HAMPTON, Va. – The Crimson Hawks scored four runs in the eighth, and Christian McClure (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) kept the Apprentice School scoreless over the final four inning as IUP baseball picked up an 8-7 win on the final day of the Builder Invitational.
 
McClure entered with two on and no outs in the sixth, getting a pair of groundouts and striking out a third to get out of the jam. He went on to fan four more batters while giving up just three hits over the next three innings to pick up the victory.
 
IUP's four-run rally in the eighth started with a pair of runs off of a throwing error. The Crimson Hawks scored the tying run on a wild pitch, and then the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly from Wes Carson (Woodstock, Md./Marriots Ridge), scoring Cory Wheeler (Butler, Pa./Butler).
 
IUP totaled nine hits on the day, including two each from Anthony Rigous (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) and Luke Hollander (Royal Palm Beach, Fl./Royal Palm Beach). Matt Eperesi (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Mars) scored twice and drove in another run.
 
Apprentice took a 4-0 lead after two, but IUP put runs on the board in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. Apprentice added one more in the fourth and two in the sixth to take its three-run lead.
 
Builder Invitational recap
The Crimson Hawks went 2-3 in their season-opening tournament, getting wins from McClure and Dillon Swanger (Salisbury, Md./James Bennett). Wes Carson (Woodstock, Md./Marriots Ridge) hit a team-best .438 with seven hits and four RBI.
 
Up next
IUP head to North Carolina next weekend for a four-game series against Winston-Salem State.
 
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