BUTLER, Pa. – John Shaffer's walk-off single during the bottom of the ninth inning propelled Slippery Rock to a 3-2 victory against Gannon Thursday afternoon during the second day of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Baseball Tournament at Pullman Park in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The loss eliminated Gannon from the double-elimination tournament and pushed Slippery Rock into Friday's 9:30 a.m. game against today's West Chester-Kutztown loser. The Golden Knights dropped a 5-4 decision to Kutztown during Wednesday's first day of action.
Gannon looked to be in control after scoring the game's first two runs. The first came during the top of the third inning.
Michael Brosius (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) reached first base on a one-out bunt single. The senior moved to second base on a passed ball and came around to score on
Tim Lipp's (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) RBI single through the left side.
Head coach
Nate Cocolin's squad extended the lead to 2-0 with another run during the top of the sixth inning.
Eric Bradley (Mount Pleasant, Pa./Mount Pleasant) drew a one-out walk and reached third base when a failed pick-off attempt got past the first baseman.
Nico Baldelli (Ellwood, Pa./Riverside) followed with a shot that was stopped by a diving third baseman. But a good jump off third base by Bradley forced Slippery Rock to get the sure out at first base, giving the Golden Knights a two-run lead.
The Gannon defense then opened the door for Slippery Rock during the bottom of the frame. The Rock had runners on the corners with two outs after Bradley made a diving stop and flipped the ball to second base for the second out. But the Golden Knights was not able to handle a routine grounder on the next play, allowing the first run to score from third base. With the bases loaded and two outs later in the inning, an errant throw to first base after a strike went into right field and tied the game at two.
The game remained deadlocked until the bottom of the ninth inning when Slippery Rock used another unearned run to win the game. Matt Curtis led off the inning with a dribbler in front of the plate. The throw to first was just a bit high and deflected off the first baseman's glove. After Curtis moved to second base on a passed ball, the Rock loaded the bases thanks to a walk and a hit by pitch. With the infield and outfield both in, Shaffer then drilled a 1-0 pitch to the warning track in left field to drive home the winning run.
Lipp finished the game 2-for-3 with one RBI. The senior shortstop had four hits in seven at-bats during the tournament. Brosius added two hits and a run during five at-bats in Thursday's game.
David Spaeder (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) continued his stellar second half of the season, allowing just two unearned runs in six innings of work. The sophomore struck out three and walked four while throwing exactly 100 pitches.
Landon Wahl (Somerset, Pa./Somerset Area) suffered the loss after the unearned run scored during the ninth inning. Wahl gave up two hits in two innings out of the pen.
Gannon's magical season came to an end at 25-23 overall after back-to-back one-run losses at the PSAC Tournament. The Golden Knights, who entered the tournament as the Western Division's second seed, were making their first postseason appearance since the 1970 squad played in the NAIA Tournament.
The program recorded its first winning season since 1985. Gannon surpassed last year's victory total by 10 games. In addition to producing the first-ever winning conference record in school history, the Golden Knights set new school single-season records for overall victories (25) and conference wins (14).
