Pitt-Johnstown stormed out of the gates with an inspired six-run first inning that set the stage for a 7-3 victory over Slippery Rock in the opener. The Mountain Cats succumbed to a trio of extended innings by the Rock in game two to settle for a PSAC West doubleheader split on Sunday afternoon.
The Mountain Cats are now 7-29 and 4-20 inside the conference. Slippery Rock captured three out of the four in the season-series and now sit at 21-23 and 14-11 in the West.
Julie Shinavski earned her first win of the season in the circle following a complete-game effort where she scattered nine hits and allowed just three earned runs with five walks and two strikeouts.
The senior pitcher left two runners stranded after working out of trouble in the first and then received what proved to be plenty of run support in the bottom of the frame.
The first eight batters for the Mountain Cats reached base beginning with a double by Tori Radvan and an infield single from Meghan McDonough. That set up Julia Mooney, who cracked an RBI double to score Radvan and make it 1-0. McDonough notched two hits and scored a pair of runs. Brynnae Coe went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Mooney finished 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI doubles and a run scored. Her fourth inning double that capped the scoring was the 100th hit of her career.
Kayla Miehl walked and Coe followed with a two-RBI single to push it to 3-0. Ailah Charles recorded an RBI single, Hannah Gnibus had an RBI groundout and Shaylin Hagerman slapped an RBI base-hit to punctuate the most productive first inning of the season.
Slippery Rock took a 4-0 lead after just a half inning in game two and continued to add on to make sure that advantage stood up.
The Mountain Cats answered back with a run in the first when Radvan led off with a double and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Radvan's two-RBI with two outs in the second trimmed the deficit to 4-3. Radvan ended the game with three hits, two RBIs and a run scored.
Pitt-Johnstown didn't get any closer than four the rest of the way after Slippery Rock posted a pair of five-run innings in the third and fifth.
Hagerman's RBI triple was followed by a two-run homer from Gnibus that highlighted a four-run fifth before Mooney's solo home run to lead off the sixth capped the Mountain Cats' scoring.
Addison Hilligsberg was charged with the loss in the circle. Mia Smith, Mahlon Yonkin and Shinavski all tossed at least two innings in relief.
Pitt-Johnstown will visit Clarion for a PSAC West doubleheader on Thursday beginning at 2 p.m.
