Tori Radvan limited Slippery Rock to just one run on four hits in Wednesday's, 3-1, PSAC West softball victory at Slippery Rock, and
Mia Smith scattered five hits and allowed two runs as the Mountain Cats completed the sweep with a 3-2 victory in the nightcap. Pitt-Johnstown is now 13-27 overall and 8-20 in conference-play.
In game one, after Slippery Rock's Kelsi Anderson worked out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the first, Alexsa Hurd's one-out, solo homer in the bottom of the inning gave the Rock the early lead.
Back-to-back singles from
Jenna Tallman and
Julia Mooney and a passed ball put runners on second and third to start the Mountain Cat half of the third, and
Kayla Miehl followed with a sacrifice fly to center that tied it at one.
Pitt-Johnstown took its first lead of the day when
Laura Fox and Tallman scored on Miehl's two-out, bases loaded single up the middle in the top of the fourth.
That's all Radvan would need. Radvan, who also collected two hits at the plate, tossed a complete-game and improved to 4-11 following the 3-1 victory. Radvan held Slippery Rock to just one run on four hits, while striking out six and walking one.
Miehl went 2-for-3 with three RBI, and Mooney added two hits for the Mountain Cats.
Maddie Flowers, Fox, and Tallman also had base hits.
Pitt-Johnstown got off to a fast start in game two with two runs in the top of the first. The Mountain Cats loaded the bases with nobody out and Radvan drove home Fox and Tallman with a base hit to left-center.
It stayed that way until the top of the seventh when the Mountain Cats added an insurance run to make it 3-0.
Emilia Santiago led off with a base hit to right, moved to second on Fox's sacrifice bunt, and scored on Tallman's RBI single.
Slippery Rock came back with two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but Smith was able to get Hurd to ground out for the final out to close out the complete-game, 3-2, win.
Mooney added two more hits in four at-bats, while Radvan had a hit and drove in two and Tallman had an RBI single for Pitt-Johnstown. The Mountain Cats also got hits from Fox, Miehl, and Santiago.
Smith raised her record to 9-10. Smith limited the Rock to two runs on five hits in seven innings in the circle. She fanned six and walked two.
With the losses, Slippery Rock fell to 25-21 overall and 16-12 in the PSAC West.
Pitt-Johnstown will celebrate Senior Day with a PSAC West doubleheader against Indiana (PA) on Thursday starting at 2 p.m. at Richland Elementary School, before closing out the 2023 season with a pair of conference games against Clarion on Saturday at V.E. Erickson Complex.
