WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The No. 22-ranked Slippery Rock (Pa.) baseball team flexed its nationally-ranked muscles on Wednesday, sweeping a non-conference doubleheader from West Liberty at a warm but breezy Kovalick Field.
    The Rock (13-3) snuffed WLU's three-game winning streak with an 11-0 win in the opener before shutting out the Hilltoppers (4-19) by a 7-0 tally in the nightcap.
    In the first game, Slippery Rock scored four runs in the top of the first and added four more in the third before coasting across the finish line. Four pitchers combined to blank West Liberty on just four hits with seven strikeouts and three walks.
    Ryan Talbert had a pair of singles while Jarrett Delbrugge doubled in a losing cause.
    In the second game, Slippery Rock was clinging to a 1-0 lead with two out in the top of the fourth inning when Koby Bubash – The Rock's No. 9 hitter – belted a two-out, three-run home run over the right-centerfield wall to break it open.
    Slippery Rock added three more runs in the sixth to close out the scoring as once again the Rock's pitcher-by-committee approach successfully shut down the WLU offense.
    Four Slippery Rock pitchers teamed up for a two-hit shutout in the second game, striking out 12 while walking four. Nine of the 12 strikeouts came from freshman Eoin Rossman, who struck out the side in the third, fourth and fifth innings.
    Zach Hawkins doubled to lead off the second inning for West Liberty and Brad Goodyear had a leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth.
    The Hilltoppers return to Kovalick Field on Saturday for a Mountain East Conference doubleheader against West Virginia State. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
  Slippery Rock                        404 001 2 - 11  14  0
West Liberty                          000 000 0 -   0    4  2
     SRU: Edkins (3SO, 1W), Delaney (3) (0SO, 1W), Herr wp (5) (3SO, 1W) and Seelhorst (7) (1SO, 0W) and Hamilton. Hamilton 3S, 3rbi; Robenolt D, S, 2rbi; Ehland D, S, 2rbi; Kozarioan 2S, rbi; Mow 2S; Knaus D
     WLU: Sinisgalli lp (0SO, 1W), Conley (1) (1SO, 3W), Bolander (5) (2SO, 2W), Clark (7) (1SO, 3W) and Goodyear. Talbert 2S; Delbrugge D
  Slippery Rock                        100 303 0 - 7  10  0
West Liberty                          000 000 0 - 0    2  0
     SRU: Esposito wp (3SO, 2W), Rossman (3) (9SO, 2W), Wolke (6) (0SO, 0W), Anderson (7) (0SO, 0W) and Ross. Bubash HR, 2S, 3rbi; Mow D, S; Kozarian 2S, rbi; Robenolt S, 3rbi; Herr D
     WLU: Hurst lp (1SO, 2W), Studd (5) (2SO, 2W), Dobson (6) (3SO, 0W), Aulick (7) (1SO, 0W) and Rine. Z.Hawkins D