The Pitt-Johnstown softball team used the long ball to sweep a pair of games from Slippery Rock in the 2022 PSAC West-opener, Monday afternoon at Central Cambria High School in Ebensburg. In the opener, the Mountain Cats belted four homers in an 11-8 victory, before
Kayla Miehl's sixth inning grand slam erased a three-run deficit and lifted Pitt-Johnstown to a 5-4 win in the nightcap. The Mountain Cats are now 14-9 overall and 2-0 in conference-play.
In game one, Emma Kennedy's single through the right side drove home two to give Slippery Rock a 2-0 first inning lead, but the Mountain Cats came back with an unearned run in the bottom of the first.
Olivia Porter led off with a bunt single, moved to second on an error and eventually scored on another Slippery Rock error.
Pitt-Johnstown took the lead in the second on Porter's two-out, two-run homer to center, before solo home runs from Cami Fisk and Julia Montie in the Rock fourth made it 4-3.
However, Pitt-Johnstown exploded for six runs in its half of the fourth. After three straight walks loaded the bases,
Kelsi Terzolino scored on a wild pitch and Porter followed her home on a throwing error.
Taylor Mendicino 
scored on a Miehl ground out to make it 6-4. The Mountain Cats put two more runners on base and
Maddie Flowers connected for a three-run home run to right that increased it to 9-4.
Slippery Rock got a run back in the fifth, before back-to-back solo homers from Miehl and
Tori Radvan in the sixth got Pitt-Johnstown lead out to 11-5.
Alexsa Hurd's three-run homer in the Rock seventh narrowed it to 11-8, but Pitt-Johnstown starter
Alyssa Hileman got the next three Slippery Rock hitter to wrap-up the complete-game victory.
Hileman improved to 8-4 after giving up eight runs (6 earned) on 11 hits. Hileman struck out four and didn't allow a walk.
Porter went 3-for-3 with a homer, two RBI, and three runs, while Radvan had three hits, including a home run, and Flowers connected for a three-run homer to lead Pitt-Johnstown. Miehl also homered and drove in a pair.
In the nightcap, Hurd's two-out solo homer in the Rock top of the first made it 1-0, until Mendicino's third inning ground out chased home
Hailei Markee to knot it at one.
Slippery Rock regained the lead with two runs in the top of the fourth, and Anna Villies' sacrifice fly in the sixth made it 4-1.
Pitt-Johnstown responded again. Porter was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Mendicino an
Carly Santillo each singled, and Miehl followed with a grand slam to right field give the lead back to the Mountain Cats, 5-4.
Miehl, who replaced Mountain Cat starter
Julie Shinavski in the circle in the sixth inning, worked out of a seventh-inning jam to pick up the win and improve to 2-1. Miehl surrendered one run on five hits over the final two innings. Shinavski pitched the first five innings and held Slippery Rock to three runs on six hits.
Along with Miehl's grand slam, Pitt-Johnstown also got a base hit and an RBI from Mendicino, a double from Flowers, and singles from
Julia Mooney, Santillo, and Radvan.
With the losses, the Rock fell to 11-14-1 overall and 0-4 in the PSAC West.
The Mountain Cats are scheduled to host a PSAC West doubleheader against Mercyhurst on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at V.E. Erickson Complex, before traveling to conference games at Gannon on Thursday and at Edinboro on Friday.
