Game One  Box Score / Game Two Box Score


SLIPPERY ROCK – Behind freshman Mike Dunn's gem in Game One, the Clarion University baseball team split a doubleheader at Slippery Rock Friday winning the first game 9-1 before dropping Game Two 12-2.

 

The story of Game One was Dunn. The freshman from Albion and Northwestern High School threw the first complete game of his career and came within an out of throwing Clarion's first complete-game shutout since April 28, 2005, and the Golden Eagles (4-15, 2-2 PSAC West) first shutout of any kind since April 5, 2009.

 

Only a two-out home run by Slippery Rock's Derek DiRuscia with two outs in the seventh kept Dunn from the shutouts, but he still finished allowing the one earned run on just three hits and two walks while striking out eight. The home run was the only hit out of the infield by The Rock, who lost for the first time in seven tries at home this season, and Dunn retired the first nine batters he faced and then 9 of 10 from the bottom of the fourth until the home run in the seventh.

 

Dunn got plenty of offensive support, as Clarion scored once in the third, four times in the fourth, twice in the fifth and once more in each of the sixth and seventh innings for its second biggest offensive output of the season.

 

Bill Hasson had the big hit of the game knocking a 3-run home run to left field in the fourth inning that gave Clarion a 4-0 lead.

 

Josh Beimel (2-for-4), Matt Rossi (2-for-4), Ken Morgan (2-for-2) and Scott Berkes (2-for-4) all added two hits each for Clarion with Beimel driving in a pair of runs and Morgan scoring two runs.

 

In Game Two, Slippery Rock jumped all over Clarion for 10 runs in the first innings on its way to the 12-2 win.

 

Rossi was the Clarion offense hitting a sole home run in the fourth and adding an RBI single in the sixth. He was 2-for-2 with the run scored and the two RBIs. Jerico Weitzel, who stole two bases in Game One, added another stolen base in the night cap and was 1-for-3 with a run scored in Game Two. Weitzel now has 10 stolen bases on the year, the most in a season by a Golden Eagle since 2009 when current teammate Mark White also had 10. The 10 swipes tie for the 13^th most stolen bases by a Clarion player since 1979, and with one more stolen base Weitzel will move into a tie for 10^th.

 

White was the losing pitcher in the game lasting 2/3 of an inning and allowing eight runs, all earned, on five hits and two hit batters. Kevin Gnacinski, Sam Skraba, T.J. Anderson, Pat Golden and Corbin Ragley also pitched for the Golden Eagles with the final three combining to throw three innings of shutout baseball.  

 

Clarion returns to action at 1 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Slippery Rock in a doubleheader.