Baseball Drops Doubleheader With Slippery Rock Down South

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

CLEARWATER, Fla. – West Chester dropped both ends of a non-league doubleheader with PSAC West rival Slippery Rock Sunday morning and afternoon at Jack Russell Stadium. The Golden Rams fell 9-8 in 9 innings in the opener, and then dropped the nightcap, 8-1.
 
West Chester (0-3) allowed five unearned runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, squandering an 8-4 lead and handing game one to Slippery Rock (7-1). The Rock ace righty Kyle Schneider (2-0) was masterful in game two en route to an 8-1 win.
 
The Golden Rams plated four runs in the top of the ninth inning to take what seemed like an insurmountable lead into The Rock's final at bats. When Slippery Rock opened the bottom half of the ninth with a foul out and a groundout to first, West Chester believed its first win was imminent.
 
However, Slippery Rock started its improbably rally with a double to right and a single to left that put runners at the corners. The Rock's next batter check swung at a pitch in the dirt on strike three, but the Rams' catcher couldn't handle the pitch and then made an errant throw down to first base that allowed the runner to reach and the inning to continue.
 
The No. 9 hitter in the order made West Chester pay with a two-run single, which was followed by a fielding error that allowed another run to score. After a bases-loaded walk forced home a run, Slippery Rock's 3-hitter, Adam Urbania, singled through the left side, plating the tying and winning runs.
 
West Chester's four-run rally in the top half was highlighted by a bases-loaded walk to Bill Ford and run-scoring singles by Dylan Tice and Robert Knox. Mike Petrizzi also picked up an RBI on a fielder's choice. It was Tice's second RBI single of the game.
 
The Golden Rams took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third when Tice's two-out grounder to short skipped off The Rock's glove and into left field, allowing a pair of runs to score. Justin Roman then reached on an error by Slippery Rock's third baseman that scored Tice.
 
Tice finished 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI and runs scored. Knox was also 2-for-5 with his RBI. Mike Gannon went 1-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.
 
Petrizzi (0-1) was the hard-luck loser in relief. He threw 1.2 innings, surrendering five runs, all of them unearned, on four hits. He walked one and struck out two. Lefty Nick Stallings started the game and lasted four innings. He allowed two runs on five hits, walked three and struck out two. Alec Schwartz came on and threw three innings, yielding two runs on six hits and striking out two without walking anybody.
 
In the nightcap, The Rock's Schneider went the distance, striking out nine and scattering four hits while allowing just one unearned run. West Chester's first four batters in the order picked up one hit apiece. Joe Kinee (0-1) suffered the loss.
 
West Chester battles PSAC East rival Mansfield tomorrow at 10 a.m. in St. Petersburg.