INDIANA, Pa. – On the strength of a 16-7 game two victory, the IUP softball team clinched a spot in the upcoming conference tournament with a doubleheader sweep of Edinboro on Tuesday afternoon at Podbielski Field.
 
Needing two victories to reach the postseason, the Crimson Hawks combined for 26 hits, including 11 for extra bases, to earn the fourth seed in the Western Division for this weekend's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships at Veterans Park in Quakertown, Pa.
 
Lauren Hogue (Seneca/Cranberry) finished the day by going 3-for-7 with two doubles, a home run and seven runs batted in. Stefanie McCoy (New Paris/Chestnut Ridge) finished 4-for-6 with a double, triple, and five runs scored while Rachel Francis (Jefferson, OH/Jefferson) went 4-for-7 with a double and a triple.
 
Hannah Mercer (Hollidaysburg/Hollidaysburg Area) also smacked four hits in the doubleheader while Allison Viguers (West Chester/West Chester East) and Megan Gould (New Germany/Forest Hills) each had three.
 
Alexa Campbell (Manheim/Manheim Central ) picked up the victory in the 4-3 opening game victory, giving up just one earned run in the complete game.
 
The Crimson Hawks will have a quick turnaround as they face West Chester, the No. 1 seed from the Eastern Division, on Thursday at 11 a.m. IUP will enter the postseason with an 18-22 overall record, including a 16-14 mark in the PSAC West.
 
It'll be the 15th PSAC tournament appearance in program history, including the fifth in the last six seasons. The Crimson Hawks have two conference titles – in 2011 and 2012.
 
The highlight was the 16-7 game two victory in five innings. The Crimson Hawks tallied 19 hits in that game alone, including six doubles and home runs by Viguers and Hogue. Emily Hofmann (Dublin/Pennridge) entered in relief and picked up the victory in the circle, giving up two earned runs on four hits in 4.1 innings of work.
 
It did not start out well for IUP, however, as the Fighting Scots (23-14-1, 14-12-1) opened up with five runs in the top of the first inning to take the early momentum. The Crimson Hawks answered right back in the bottom half as the first eight batters reached base en route to a six-run stanza.
 
Mercer, Gould and McCoy all singled to load the bases for Viguers, who brought home two with a double to right. Francis followed with another two-run double before Hogue gave IUP a 6-5 lead with a home run to center, her seventh of the season.
 
The scoring continued in the second with four more runs, including back-to-back doubles by Hogue and Meghan Carney (Corry/Corry). IUP made it a 14-5 game in the third, opening the inning with four straight hits, highlighted by a bases loaded double to left center by Hogue.
 
The Crimson Hawks picked up a couple insurance runs that they would end up needing in the fourth as Viguers blasted one over the fence in right center.
 
Edinboro tried to extend play with a pair of runs in the fifth, but Hofmann got one final ground out to end the game and send the Crimson Hawks to the postseason.
 
Game one was a different story, as neither team scored until the third inning. The Fighting Scots made it a 1-0 game in the top half, but IUP answered with a two-run triple by McCoy and a run-scoring groundout by Viguers to go on top 3-1.
 
They again each scored in the fifth, plating one run apiece as the Crimson Hawks ended up taking a 4-2 lead to the seventh inning. Edinboro led off the inning with a home run to left center by Haley Struebing and ended up getting the tying runner on, but Campbell got out of the jam and secured the victory.
 
It was just one of several tough spots that Campbell worked out of, pushing her way through a bases loaded, no-out pickle in the fourth and a bases loaded, two-out jam in the sixth.  
 
Also entering the PSAC tournament from the Western Division are California (Pa.) as the one seed, Seton Hill as the two and Gannon at three. West Chester, Bloomsburg (two), Kutztown (three) and East Stroudsburg (four) are the qualifying teams from the Eastern Division.
 
Action begins Thursday morning with the PSAC crowning its 2015 champion on Saturday afternoon.
 
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk.