QUAKERTOWN, Pa. – Morgan Slomkowski (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) delivered a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning that helped save No. 18 Kutztown's attempt at winning a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship Thursday afternoon as KU defeated IUP 6-5 in walk-off fashion after falling to Slippery Rock 5-4 earlier in the day at Veterans Park.
 
The East Division's second seed, the Golden Bears (39-15 overall) never led in their game with the Rock (29-19) as SRU broke a 3-3 deadlock with two runs in the top of the sixth inning and held on from a late KU rally.
 
The Crimson Hawks (26-20) tied the game at 4-4 with two runs in the sixth and then went ahead for the first time with a run in the top of the seventh, but Brianna Stocklin (Deptford, N.J./Deptford Township) did what she does best and got on base via a single in the leadoff spot to start the inning, then three batters later, Slomkowski came up clutch just as she did Wednesday, to push the Maroon and Gold through to another day at PSACs.
 
Slomkowski finished with two hits and four RBIs on the day. Stocklin recorded four hits and scored four runs. Alexa Stevens (Covington Township, Pa./North Pocono), Samantha Paetow (Fayetteville, Pa./Chambersburg), Kristin Geesey (Bainbridge, Pa./Elizabethtown) and Jenna Piatkiewicz (Fogelsville, Pa./Parkland) all tallied three hits.
 
Haley Gravish (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg) started game two and threw a complete game, six-hitter, striking out nine batters for the second straight start. She improved to 26-7 on the season.
 
Slippery Rock 5, Kutztown 4
 
A late rally in the bottom of the seventh inning came up just one run short as Kutztown entered the frame trailing 5-3, but scored a run and had the game-winning run on first base.
 
Stocklin doubled to lead off the seventh and Darnowski followed with a single, advancing to second on the throw from the outfield to put runners at second and third with nobody out. After Slippery Rock induced an infield popup for the first out, Slomkowski recorded an RBI groundout to pull her team to within 5-4 with two outs and Darnowski on third.
 
Paetow walked as the winning run, but Rock's relief pitcher, Paige Gresgott, forced another infield pop out to finish off the game.
 
Harvat, Geesey and Darnowski all finished with two hits, with Darnowski ripping a solo home run in the fifth inning and Slomkowski recorded two RBIs, one of which was a double in the fifth that tied the score at 3-3. Piatkiewicz had an RBI in the fourth inning that tied the score at 1-1 after SRU opened the game with a solo home run in its first at-bats.
 
Natalee Harvey (Swanton, Vt./Missisquoi Valley Union) pitched a solid game, going 5.1 innings strong, allowing just six hits and four earned runs, striking out four batters.
 
Kutztown 6, IUP 5
 
Just when it looked like Kutztown's tournament run was coming to an end Thursday on back-to-back losses, the All-PSAC Second Teamer wanted another day in Quakertown as she took the two-out delivery and sent it over the center field wall for the dramatic, game-ending, two-run HR.
 
That answered a run by Indiana (Pa.) of three consecutive runs in the sixth and seventh innings combined to make a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 lead.
 
Stocklin had three hits and both Slomkowski and Stevens finished with two RBIs, with Stevens also connecting on a long ball in the fifth inning that put Kutztown on top 4-2. Paetow had an RBI single in the bottom of the first to get the scoring going and Geesey contributed an RBI sacrifice fly in the fourth to put her team on top 2-1.

  Read Full Article