Boxscore

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Hosting Slippery Rock University jumped out to an 8-0 lead Sunday afternoon and then held off a comeback effort by Mercyhurst College to win a 12-7 decision in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western DIvision action at Jack Critchfield Park.

With the win, The Rock improved its season record to 21-20 overall and 13-11 in PSAC-West action.

More importantly, the Green and White virtually all but assured itself of a berth in the conference playoffs, which will be held April 28-May 1 at Point Stadium in Johnstown.

The only way SRU could be deprived of a PSAC playoff berth would be if Gannon wins three of four games next weekend against division co-leader Indiana.

Sunday's win left SRU as the No. 5 team in the division standings, but The Rock is only percentage points behind fourth-place Gannon, which is 11-9 in PSAC-West games.

Mercyhurst, which saw its season records drop to 21-19 overall and 12-8 in division play withb Sunday's loss, is in third place in the PSAC-West standings behind co-leaders California and Indiana, each of which have 15-5 division records.

With SRU's win Sunday, The Rock and Lakers settled for a 2-2 split in the four-game season series. The  Rock sandwiched an 11-6 win last Friday and Sunday's win around Mercyhurst's 4-3 (8 innings), 2-0 doubleheader sweep Saturday.

Sunday's game was the final PSAC-West game of the season for SRU, which will now waiting anxiously while the other six division teams play a final weekend of competition.

In addition to the Gannon-Indiana series, California takes on sixth-place Lock Haven and Mercyhurst meets last-place Clarion in four-game sets.

SRU will not sit totally idle for the next week, though. The Green and White host West Liberty State in a non-conference doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Critchfield Park, then entertain Lake Erie in a pair of non-conference twinbills next weekend.

Closing out the regular season with six straight games at "The Jack" bodes well for The Rock's victory hopes and its quest to gain momentum for a possible run at the conference championship. Sunday's win gave the Green and White an 11-3 home record this season and a 113-57 (.673) mark since the facility opened in April 2002.

The Rock 12, Mercyhurst 7

SRU outhit the Lakers by a 14-13 margin Sunday and needed every one of those hits to record the win as they also committed five errors on defense.

Junior first baseman Derek DiRuscia was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs, while sophomore right fielder Matt Kosik was 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, his team-leading sixth of the season, and two runs scored to pace the winning attack.

Junior center fielder Matt Howard, junior shortstop Adam Jury and senior designated hitter Jacob Oswalt# each added two hits for The Rock, while sophomore left fielder Carter Haponski and freshman third baseman Jamison Walck each collected two RBIs.

Freshman southpaw Joby Lapkowicz was the beneficiary of the offensive support and improved his season record to 2-4 with a six-inning pitching effort that saw him allowed seven runs (five earned) on 13 hits, strike out six and walk one.

Junior right-hander George Hebert retired all three batters to face him in the seventh after replacing Lapkowicz with two runners on base and no one out.

Nick Gillung, the Atlantic Regional "Pitcher of the Year" in 2009, was tagged with the loss for Mercyhurst after The Rock got eight earned runs on nine hits off him in the first three innings.

Sunday's game was the completion of a contest that started last Friday afternoon but was suspended in the middle of the first inning due to rain showers.

Lapkowicz allowed two hits and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first inning before the rains came last Friday.

When action resumed Sunday, The Rock wasted no time assuming control of things as the hosts scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning.

Howard got the rally started with a leadoff single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Haponski and scored the first run of the game on a single to center field by junior catcher Mitchell Monas. Walck looped a double into short right field to score the second and third runs of the inning before DiRuscia singled home the fourth run.

Two innings later, The Rock added four more runs to take an 8-0 lead after three frames. DiRuscia and Oswalt each had an RBI single to plate the first two third-inning tallies before Haponski slapped a two-run single to center field to plate the final two runs in the inning.

Mercyhurst got its first run of the game in the top of the fourth, only to see The Rock respond with a three-spot in the bottom of the inning, thanks to Kosik's home run to left center.

Down by an 11-1 score, the guests plated five runs in the top of the fifth to make it an 11-6 game before SRU concluded its scoring with a run in the bottom of the fifth on a leadoff double by Jury, a flyout and an RBI single to right field by DiRuscia.

Mercyhurst got its final run in the top of the seventh before Hebert slammed the door on any comeback hopes by the Lakers.

Playoff picture

Should Mercyhurst lose three of four games next weekend vs. Clarion, the Lakers and Rock would finish with the same 13-11 mark in division play. Mercyhurst would then earn the higher seed in the PSAC playoffs by virtue of better head-to-head records vs. both California and Indiana ... If Gannon wins two of its four games against Indiana next week, the Golden Knights and Rock would finish with the same 13-11 division record and SRU would get the higher seed on the strength of its 3-1 mark in the season series vs. GU ... If Gannon wins three of four against Indiana and Mercyhurst loses three of four vs. Clarion, The Rock, Lakers and Golden Knights would all finish with 13-11 division records. Mercyhurst would then earn the division's No. 3 seed in the PSAC playoffs on the strength of its superior record vs. California and/or Indiana. SRU would then earn the No. 4 seed and Gannon would be deprived of a playoff berth because of SRU's 3-1 mark in the head-to-head series.