Dan Hudeck homered and scored two runs and Craig Misiewicz got the victory in relief as Slippery Rock University defeated California (Pa.) 6-3 Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Division II North Atlantic Regional Baseball Tournament.

The Rock (34-15) faces West Chester — a 2-0 winner over West Virginia State — at 4 p.m. today in the double-elimination competition being held at Kutztown University.

Scott Bender and M.J. Parsons supported SRU's 12-hit attack by collecting two hits and one RBI each. Bender's sacrifice fly in the eighth inning snapped a 2-2 tie.

Veteran SRU coach Jeff Messer needs one more victory to reach the 700-win plateau. He is 699-391-4 in 22 years at The Rock.