Olivia Porter had two hits and two RBI, but Slippery Rock broke a four-all tie with a run in the bottom of the seventh to walk-off with a 5-4 win in Friday's opener of a PSAC Western Division softball doubleheader in Slippery Rock. The Rock completed the sweep with a 1-0 victory in the nightcap. The Mountain Cats are now 6-22 overall and 5-17 in the PSAC West.
In game one, Pitt-Johnstown erased a four-run deficit, but Slippery rock scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to secure the 5-4 walk-off win.
Maggie Moore's two-run double and a Pitt-Johnstown throwing error two hitters later gave Slippery Rock a 3-0 lead after two innings.
The Rock made it 4-0 on Alexa Guglielmino's one-out RBI single that scored Anna Villies in the third, before Pitt-Johnstown got a run back in the top of the fourth.
Stacey Walling walked, and
Hailei Markee came into the game as a pinch runner.
Bree Ginther followed with a single and Markee came all the way
around to score on a Slippery Rock error.
Porter tripled to left-center to start the fifth inning and scored on
Taylor Mendicino's ground out to cut it to 4-2.
Two more runs in the top of the sixth tied it on Porter's base hit that scored and
Laura Fox and Ginther
However, Slippery Rock scratched out the game-winner in the bottom of the seventh. Leah Vith reached on a Pitt-Johnstown error to start the inning, worked her way to third, and scored on Kaitlin Bowman's two-out infield single to give The Rock the 5-4 win.
Porter went 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI, while Ginther had two hits and scored a run, and
Jade Stubblefield collected a pair of hits for Pitt-Johnstown.
Mendicino singled and drove in a run, and
Carly Santillo added a base hit.
Alyssa Hileman took the loss and fell to 1-6 after allowing one run on seven hits in 4.1 innings in relief of starter
Kristen Coffay. Coffay pitched the first 2.1 innings and surrendered four runs on four hits.
Guglielmino had two hits and an RBI, and Moore drove in two to pace The Rock.
Kelsi Anderson tossed a complete-game in the circle to improve to 4-7 for Slippery Rock. Anderson gave up four runs on eight hits, while striking out nine and walking three.
In game two, Slippery Rock scored a run in the second inning and made it stand up in the 1-0 victory.
The Rock scored the game's lone run in the bottom of the second. Maggie Moore reached on an error, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch from Pitt-Johnstown starter
Ashley Pagliei, before Julianna Hutchinson's RBI base hit to center made it 1-0.
Neither team was able to score after that, and Chloe Sharman worked a perfect seventh inning to pick-up the complete-game shutout for The Rock. Sharman scattered three hits, while striking out six and walking one on her way to improving to 3-6.
Maddie Flowers, Porter, and Mendicino accounted for the three Pitt-Johnstown hits.
Pagliei suffered the tough loss and fell to 1-7 after giving up one unearned run on eight hits in six innings. Pagliei fanned four and walked one.
Hutchinson had two hits and the game's only RBI, and had two hits to help Slippery Rock improve to 10-22 overall and 8-18 in the PSAC West.
Pitt-Johnstown wraps-up the PSAC series with Slippery Rock on Saturday with a doubleheader at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at V.E. Complex, before traveling to California (PA) on Monday for a conference doubleheader.
