WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Ryan Uhl (St. Marys, Pa./St. Marys) hit a first inning two-run homerun while Kyle Zaorski (Reading/Muhlenberg) picked up the season-opening victory on the mound as IUP began 2015 with a doubleheader split with Winston-Salem State on Friday afternoon.
 
Uhl's homer came with Austin Mock (State College, Pa./State College) on first after a two-out walk, blasting it over the wall in left field. Zaorski put together four innings of scoreless ball, giving up just one hit and striking out four before the Rams got picked up a run in the fifth.
 
The Crimson Hawks got an insurance run in the sixth, loading the bases for Mike Lupia (Middletown/Middletown), who forced a walk that brought Chris Schaedel (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) across the plate.
 
Matt Douglas (Canonsburg/Canon-McMillan) entered the game from the bullpen and tossed the final four innings, giving up four hits and striking out three while holding Winston-Salem scoreless to pick up the save in IUP's 3-1 victory.
 
The scoring picked up in game two, with Winston-Salem taking a 2-1 lead into the fourth. The Crimson Hawks took the lead in the fourth with three runs on three hits, including RBI singles by Hunter Bigler (Washington/Trinity) and Schaedel.
 
The Rams went back on top with five runs in the bottom half and then tacked on six more in the fifth to open up a 13-4 lead. Both teams scored runs in the sixth, including a run-scoring double by Zac LaNeve (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) for the Crimson Hawks.
 
Five different pitchers saw time for IUP in the 17-7 loss, with Zach DeTillio (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seneca Valley) getting the loss in the start. The Crimson Hawks totaled eight hits in the game, including two each by LaNeve and Scott Hess (Erie/Erie Cathedral Prep).
 
IUP and Winston-Salem State will close out their weekend with a rescheduled doubleheader on Saturday. Game one will be seven innings while game two will be nine. First pitch comes at 10 a.m. from BB&T Ballpark.