SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Mercyhurst University softball team dropped a pair of games at Slippery Rock Saturday afternoon. The Lakers fell in a close game one, 3-1, but fell 13-2 in five innings in game two of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division doubleheader.

In game one, Mercyhurst was held hitless until the fourth inning, where they got on the board to take a 1-0 lead. Senior Pitcher Annie Truelove had a superb outing as she pitched six innings of five hit ball, allowing three runs – all unearned. Despite only letting up three hits through the first five innings, The Rock was able to get to Truelove, scoring three runs in the sixth inning on two hits and an error.

Senior Becky Malaga recorded the first base hit, singling through the left side off Slippery Rock pitcher Carly DeRose to start the inning. Second baseman Courtney Brothers followed with an attempt to sacrifice over pinch runner Melissa Woods but ended up beating out the throw for back-to-back base hits. Both runners would then advance into scoring position on the next batter due to a wild pitch, leading to a Rachel DiBartolomeo sacrifice fly that would score Woods from third.

With the Lakers holding onto a one run lead heading into the bottom of the sixth, Slippery Rock would rally, scoring three runs. The Rock would load the bases with no outs, but Mercyhurst would stall the scoring as Shannon Minihane retired the lead runner from third to home for the first out. Slippery Rock then scored their first run to the tie the game off a throwing error that was followed by a two RBI double down the right field line, giving The Rock their first lead of the game, 3-1.

Mercyhurst was sent down in order in the seventh by DeRose (9-8), who pitched a complete game and earned the win. Truelove received the loss, moving her record to 4-13 on the season.

Game two saw Mercyhurst get off to a rough start. The inning began with a leadoff homerun by Katie Kaiser as the Slippery Rock bats forced starting Laker pitcher, Heather Nye, to only face five batters. The freshman allowed five hits and five earned runs as she was relieved by senior Alexandra Puckly. The Rock finished the first inning scoring seven runs on seven hits.

Mercyhurst would add two runs of their own in the top of the second to cut into the seven run deficit. After a Cassandra Egelston walk and an Alissa Petrosoniak single up the middle (the only hit of the game) with two outs, Taylor Jezuit reached on a fielding error that scored both Egelston and Petrosoniak. However, Slippery Rock would put another four runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning, extending their lead to nine, 11-2.

The Rock added two more runs in the third, while starting pitcher Paige Flore continued to put zeros on the board. The game was concluded in the fifth due to the eight run rule after five innings of play.

Flore (1-0) received the win, her first of the season. Nye received the loss as she falls to 3-3 on the year.

With the losses, Mercyhurst moves to 12-22 overall and 6-13 in conference play. Slippery Rock improves to 13-17, 10-10 PSAC.

Mercyhurst will look for revenge tomorrow afternoon as the Lakers host The Rock at Mercyhurst Softball Field. The PSAC Western Division doubleheader is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m.