The Slippery Rock baseball team continued their 11-game home stand last weekend with a three-game series against West Virginia State University. What was originally supposed to be a doubleheader on Saturday followed by a single game the next day, turned into a doubleheader on Sunday due to weather conditions. Despite delays, The Rock took two out of the three games, walking away with the series victory against the Yellow Jackets.
Game one
The first pitch was thrown out at 12 p.m. by Rock pitcher Nate Malak. After striking out two of three batters in the top of the first and zero runs scored, it was the White and Green’s turn at bat. Gage Gillott singled to left field. He was able to advance all the way to third base before Treston Nemeth grounded it out to third base, and Gillott was left stranded.
The first runs of the day came from the Yellow Jackets after Ethan Barnitz knocked one out of the park, sending two other WVS runners home with him.
The Rock was quick to tie the score in the bottom of the second. Stone Powell was first to get on base, followed by Morgen Billotte. With 2 bases full, Max Bernadowski homered it out to left field, sending all three of them home.
An inning later, SRU jumped into the lead. With two outs, Powell got on first base thanks to a single. Billotte doubled it to right field, and Powell was able to cross home plate.
The fourth inning was an equal fight from both teams, each scoring two more runs in the frame.
Going into the fifth inning with a tied game of 6-6, West Virginia State gained the jump after Joey Vanzin replaced Malak on the mound.
Malak pitched for 4.1 innings, tallying six strikeouts with 76 pitches. The senior ranks 17th in SRU history in starts.
Slippery Rock retaliated quickly in their frame. After Billotte struck out swinging, the bases were quickly filled. With Darryn Callahan, Bernadowski and Aari Fox on base, Gillott was up to bat next. He walked to first base, which sent Callahan home.
After The Rock tied the score, the Yellow Jackets made their second pitching change of the game. With Bryce Eggleton now on the mound, Kitko was at bat. He smacked it out to center field. While it was a fly-out, Bernadowski advanced home, putting the White and Green up by one run. That was the last run of the game.
To open the sixth frame, SRU made a pitching change of their own. Mark Wilbur took to the mound for Joey Vanzin. The Yellow Jackets managed to get one runner on base, but three other batters struck out.
Neither team earned a run for the remainder of the game. The rain did not stop Slippery Rock from edging out West Virginia, 8-7.
“We talk about not getting beat by the elements,” head coach Jeff Messer said. “The wind plays a part, the sun plays a part, but you can’t let it beat you.”
Game two, which was scheduled for 2:30 that same day, got postponed due to inclement weather.
Game two
Sunday’s single nine-inning game was turned into a doubleheader.
The Yellow Jackets opened the frame strong. With one runner on base, Angel Oquendo homered it out to left field, putting two on the board for West Virginia State.
The Rock’s first at-bat of the day was just as competitive. Gillot was first to get on base. Thanks to an error and a failed pickoff attempt, he advanced all the way to third base. A single from Luke Anderton welcomed Gillott to score, unearned.
After that, bases were loaded with Nemeth, Butler and Anderton. Anderton scored when Powell reached first base on a fielder’s choice. Bulter was next to cross home plate, putting The Rock up by one.
The second inning was blanked for both teams, each leaving two runners on base in the process.
WVS kept the pressure up, bringing in two runs to close the top of the third and reclaiming the lead.
Their jump was short-lived. Nemeth was first at bat to start the bottom of the third. He hit a double to left field. After he advanced to third, Kitko hit a home run.
The next three runs belonged to SRU while West Virginia State emptied their next two frames.
With a four-run deficit, the Yellow Jackets were quick to close the gap. They had bases loaded before Cameron Peschl hit a single to left field and had two runs batted in (RBI). They earned another run on an advancement, bringing the score to 8-7.
West Virginia State tied the score with an RBI in the top of the seventh.
They continued to expand, bringing in three more RBIs in the eighth.
The Rock could not regain momentum in the closing innings, and the Yellow Jackets took game two, 11-8.
Game three
After coming off a loss and a 20-minute intermission, The Rock was looking to turn their luck around.
The mentality heading into this game was “better not get beat,” Messer said. “It was for the series.”
Opening up on the mound for SRU was Zachary Hare. In the top of the first, he faced three batters, none of whom got on base.
The White and Green dominated the opening four frames.
Gillott was first to get on base and advanced to second after Billotte reached on a fielding error. Another single from Kitko made bases loaded. Nemeth smacked one right to center field to claim two bases, sending Gillott and Billotte home.
Kitko added to that total after Butler hit a groundout to second base, and he advanced home.
The Yellow Jackets tried to put runs of their own on the scoreboard. Their first batter of the second inning got on base with a single up the middle field, but two strikeouts and a groundout left him on base.
The next two innings remained scoreless on both sides until The Rock went on a four-run surge.
Callahan opened it up with a solo home run right out to centerfield. After Bernadowski reached on a throwing error, he advanced to second and scored unearned when Gillott made his attempt to advance on the play. The last two runs belonged to Fox and Billotte, both unearned.
At the top of the fifth, Hare struck out two batters and walked one before Cole Grady replaced him on the mound.
Hare, with his second collegiate career start, pitched for 4.2 innings. The freshman struck out 10 batters, tallied 87 pitches, and West Virginia blanked their first four frames.
“Zach’s a big-time pitcher. He’s going to be really good for us,” Messer said.
The Yellow Jackets still could not get a runner across home plate until the sixth inning when Garrett Wagoner knocked one out of the park. That was their only trip around the diamond.
WVS managed to get one more runner on base, but he was left on base after their last batter struck out looking.
Slippery Rock won 7-1.
After claiming the victory against West Virginia State University, the team looks to finish its home game series this weekend with back-to-back doubleheaders against Mansfield University.
