Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

INDIANA, PA – Despite four homeruns and a total of eight extra-base hits on the day, the Crimson Hawks dropped both ends of their home opening doubleheader with Gannon on Sunday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West baseball action.

IUP dropped game one 4-1 and lost in game two 9-7.

With the losses the Crimson Hawks fall to 14-13 overall and 2-6 in PSAC West play. The Golden Knights are now 15-9 and 9-3.

Three of the four roundtrippers for the Crimson Hawks were solo shots while Jordan Giannini (Latrobe/Greater Latrobe) added a two-run homer in game two. Brett Quiggle (Weedville/St. Marys), Dylan Tice (Perkasie/Pennridge) and Ryan Uhl (St. Marys/St. Marys) had the other three homeruns for IUP.

Robbie Zinsmeister (Hatfield/North Penn) finished 3-for-8 in the doubleheader with a pair of doubles and David McNeill (Pittsburgh/Our Lady of Sacred Heart) went 2-for-4 with three RBI.

Kyle Zaorski (Reading/Muhlenberg) took the loss in game one, going the distance while giving up nine hits and four earned runs, striking out six. The Golden Knights did most of their damage in the first inning with three runs on four hits, including a two-run home run by Aaron Cox.

Zaorski settled down after that, allowing just one runner over the next four innings. Gannon added one run in the sixth, getting a two-out single by Cox to bring around Nico Baldelli to make it 4-0.

Quiggle led off the bottom of the seventh with his homerun over the fence in right center in attempt to jumpstart a rally. Austin Mock (State College/State College) followed with a single and three batters later Zinsmeister doubled down the left field line to put two runners in scoring position with two down. Tice forced a walk to load the bases but reliever Shayne Herold got Uhl to go down swinging, ending the threat.

The Crimson Hawks got on the board first in game two as Tice hit a shot over the fence in right field to give IUP a 1-0 lead after an inning of play.

Gannon tied the score in the second on an RBI double by Mark DeVita before tacking on three more runs in the third to take a 4-1 lead. After Uhl's solo homerun in the third, the Golden Knights got a two-RBI single by Baldelli in their half of the fourth as they extended their lead to 6-2. 

IUP regained the lead in the fourth, putting up five runs on four hits to go on top 7-6. A leadoff single by Jordan DeLuca (Broad Top/Tussey Mountain) was followed by a Giannini's homerun over the fence in right field. IUP would load the bases for McNeill who followed with a double off the fence in left center, clearing the bases and putting the Crimson Hawks ahead by one.

That lead was lost the following inning as Gannon tied the score by scoring on a passed ball and in the sixth added two more runs to go on top 9-7.

The Crimson Hawks again threatened in the seventh with the tying run in scoring position with two outs but Herold again ended the game on a strikeout to secure the sweep.

Matt Szukics (Hainesport, NJ/Rancocas Valley) picked up the loss in game two, allowing three hits and two earned in two innings pitched. Quiggle got the start on the mound, giving up six runs on five hits in 3.1 innings of work.

The Crimson Hawks are back in action on Wednesday when they host Mansfield at Dougherty Field. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.