INDIANA, Pa. – On a day that the Crimson Hawks celebrated the collegiate careers of their four seniors, Mercyhurst ruined the party with a doubleheader sweep of IUP at Dougherty Field on Friday afternoon.
The Lakers won by scores of 11-3 and 13-0, with IUP honoring
Hunter Bigler (Washington, Pa./Trinity),
Matt Douglas (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan),
Rick Jones (New Castle, Pa./Laurel) and
Chris Schaedel (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) in between games.
IUP fell to 20-26 overall and 12-14 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division while Mercyhurst improved to 34-10 and 21-5 in the division.
Mercyhurst took a 9-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning of game one.
Chris Calliari (Brockway, Pa./Brockway) hit a one-out triple to right center before scoring on a passed ball.
Dan Sepic (York, Pa./Central York) later doubled down the left field line, easily scoring Bigler from second base.
The Lakers and IUP each added runs in the seventh, with
Anthony Rigous (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) crossing the plate for the Crimson Hawks on a wild pitch.
In game two, Mercyhurst got out to an early 7-0 lead with four runs in the first and three in the second, scoring a total of six more in the fifth and sixth innings. IUP totaled seven hits, including a fifth inning leadoff double by
Ted DeSanti (Erie, Pa./Erie Cathedral Prep).
The Crimson Hawks will wrap up their season on Saturday with a doubleheader against the Lakers in Erie. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP baseball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPbaseball.
