INDIANA, Pa. – The Crimson Hawks totaled eight hits in two games as IUP dropped both ends of its home opening baseball doubleheader to visiting Gannon by scores of 5-2 and 4-0 on Saturday afternoon at Dougherty Field.
The doubleheader sweep was the second of the week for Gannon, as the Golden Knights took all four games in the series. IUP falls to 6-14 overall and 0-4 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division while Gannon improves to 16-5 and 4-0.
Freshman
Jeff Allen (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg Area) started and took the loss the day's first game for IUP, giving up eight hits and three earned runs while striking out five in 6.2 innings of work.
Wes Carson (Woodstock, Md./Marriots Ridge) had two of the four hits for the Crimson Hawks, who scored in the third and fifth innings on sacrifice flyouts from
Chris Schaedel (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) and Carson.
The sac fly by Carson narrowed IUP's deficit to 3-2 in the fifth, but the Golden Knights added insurance runs in the sixth and seventh innings to come away with the three-run win.
The Crimson Hawks stranded eight runners in game two, including two each in the third, fourth and fifth innings. The top three hitters in the order combined for the four IUP hits, as
Hunter Bigler (Washington, Pa./Trinity) finished 2-for-3 and drew one walk.
Matt Douglas (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) started and went 4.0 innings, striking out six batters and giving up just two hits and one earned run.
Dillon Swanger (Salisbury, Md./James Bennett), who also tossed a third of an inning in the opener, relieved Douglas and threw the last three innings, striking out four and giving up two earned runs.
The Crimson Hawks have a nine inning game at Penn State Dubois at 6 p.m. on Wednesday night before playing Clarion in a four-game set next weekend.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP baseball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPbaseball.
