SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. –
Dan Sepic (York, Pa./Central York) blasted two of IUP's four home runs as the Crimson Hawks scored 22 times and had 23 hits in a doubleheader divisional baseball sweep at Slippery Rock on Saturday afternoon.
The Crimson Hawks took game one 11-5 and rallied for a 11-10 victory in the nightcap.
The wins helped IUP take three of four from Slippery Rock this weekend, improving to 13-16 overall and 6-6 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division.
Slippery Rock falls to 7-24 and 2-10.
Sepic finished his day 5-for-7 with a double, two home runs, six runs batted in, and scored four times. Both home runs came in the opener while his double was in game two. He also appeared twice on the mound, tossing a combined 3.2 innings in relief, striking out five and giving up three hits and no runs. He picked up the win in the comeback game two victory.
Also hitting homers in the first game were
Scott Hess (Erie, Pa./Erie Cathedral Prep) and
Ted DeSanti (Erie, Pa./Erie Cathedral Prep). Hess went 3-for-6 with two RBI and scored four times. DeSanti also had three hits and drove in four runs while scoring three times himself.
Anthony Rigous (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North),
Hunter Bigler (Washington, Pa./Trinity), Corey Wheeler and
Rick Jones (New Castle, Pa./Laurel) all had multi-hit days for the Crimson Hawks on Saturday. Rigous and Jones each had doubles, Wheeler knocked a pair of doubles and drove in two, and Bigler also walked twice and drove in two.
Matt Douglas (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) picked up the win in game one, striking out seven while giving up five earned runs in 5.0 innings pitched.
The Crimson Hawks gave him good run support early, scoring twice in the first, second, third and fourth innings, and once in the fifth to take a 9-2 lead. Slippery Rock added three in the bottom half of the fifth but IUP put the game out of reach with a two-run shot by Hess in the seventh.
It was Slippery Rock that took an early 6-2 into the fifth before the Crimson Hawks shifted momentum with seven runs in the top half. The Rock went back on top at 10-9 in the sixth, but an RBI groundout by
Chris Calliari (Brockway, Pa./Brockway) and a sacrifice fly by Bigler in the seventh put IUP back on top before Sepic sealed the win.
IUP will ride its momentum into next week, hosting Lock Haven in a non-divisional doubleheader on Tuesday before starting its weekend series with Seton Hill on the road Friday.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP baseball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPbaseball.
