INDIANA, Pa. –
Hannah Mercer (Hollidaysburg/Hollidaysburg Area) tied game two in the sixth inning and smart base running by
Lauren Hogue (Seneca/Cranberry) in the seventh helped the IUP softball team to a 6-5 victory as the Crimson Hawks swept Slippery Rock in a conference doubleheader on Friday afternoon at Podbielski Field.
Down 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Mercer hit a two-out single up the middle, scoring
Amy Fairman (Creekside, Pa. /Marion Center) and
Meghan Carney (Corry/Corry) to tie the game at 5-5.
Alexa Campbell (Manheim/Manheim Central ) entered the circle in relief in the seventh, pitching the Crimson Hawks out of a two-out jam as they went to the bottom half. After Hogue forced a one-out walk,
Allison Viguers (West Chester/West Chester East) singled to right to put runners at the corners. Carney then knocked one back to Slippery Rock pitcher Brooke Dawson, who looked Hogue off at third, but on Dawson's throw to first, Hogue broke for home, scoring the winning game-winning run.
The win was IUP's 10th straight as the Crimson Hawks improved to 12-12 overall and 10-4 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division.
Game two was a pitcher's duel through four innings as both teams combined for six hits in a 0-0 ballgame. Slippery Rock then ripped off five runs in the top of the fifth, highlighted by a two-run home run.
IUP responded with three runs in the bottom half with RBI singles by
Amy Fairman (Creekside, Pa. /Marion Center), Mercer and
Stefanie McCoy (New Paris/Chestnut Ridge). Crimson Hawks' reliever
Emily Hofmann (Dublin/Pennridge) shut down SRU in the sixth before Mercer's RBI single.
The Crimson Hawks easily won the opener by a score of 12-2 in five innings. They used an eight-run first inning to get out to an 8-1 lead and added four more in the third in cruising to the mercy rule victory.
McCoy and Mercer each blasted three-run homers in the first inning while Carney, Fairman, Gould and Viguers each drove in runs in the game.
Campbell picked up wins in both games to improve to 7-6 on the season. She tossed a combined 5.1 innings while giving up six hits and two earned runs.
Mercer totaled five hits and six RBI while Viguers had four hits and Fairman had three RBI.
The Crimson Hawks will host California (Pa.) (17-10, 11-6) on Saturday afternoon.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk.
