Game 1 Boxscore
Game 2 Boxscore

Mitch Perez (Eldersburg, Md./Mount St. Joseph) and Evan Phillips (Harrisburg/Susquehanna Township) combined on a four-hitter to lead IUP to a 5-2 victory over Chowan in the opening game of a Sunday doubleheader in Murfreesboro, N.C.

Chowan won the second game by a score of 7-3 behind a grand slam home run and five RBIs by Justin Shockley.

IUP trailed 2-1 after four innings of the first game before taking the lead in the fifth on run scoring singles by Vern Powell (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) and Dylan Songer (Baden/North Allegheny) and a sacrifice fly by Aaron Lupia (Middletown/Middletown).

Andrew Welch (DuBois, Pa./DuBois Central Catholic) doubled in the sixth and scored on a base hit by Robbie Zinsmeister (Hatfield/North Penn) for an insurance run. Zinsmeister, Powell and Lupia each had two hits for the Crimson Hawks, who split two twinbills at Chowan to open their 2011 season.

Perez worked the first four innings, allowing three hits and one earned run. Phillips picked up the save with three innings of one-hit shutout relief, including three strikeouts.

Zinsmeister went 3-for-3 and scored two runs and Frank Sirolli (Cinnaminson, N.J./Cinnaminson) had two hits and drove in a run in the nightcap. IUP took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Shockley put the Hawks in front with his bases loaded homer in the bottom of the frame.

IUP also scored on a Zinsmeister double and a wild pitch in the third, and added its final run in the seventh when Cory Sawka (Uniontown/Uniontown) walked and scored on a single by Sirolli.

Ryan Sylvia (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) threw three innings of shutout relief, allowing only one hit and striking out four.

The Crimson Hawks head to Young Harris, Ga., Friday through Monday for three games each against Young Harris and Waldorf.