HAMPTON, Va. – Junior Wes Carson (Woodstock, Md./Marriots Ridge) smacked a double and a triple on opening day, but IUP baseball dropped an 11-6 decision to Kutztown on Thursday afternoon at The Apprentice School's Builder Invitational.
 
Carson had two of the Crimson Hawks' eight hits on the evening, with fellow junior Dan Sepic (York, Pa./Central York) collecting a pair of singles.
 
Senior Scott Hess (Erie, Pa./Erie Cathedral Prep) provided the power for IUP, blasting a two-run home run in the eighth inning. That was part of a four-run eighth for the Crimson Hawks, who cut Kutztown's lead from 9-1 to 9-5 entering the decisive ninth.
 
The Golden Bears, who were also playing in their 2017 season opener, tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the final inning. IUP added its final run on Carson's triple, which scored freshman Luke Hollander (Royal Palm Beach, Fl./Royal Palm Beach).
 
Junior righty Christian McClure (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) started and pitched into the third inning, before giving way to freshman Nick Kuhn (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg). Kuhn tossed three shutout innings, striking out three and giving up just one hit. Classmate Ben Hudock (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) gave up just one run and fanned three in two innings, while junior Zach Heffner (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) came in and tossed the ninth.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks will play the College of Saint Joseph (Vt.) and Bloomsburg on Friday in Hampton. A pair of right handers in junior Mike Klingensmith (Punxsutawney, Pa./Punxsutawney) and sophomore Jeff Allen (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg Area) are slated to get the starts on the mound.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP baseball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPbaseball.