WILLIAMSTON, N.C. – Despite having an offense that put together 12 hits and scored in four of the five innings, IUP ended its trip to North Carolina with a 15-7 loss to 17th-ranked Millersville on Sunday afternoon.
The Crimson Hawks took an early 3-2 lead in the top of the second after back-to-back doubles from
Chris Schaedel (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) and
Matt Eperesi (Cranberry Twp./Mars).
Ted DeSanti (Erie/Erie Cathedral Prep) drove in the first run with a single, followed by RBI singles from
Cory Wheeler (Butler, Pa./Butler) and
Brian Albert (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) to give IUP the one-run lead.
Millersville (6-1) took advantage of three IUP errors in the third, scoring nine runs to go on top 11-3.
IUP put runs on the board in the fourth, fifth and ninth innings, highlighted by a solo home run off the bat of
Rick Jones (New Castle/Laurel) in the fifth. But the Marauders added four insurance runs and the Crimson Hawks stranded a total of seven base runners in the loss.
Hunter Bigler (Washington/Trinity) went 2-for-5 from his leadoff spot, while Schaedel and Wheeler each collected a pair of hits and Jones knocked in two runs. All nine Crimson Hawks' starters had hits while seven scored runs.
IUP went 1-3 on the trip and will head to Newport News, Va. this coming weekend for five games at the Apprentice School's annual Builder Invitational. Its first game is Thursday, Feb. 25 against Kutztown.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP baseball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPBaseball.
