Game 1 boxscore
Game 2 boxscore

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Slippery Rock University baseball program celebrated the eighth anniversary of the opening of Jack Critchfield Park, its on-campus baseball facility, Tuesday with a 16-8, 10-2 doubleheader sweep of visiting non-conference rival West Liberty University (W. Va.).

The Rock collected 30 basehits, including 17 that were for extra bases, to easily improve its season record to 23-20.

West Liberty saw its season record fall to 9-32 with the setbacks.

SRU had 19 hits, including 11 extra-base knocks, in Tuesday's first game and added 11 hits, six of which went for extra bases, in the second game.

Among the highlights of The Rock's offensive explosion were a three-run home run by freshman third baseman Jamison Walck in the first game, a pair of roundtrippers off the bat of junior catcher/outfielder Mitchell Monas in the second game and a second-game HR by junior shortstop Adam Jury.

The circuit clouts were the first of the season for both Walck and Monas.

Walck, who also had a triple in the first game and a second-game double, finished the day with five hits in eight at bats, four RBIs and five runs scored. Monas was 2-for-7 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Jury was 3-for-8 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Sophomore right fielder Matt Kosik had five hits in seven at bats, including three doubles in the first game and one in the second game, collected five RBIs in the first game and scored five runs total.

Junior first baseman/designated hitter Derek DiRuscia, sophomore left fielder Carter Haponski, senior second baseman Billy Messer and senior DH Jacob Oswalt each had three hits in the twinbill.

Haponski (3-for-3, double, two RBIs) and Oswalt (3-for-4, 3 doubles, 3 RBIs) both had their three safeties in the first game and did not play in the second game.

Messer had a double and junior center fielder Matt Howard smacked a triple to complete the list of extra-base hits in Game 1. DiRuscia clobbered a double in the second game.

Sophomore southpaw Jason Steen overcame a rough first inning to record the win in Game 1 and improve his season record to 3-2. He pitched five innings, allowed eight runs (six earned) on nine hits, struck out three and walked four.

West Liberty scored five runs on five hits and three Rock errors in the top of the first inning to take an early lead before SRU responded with four runs in the bottom of the first and five tallies in the third to take a 9-5 lead and never looked back.

A single Hilltopper run in the top of the fourth trimmed the margin to 9-6, but the hosts were undaunted and scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth to push the lead to 14-6. Each team plated two runs in the fifth to conclude the scoring.

Sophomore right-hander Cory Johnson allowed two hits, struck out one and walked one in the final two innings of the first game.

Junior southpaw Zach Jeney was SRU's Game 2 starting and winning pitcher. He allowed two runs on two hits in the top of the first inning but allowed only two more hits in the next five frames while he strucki out six, walked one and hit one batter.

Sophomore right-hander Colin McCoy struck out one and walked one in the final inning.

The Rock scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning to answer West Liberty's two tallies in the top of the frame and the hosts again never looked back.

Three runs in the third and two in each of the fifth and sixth innings expanded upon SRU's first-inning lead.

The Rock has now won three straight games and seven of its last nine as it prepares to close out the regular-season schedule with non-conference twinbills Saturday (5 p.m.) and Sunday (noon) against Lake Erie College of Ohio.

If Mother Nature cooperates, SRU will know by the conclusion of Saturday's twinbill if it will be competing in next week's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships at Point Stadium in Johnstown.

The Rock is currently in fifth place in the PSAC-Western Division standings but will move into the top four, and thus earn a conference playoff berth, if fourth-place Gannon does not win three of its four games this weekend against division co-leader Indiana.

Notes: Tuesday's games marked the fifth and sixth times in the last eight games that SRU has scored 10 or more runs ... The Rock has won seven of its last nine games.