SLIPPERY ROCK — Strong Vincent coach Kent Williamson has seen a lot of baseball in his long career in the sport.

Williamson, who carries the nickname “Hawk,” has a keen eye for what makes a baseball team win.

He sees glimmers of it in Slippery Rock.

“They have a nice team,” Williamson said after his team downed the Rockets 6-2 at Slippery Rock High Wednesday afternoon. “They just need to learn how to win, and that’s a hard thing to do. Once they learn how to do that, look out.”

That’s what first-year Slippery Rock coach Nathan McCollough has been trying to do all season: teach his young team how to win the close games instead of letting them slip away.

“It’s still a work in progress,” McCollough said.

The loss to Strong Vincent was a microcosm of the Rockets’ season.

Andrew Gieraltowski got the start and pitched well for two innings before running into trouble in the third.

The trouble started when he walked leadoff hitter Matt Fiorenzo, who then stole second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by Randy Kalisewski.

The Colonials added two more runs in the frame, chasing Gieraltowski.

“We have kind of a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on right now,” McCollough said. “I thought we played two or three innings like the new Slippery Rock, the Slippery Rock I want us to be and four or five innings like the old Slippery Rock.”

Strong Vincent (5-3) led 6-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. The Colonials got two of those runs on a two-run single by Brandon Joint in the fourth after McCollough elected to intentionally walk No. 3 hitter Derek Brady with two outs and a runner on third.

Brady stole second base to get into scoring position as Slippery Rock’s pitcher and catcher got their signal crossed.

“We had a play on, and for whatever reason, we didn’t execute it,” McCollough said.

The run support was more than enough for Brady, who struck out seven in seven innings of work.

Williamson said Brady is his No. 3 pitcher, but has been sharp out of the bullpen as of late.

“He wanted a start. He wanted the ball,” Williamson said. “He did a phenomenal job.”

Slippery Rock hit the ball sharply against Brady. Often, though, the stinging line drives found gloves, not green grass.

The Rockets did get doubles from Sam Furrh, who is still rounding into baseball shape after breaking his wrist during football season, and Sean White.

White scored on an RBI single in the sixth by Connor Hogue.

Slippery Rock used three pitchers in the game.

Gieraltowski was charged with three runs in 2 1/3 innings.

Joe Barnhart also gave up three runs in 2 2/3 innings of work and Hogue pitched two scoreless innings.

“We had (Gieraltowski) on a pitch count. This was his first game starting,” McCollough said. “He was right around the 50-pitch count and I had seen enough already. We needed guys to get innings in a non-conference game like this.

“We accomplished some of the things I wanted to accomplish today,” McCollough added. “But we got an L. That’s not what I wanted. I wanted some momentum going into Friday (against Grove City). If we win that game, we’re first place in the conference. That’s our only goal.”

Strong Vincent 003 210 0 — 6 12 2Slippery Rock 000 002 0 — 2 7 0W: Derek Brady 7IP (7K, 1BB).

L: Andrew Gieraltowski 2.1IP (2K, 2BB).

Strong Vincent (5-3): Randy Kalisewski 1B RBI, Derek Brady 2-1B, Brandon Trout 2-1B 2-RBI, Jake Olejarczyk 1B, Chris Lilly 2-1B 2-RBI, Devin Magee 1B, Max Sebald 2-1B RBI, Josh Barron 1B, Cody Stephenson RBI

Slippery Rock (3-5): Sam Furrh 2B, Sean White 2B 1B, Connor Hogue 2-1B RBI, Gieraltowski 1B

Friday: Grove City at Slippery Rock