SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – IUP first baseman
Ryan Uhl (St. Marys, Pa./St. Marys) continued his power surge on Tuesday with a pair of homeruns, tying the program's all-time mark as the Crimson Hawks split a baseball doubleheader with Shippensburg.
The Crimson Hawks dropped game one by a score of 18-9 before rallying for a 13-6 victory in game two.
Uhl homered once in each game, giving him 24 in his career to tie Kevin McMullan – current associate head coach at the University of Virginia – for first all-time.
It also brings Uhl's season total to 11 in just 16 games as he's now just two away from tying Kyle Stryker's 13 for the most in a single season in program history.
The Crimson Hawks stay even on the year at 8-8 overall while Shippensburg moves to 9-13 this season.
It was all Shippensburg in game one as the Raiders scored nine in the first inning to break open a huge lead. They went on to add four more in the second and another in the third to take a 14-0 lead. The Crimson Hawks then put together a huge fourth, scoring eight runs on seven hits, including three consecutive run-scoring singles by Uhl,
Scott Hess (Erie/Erie Cathedral Prep) and
Rick Jones (New Castle/Laurel).
Chris Schaedel (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) and
Matt Eperesi (Cranberry Twp./Mars) also had RBI hits in the inning.
Uhl hit his first homer of the day came in the sixth, blasting one to straightaway center to make it a 14-9 ballgame. The Raiders added four more runs in the bottom half of that inning, adding some insurance to come away with the nine-run win.
The Crimson Hawks totaled 12 hits in the game, including two each from Uhl, Hess and Jones, IUP's three, four and five hitters.
Five different pitchers saw time on the mound for the Crimson Hawks, with
Justin Charles (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York) taking the loss in the start.
The Raiders took the early lead in game two as well, following IUP's two-run second inning with six runs in the bottom half to take a four run lead. After a scoreless third, the Crimson Hawks had another big inning in the fourth, scoring seven runs on seven hits to take a 9-6 lead. Uhl,
Jonathan O'Neill (Pittsburgh/Chartiers Valley),
Chris Calliari (Brockway/Brockway), Eperesi,
John Beatty (New Castle/Mohawk) and
Mike Lupia (Middletown/Middletown) all knocked in runs in the inning.
IUP added three more on four hits in the fifth and in the sixth, Uhl put another solo shot over the wall in left center to give the Crimson Hawks a 13-6 lead and the ultimate win.
After a rough start for IUP pitching, relievers
Dan Sepic (York, Pa./Central York) and
Christian McClure (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) settled down, giving up five hits and no runs over the last 5.2 innings. McClure picked up his first win of the season, striking out three in four innings of work.
The Crimson Hawks totaled 20 hits in the game, including four by Lupia in his leadoff spot. Each of IUP's first seven batters had multiple hits, with Uhl and
Zac LaNeve (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) each getting three.
IUP has double-digit hits in four of its last five games, including two games of 20-or-more. Over that span the Crimson Hawks are 3-2 with 75 hits, with five of those being homeruns by Uhl.
The Crimson Hawks are scheduled to face PSAC West-leader Seton Hill in a four-game set this weekend. IUP will host Friday's doubleheader and travel to Greensburg for the final two games of the series on Saturday.
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