Boxscore

The Crimson Hawks jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before the North Georgia bats woke up, scoring nine unanswered runs in 9-4 victory that spoiled IUP's debut at the Division II World Series.

IUP lost for the first time in 12 postseason games and saw its 13-game overall winning streak snapped, falling to 38-7 on the season. The Crimson Hawks will look to avoid elimination when they face Midwestern State Saturday at 2:30. The Mustangs (52-13), ranked fifth in the nation, lost to No. 1 Alabama-Huntsville 3-2 in the final game of the opening round.

North Georgia, ranked second in the country by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, extended its school record for wins in a season to 53 against only 10 losses. IUP was No. 11 in the final NFCA poll of the regular season and was denied in its first chance to win a school-record 39th game.

The Saints, in the World Series for the third straight season, banged out 10 hits against IUP All-American pitcher Erin Holloway (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton), including two doubles by Ansley Williams and solo home runs by Pilar Harden and Hilary Cox. IUP had not allowed more than two runs in any postseason game and a total of 11 in its previous 11 games including the PSAC and Atlantic Region tournaments.

Holloway (27-4) did reach a career milestone when she fanned Sarah Johnson in the fifth, giving her 1,000 in her career, the third pitcher in PSAC history to reach that total. Holloway finished with eight strikeouts in the game but walked five.

IUP wasted little time in reaching Jessica Coan, the Ron Lenz Division II Pitcher of the Year, scoring twice in the top of the first. Dee Eppinger (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) singled, took second on a throwing error by Coan and moved to third on a bunt single by Marissa Leslie (Claysburg/Claysburg-Kimmel). Leslie stole second and both runners came in when Kristen Tunno (Seaford, Va./Grafton) lined a two-out, two-run single to right.

Raquel Rugani (McKees Rocks, Pa./Montour ) led off the second with a single and pinch runner Taylor Rozantz (Fairview/Fairview) moved to second on a base hit by Monica Iachini (Claysburg/Claysburg-Kimmel). Eppinger laid down a sacrifice bunt that turned into a run when Coan threw wildly into rightfield for her second error of the game. But the Crimson Hawks wasted an opportunity to build an even bigger lead when Megan McCormick (Evans City/Seneca Valley) and Stef Poates (Yorktown, VA/Grafton) struck out with the bases loaded.

IUP stranded a total of seven runners over the opening four innings, leaving the door open for a North Georgia comeback that started in the third.

The Saints got one run back when a ground out to short by Kasey Knight scored Natasha Willemse. Holloway retired Johnson on a grounder back to the circle to hold Ansley Williams at third, but Harden followed with a long home run to dead center to tie the game.

The Crimson Hawks threatened to take the lead right back in the fourth when Iachini walked to lead off the inning and end the day for Coan. Sarah Phillips, who was the national pitcher of the year last season when she won 44 of 46 decisions, relieved Coan and struck out Eppinger and Leslie with Iachini stealing second and going to third on a wild pitch in between.

McCormick was intentionally walked and Phillips got out of the jam by inducing Poates to pop out to shortstop. Phillips (21-5) was masterful the rest of the way, getting a double play grounder from Rugani with one on and nobody out in the fifth and pitching around a one-out single by Iachini in the sixth.

The Saints took their first lead of the game in the fifth on a single up the middle by Harden that just eluded the glove of Holloway to drive in two and put North Georgia in front 5-3. Cox hit a solo homer and Harden added her fifth RBI of the game in a four-run sixth that broke the game open.

IUP added its final run in the seventh when Leslie reached on an error and eventually came around to score on a ground out by Tunno, giving the Crimson Hawk senior rightfielder her third RBI of the game.