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Slippery Rock Sliders

First season: 2007

Years in league: 2007

Ballpark: Jack Critchfield Park

In November 2006 Slippery Rock, PA was awarded a Frontier League franchise. Read the story here. The team played at Jack Critchfield Park at Slippery Rock University.  The operation of the team was a unique partnership between the Frontier League and SRU, allowing students at SRU to gain experience in professional baseball by performing most of the team's operational duties.

Former Evansville Otters GM Steve Tahsler was tapped to fill the same role with the new team. In November Tahsler began the job of building a team by selecting nine players in the expansion draft. The Sliders pulled a coup by hiring former Evansville manager Greg Jelks, fresh from winning the championship with the Otters. Former River City pitcher Adam Shafer was tapped to be the pitching coach.

On January 9, 2007, the team was christened the Sliders. The name was determined by a fan name-the-team contest; other choices were Boulders, Sluggers and Rockers. The winning name was submitted by Dr. Amy Walters, a communications professor at Slippery Rock University.

The Sliders struggled in the field and at the gate. Playing only 32 home games, the team drew only 19,000 fans while limping to a 29-66 record and a last place finish. The team did get some attention when pitcher Pete Parise was signed by the Cardinals, the first Frontier League player signed during the 2007 season.

Pitching was definitely the Sliders' strong suit. Zach Cline led the way with a 10-6, 3.10 record. On the other side of the coin was Nick Tracy, who set a record for losses by going 3-12. He did pitch well at times, winning three of four decisions during a stretch in August after going 0-11 to start the season. Dan Schwartz (2-5, 4.17) and Kory Bucklew (3-5, 4.28) completed the rotation. Jared Simon (1-1, 1.46, six saves) was the top setup man, with Chris Rubio (2-3, 4.40), Brian Baxter (3-1, 3.15) and Jason Cline (1-3, 6.61) also contributing. The closer was Greg Lasinski, with ten saves.

Offense was a problem all season, as the Sliders finished dead last in the league with a lowly .238 team average. Outfielder Casey Bowling (.267-9-34) was the catalyst. Infielder Phil Butch led the team with a .299 mark and eleven steals. Infield mate Cy Donald hit .249.  Nathan Yoho (.247) played a part before being traded to Florence, and  Anthony Albano hit .268 after coming over in a trade from River City. DH Bryan Vickers (.254-9-44) was the power source.

In late November, 2007 it was announced that the team would play all its games on the road in 2008 and be known as the Midwest Sliders.

Jack Critchfield Park at Slippery Rock University, home of the Slippery Rock Sliders. Photos by David DeLeo.