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QUAKERTOWN, PA – An eighth inning two-run homerun off the bat of Angela Devereaux (Oakdale/West Allegheny) gave IUP a 7-5 elimination game victory over Edinboro on the first day of the 2014 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Softball Championships in Quakertown.
 
The Crimson Hawks, who had suffered a 7-1 loss to Shippensburg earlier in the day, now moves on to play Bloomsburg on Friday in this double elimination championship tournament.
 
Devereaux's homer, her second of the season, came with Mary Ward (Hatfield/North Penn) on second with no outs in the eighth. Just one more runner advanced in the inning for the Crimson Hawks before heading to the bottom half with the lead. Alexa Campbell (Manheim/Manheim Central ), who was throwing in relief, then put Edinboro down 1-2-3 in the Fighting Scots' final at bat to secure the victory in the must-win game.
 
IUP owned a 5-2 lead after scoring two in the third and three more in the fourth. The first two runs came courtesy of an error along with an RBI triple to right field by Jasa Mitchell (Snow Shoe/Bald Eagle Area), which scored Megan Gould (New Germany/Forest Hills) from second. Meghan Carney (Corry/Corry), Gould and Hannah Mercer (Hollidaysburg/Hollidaysburg Area) then had three consecutive run-scoring base hits in the fourth – Carney and Mercer's being doubles – to put IUP on top by three runs.
 
Edinboro picked up two runs in the sixth off of Campbell, who had entered for starter Amanda Spindler (Brownsburg, IN/Cathedral) in the fifth inning. The Fighting Scots then tied the game on a one-out RBI double in the bottom of the seventh.
 
The Fighting Scots' first two runs came on a homerun in the first inning from Haley Struebing.
 
The victory was wrapped up 20 minutes past midnight, early Friday morning after a day that included three schedule changes after rain had ruined field conditions. Another weather delay in the form of lightning caused the first pitch of the game to be pushed back from 9:30 p.m. to 9:50 p.m.
 
IUP's game against Shippensburg was originally scheduled for 1:30 p.m. but did not get started until almost 6 p.m. due to the poor field conditions.
 
The Red Raiders blasted two homers in the opening inning to take an early 3-0 lead, but IUP counted with a solo shot by Stefanie McCoy (New Paris/Chestnut Ridge) to lead off the second. Shippensburg then had another two-run home in the sixth and added two more runs in the seventh inning for the 7-1 victory, which sent the Crimson Hawks into the loser's bracket.
 
The Crimson Hawks, the second seed in the West, now have a 30-14 record on the season. Bloomsburg, which is the second seed in the East, enters tomorrow with a 27-16 overall record.
 
First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m. The losing team will be eliminated from contention while the winner will advance to face either West Chester or Gannon at 8:30 p.m.