Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

WEST LIBERTY, WV - The Crimson Hawks blasted six homeruns, with two coming off the bat of Robbie Zinsmeister (Hatfield/North Penn), as IUP continued its long ball barrage with West Liberty as IUP had its second straight sweep of the Hilltoppers with wins of 15-6 and 9-4 on Sunday afternoon.

The two round-trippers were numbers eight and nine on the season for Zinsmeister as he went 5-for-8 with two doubles, two homeruns and six RBI on the day.

Zinsmeister got going right away with a shot over the wall in left to open up game one. That would be the first of a five-run first inning for the Crimson Hawks as they capitalized on Hilltopper mistakes. Aaron Lupia (Middletown/Middletown) walked before advancing to second on a wild pitch. He'd then come home two batters later on a throwing error by the catcher to make it 2-0.

A David McNeill (Pittsburgh/Our Lady of Sacred Heart) single through the left side put two runners on for Brett Quiggle (Weedville/St. Marys), who bashed the second homer of the inning for the Crimson Hawks as they took a 5-0 lead.

The homeruns continued to fly, but this time in the bottom half for West Liberty as a two-run shot to center off starter Craig Hibell (New Bethlehem/Redbank Valley) made it a 5-2 game.

Zinmeister came up again in the second when, after Cory Sawka (Uniontown/Uniontown) was hit by a pitch, he singled down the left field line and advanced to second on the throw, putting a pair of runners in scoring position. Lupia then flied out to center, scoring Sawka for the first run of the inning. Three batters later, again with two runners in scoring position, Austin Mock (State College/State College) homered to left, scoring three to make it a 9-2 ballgame.

IUP went on top 10-2 in the third, again taking advantage of a West Liberty mistake as Dylan Tice (Perkasie/Pennridge) scored from third on a wild pitch, as then took an 11-4 lead in the fourth when McNeill hit a solo shot to left, his first of the year.

West Liberty scored got an RBI single in the bottom half before the Crimson Hawks tacked on four more in the sixth. McNeill singled up the middle to score Dylan Songer (Baden/North Allegheny) from third before Quiggle doubled down the right field line to score Mock. Three batters later Zinsmeister singled up the middle, scoring Quiggle and McNeill to put IUP on top 15-5 before West Liberty added one more in the seventh to finish the game.

IUP struck first in game two as Zinsmeister smacked his second of the day, a three-run shot to right center to cap off a four-hit second inning for IUP.

 West Liberty would cut its deficit to one with a two-run double to to right center in the third, keeping the Crimson Hawks off the scoreboard for three straight innings.

IUP put a stop to that in the sixth, getting a single by Ryan Uhl (St. Marys/St. Marys) to lead off the inning before John Beatty (New Castle/Mohawk) walked two batters later to put a pair on. Quiggle then pinch hit, reaching on an error by the shortstop before advancing to second as Uhl scored. A wild pitch allowed Beatty to score before Tice flew out to right, bringing Quiggle home from third to give IUP a 6-2 lead.

West Liberty kept it close in the bottom half, getting a solo homerun and an RBI single to make it 6-4, before Uhl homered to right center in the seventh, driving in three runs to give IUP a comfortable 9-4 lead before Jared Weed (Washington Crossing/Council Rock North) closed out the Hilltoppers with a 1-2-3 inning.

Matt Szukics (Hainesport, NJ/Rancocas Valley) went to 2-0 with the victory, allowing five hits and two earned in four innings. Ben Weimer (New Alexandria/Linsly School), Christian Wolosik (Pittsburgh/North Catholic) and Weed ten combined for three innings, two hits and one earned run.

The Crimson Hawks combined for 20 hits in the two games, with seven total players getting at least two on the day including Mock, who went 4-for-8 with two doubles, a homer and three RBI.

The Crimson Hawks (13-12-1, 1-3) are back in action this weekend when they get back to PSAC West play with Mercyhurst on Friday and Saturday. First pitch from Dougherty Field on Friday comes at 1:00 p.m.