SLIPPERY ROCK — Brandon Ray wasn't going to give up the baseball.

He wasn't about to give up the game, either.

The Slippery Rock Highpitcher walked 10 batters, hit another and threw 140 pitches — but he surrendered only one run in a 2-1 win over Grove City Monday afternoon.

"Pitch count didn't really matter today," said Slippery Rock coach PaulMalley. "Adrenaline takes over and there was no way he was coming out no matter what."

Ray gave up only two hits and struck out eight to go with his exceedingly high walk total. The only run he surrendered came — fittingly — on a wild pitch in the top of the fifth inning.

Ray was a horse for Slippery Rock on a day when the majority of the fans were watching his pitching counterpart.

BobRevesz, a 6-foot-4 left-hander who throws in the 90-mph range, started for Grove City and had an audience of eight pro scouts clocking his pitches and dissecting his every move.

There were more radar guns in attendance than at a state police barracks.

Revesz, a senior, is used to such scrutiny and he dominated early. Six of his first seven outs came on strikeouts and he finished with 13 in six innings.

Yet, he got the loss.

"It was just one of those games," said Grove City coach Pat Forese. "Anybody, anytime can beat ya."

Ray also struck the decisive blow with his bat, bringing home the go-ahead run with a double in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was the only ball that left the infield against Revesz on the day.

The hit brought home Adam Brydon, who walked, moved to second on a fielder's choice and then to third on a wild pitch.

"I told my teammates in the last inning, 'We get close, I'll win this game for you.'" Ray said. "I made that promise."

And he delivered.

"I told coach Malley I was going to go seven innings, no matter if I threw 200 pitches or not," Ray said. "I've been waiting four years to beat Grove City."

It was the first time the seniors on the Rockets ever have beaten their rivals. It was also Grove City's first loss of the season.

The Eagles (8-1, 4-1) had scored 10 or more runs in seven straight games

"It's one of those things where we didn't swing the bat as well as we normally do,"Forese said. "You have to give (Ray) all the credit in the world, too. He did a nice job throwing the ball.He was a little wild, but he made the pitches when he needed to make them."

SlipperyRock has struggled at the plate this season, and those struggles continued againstGrove City.

But the Rockets eked out a win.

"The longer the game went, the more confident I got," Malley said. "They showed me something today. They showed me some guts. They showed me some fire.

"We needed a signature win," Malley added. "Last year, we had 11 wins, but we didn't beat the top three teams in the conference."

Perhaps Ray summed up the win the best: "For Slippery Rock, coach Malley and Brandon Ray, it's a great thing."

Grove City 000 010 0—1 2 2Slippery Rock 001 001 x—2 2 0WP: Brandon Ray (7 IP) 8 strikeouts, 10 walks.

LP: BobRevesz (6 IP) 13 strikeouts, 3 walks

Grove City (8-1, 4-1): DannyKeil 2B; KentDenbow 2B; Garrett Molloy 4-BB

Slippery Rock (3-3, 2-1): Ray 2B, RBI; Ryan Ferguson 1B