For the first time this season, Slippery Rock will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will square off against the Franklin Knights at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Slippery Rock's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Sharpsville 1-0.
Austan Runtas tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out 11 over five innings pitched.
At the plate, Slippery Rock saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Isaac McCandless, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Slippery Rock hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Sharpsville struck out 15 times.
Meanwhile, Franklin put another one in the bag on Saturday to keep their perfect season alive. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 4-3 W against Reynolds. While the Knights didn't have the best season last year (they finished 3-15), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Evan Turner was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, he gave up only zero earned runs, the fewest he's had since back in April of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one home run. That home run was his first of the season.
Slippery Rock came out on top in a nail-biter against Franklin when the teams last played back in May of 2024, sneaking past 11-10. The rematch might be a little tougher for Slippery Rock since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
