Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
SLIPPERY ROCK, PA – IUP pitching dominated on Saturday, helping the Crimson Hawks to a doubleheader sweep of Slippery Rock as head coach Jeff Ditch won his 200th career baseball game.

The Crimson Hawks took game one 4-1 and outlasted SRU 3-1 in the nightcap, improving to 8-7 overall on the season. It was also the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West opener for both schools, with IUP getting an early 2-0 mark in the division.

IUP allowed the best hitting team in the PSAC to a combined 10 hits on the afternoon, with just three coming in the day's second game.  

Ditch's 200th victory came in the opener, as the Crimson Hawks scored a run in the third, fourth, fifth and seventh innings. Dylan Tice (Perkasie/Pennridge) knocked in two of those runs, including the game's first run on a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Chris Calliari (Brockway/Brockway). He also had an RBI single to center in the fifth and scored on a Ryan Uhl (St. Marys/St. Marys) double to left center in the seventh inning.

Rick Jones (New Castle/Laurel) was responsible for IUP's other run, an RBI groundout in the fourth.

IUP starter Jared Weed (Washington Crossing/Council Rock North) went five innings on the mound, giving up six hits and one earned as he improved to 1-2 on the year. That lone run came in the third inning on a one-out single to right. A second run would have crossed the plate on the hit, but Slippery Rock's Will Kengor was thrown out by Aaron Lupia (Middletown/Middletown) trying to score from second base.

The Crimson Hawks allowed just one more Slippery Rock runner to reach second base the rest of the way, as Zach Chinchilla (Ambridge/Quigley Catholic) tossed the final two scoreless innings in relief to pick up the save and preserve the victory.

It was the Crimson Hawks who struck first again in game two, getting a Jonathan O'Neill (Pittsburgh/Chartiers Valley) RBI single through the left side to take a 1-0 lead in the second.

Zach DeTillio (Pittsburgh/Seneca Valley) earned the start on the hill for the Crimson Hawks, allowing just one hit through his first six innings of work. 

Neither team was able to add anything else to the scoreboard until the seventh inning, when IUP picked up a pair of all-important insurance runs. With Calliari on third and two outs, a dropped fly off the bat of Tice allowed Calliari to score. Tice would later move up on a wild pitch before scoring on another Uhl double.

The importance of those runs would be seen in the bottom of the inning when Slippery Rock put two runners in scoring position with two outs. Chinchilla entered for DeTillio, but gave up an RBI single to his first batter to make it a two-run ballgame. He was able to regroup and got the next batter to pop out to hold off the threat and earn his second save of the day and third of the season.

DeTillio picked up the win, improving to 2-0 after allowing just two hits in 6.2 innings of work.

O'Neill and Mike Lupia (Middletown/Middletown) each had two hits in game two as IUP totaled seven in the game and 12 on the day.

The Crimson Hawks will look to make a clean sweep as they host Slippery Rock in a twinbill on Sunday. The games have been moved from IUP's Owen Dougherty Field and will be played at Point Stadium in Johnstown. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.