Boxscore

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Southwest Minnesota scored six runs in the top of the first inning Wednesday morning en route to a 17-7 win over Slippery Rock in NCAA Division II baseball action at historic Henley FIeld.

The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for SRU and gave the Green and White a 4-4 record in the Sunshine State portion of its spring-break schedule.

The Rock will take a 6-6 overall record into a four-game series Friday and Saturday against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western DIvision rival California at Grayson Stadium in Savannah, Ga.

SRU then turns its sights towards Tuesday's home opener against Washington Adventist University (1 p.m first pitch) at Jack Critchfield Park.

Sophomore southpaw John Thomas was tagged with his third loss of the young season after he yielded nine runs (eight earned) on eight hits, struck out six and walked four in the first five and one-third innings.

Freshman righthander Cory Johnson allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits, struck out two and walked three in two and two-thirds innings of relief. Sophomore southpaw Jason Steen gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits and struck out one in the final frame.

Junior right fielder Mitchell Monas led a 10-hit Rock offensive attack with a 4-for-4 game at the plate that included a pair of doubles and one triple. One of his doubles plated two runs in the bottom of the third inning, when SRU scored four times to trim an 8-1 deficit to a three-run margin.

Junior catcher Derek DiRuscia and senior designated hitter Jacob Oswalt each added a double to The Rock attack.

DiRuscia was the only Rock player aside from Monas to have more than one hit in the game. He singled home the Green and White's first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning.

Oswalt's double came two batters after Monas had tripled in the sixth inning