SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock University’s baseball team was due for a clunker.

The Rock had won 14 of 18 games — including a 9-1 record at Critchfield Park — leading into Sunday’s home doubleheader against Indiana (Pa.) University.

Then came the clunk — followed by a cliffhanger.

SRU pitchers allowed seven walks, Rock fielders committed three errors and IUP took a 9-5 victory in the first game. SRU had swept the Crimson Hawks in a Friday twinbill at Indiana.

Junior catcher Matt Accardi delivered a game-winning RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning of the nightcap, handing SRU (22-12, 11-5) a 12-11 victory.

“You hope this kind of game never comes, but, yeah, they do happen every now and then,” SRU coach Jeff Messer said of the first game. “We gave them way too many baserunners ... too many walks.

“We didn’t play that well in any phase of the game — pitching, defense or hitting. But ... we’ll take three out of four against anybody anytime.”

IUP (15-21, 7-9) collected 11 hits on top of those seven walks and stranded 12 runners. Winning pitcher Greg Stewart began the game with a 2.08 earned run average and left the contest with two outs in the sixth inning, holding an 8-4 lead.

Stewart walked three and threw 101 pitches in extremely windy conditions.

“These pitchers were throwing into 30 to 35 mile per hour winds at times,” IUP coach Jeff Ditch said. “It had to affect them.”

A wind-blown triple to center by Derek DiRuscia keyed a two-run Rock third inning and gave SRU a 3-1 lead. But IUP answered with a three-spot in the fourth as Rock starter Joby Lapkowicz allowed four singles and a walk.

Lapowicz had a 4-2 record with a 2.43 ERA coming in, but threw 92 pitches while working only four innings.

“Joby didn’t have his usual command today and he was getting frustrated because of it,” Messer said. “His fastball didn’t have its usual giddy-up, either. I’m sure the wind played a factor.

“None of our pitchers looked their usual selves and their starter (Stewart) wasn’t as sharp as he normally is.”

IUP broke the game open with a three-run fifth inning. Frank Sirolli — the fifth-leading hitter in the PSAC with a .394 batting average — drilled a three-run double to center. The wind played tricks on that ball as well.

“Any ball hit up in the air today was bad news,” Messer said.

Vern Powell had a double, two singles and two RBI for IUP. Lee Foxton had two singles and two runs scored, DiRuscia a triple and two singles, Adam Jury two singles and an RBI for The Rock.

DiRuscia wound up with five hits in the twinbill. Jury had four hits, including four RBI in the second game. He had 10 RBI in the weeknd series and leads The Rock with 36 on the year.

SRU had 16 hits in the second game — seven players with two hits each — and rallied from an 11-7 deficit in the final two innings.

North Allegheny product Ryan Oglesby won the second game in relief, pitching a scoreless seventh.

While The Rock has a half-game lead over Mercyhurst for first place in the PSAC West, all seven teams in the league remain in contention for the four conference tournament berths.

“That’s the way this league is every year,” Ditch said. “It will come down to the final day. With a 24-game (league) schedule, it’s tough to get separation.”

SRU travels to Shippensburtg for a doubleheader today and still has a four-game series remaining with both Lock Haven and Mercyhurst.

“There’s still a lot to be determined,” Messer said.