Ben Briggs tossed 6.2 strong innings, and Lennox Pugh and Dylan Broderick each homered to lead the Pitt-Johnstown baseball team to a 3-2 victory over 18^th-ranked Slippery Rock in Saturday's opener of a PSAC doubleheader at Point Stadium.  The Rock scored two runs in the top of the seventh to take the nightcap, 7-5.  The Mountain Cats are now 18-24-1 overall and 6-18 in the PSAC West.
 
In game one, Mario Disso walked to lead off the bottom of the first, move to second when Broderick was hit by a pitch, and scored on Asher Corl's base hit to right to give Pitt-Johnstown an early lead.
 
Slippery Rock tied it with a run in the top of the second on Coby Bubash's RBI infield single, but Pugh connected for a two-out solo homer over the left field screen in the bottom of the fourth to put the Mountain Cats back on top.
 
Broderick then added an opposite field lead-off homer in the Pitt-Johnstown sixth to increase it to 3-1.
 
The Rock got a run in the seventh, but Grayson Hall enterd the game in relief of Briggs and needed just one pitch to get a ground out to preserve the 3-2 win and earn his second save of the year.
 
Briggs got it done on the mound for Pitt-Johnstown.  The junior right-hander tossed the first 6.2 innings and held Slippery Rock to just a pair of runs on nine hits.  He also struck out six and didn't give up a walk.
 
Along with Pugh's home run, Broderick homered and singled, while had a hit and and TBI for the Mountain Cats.
 
Slipepry Rock's Ricky Mineo took the loss and slipped to 5-2.  Mineo allowed three run on four hits, while striking out eight and walking one.
 
Abraham Mow and Bubash each had two hits for the Rock.
 
In game two, Slippery Rock jumped out to a 4-0 third inning lead, but Pitt-Johnstown answered with three in the bottom of the third.  Justin Turcovski's two-run single to right scored Tyler Smith and Colin Pasone, before Disso's ground out chased home Jake Ansell to cut it to 4-3.
 
Connor Hamilton's sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth made it 5-4, but Smith belted a two-run homer in the Mountain Cat half of the fifth to knot it at five.
 
However, Luke Trueman's RBI double in the top of the seventh off of Brady Walker gave the lead back to the Rock.  Trueman eventual scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-5.
 
Wil Fetrow got the start for the Mountain and surrendered four runs on three hits in three innings.  Hall allowed a run in one inning, and Walker suffered the loss after allowing the two runs in the seventh.
 
Ansell went 3-for-3, while Smither had two this including a two-run homer to lead the Mountain Cats.  Turcovski had a hit and drove in a pair, and Disso had a hit and an RBI.
 
With the win, Slippery Rock is now 30-11 overall and 15-9 in the PSAC West
 
The Mountain Cats travel to Bloomsburg for a non-conference game on Tuesday, before closing out the 2022 season with Senior Weekend and a four-game PSAC series against Gannon on Friday and Saturday at Point Stadium.  Game times for both days are scheduled for 1 and 3 p.m.