were quick to tie it back up with a run for themselves after a home run.
Starting the top of the ninth with a strikeout, Gage Gillott singled it to second base and was then able to advance to second thanks to a throwing error. Another error came after that, allowing Gillott to take the lead again for SRU.
Ashland was feeling the pressure with two flyouts to start their attempt to take the lead. They left a batter on base when Collin Overholt hit a flyout that ended the game.
Slippery Rock will continue their Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play with a double header against California University (Pa.) on Friday.
