GAMEDAY CENTRAL
IUP Crimson Hawks (8-7, 0-0 PSAC Central)
at Shippensburg Lady Raiders (13-8, 0-0 PSAC East)
Saturday, March 25, 2017 | 1 p.m.
Shippensburg, Pa. | Robb Field

Live Stats: StretchInternet.com | Game 1 | Game 2
Updates: Twitter | @IUP_Softball

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
In a doubleheader that was originally scheduled to be IUP's home opener, the Crimson Hawks will now head east to Shippensburg on Saturday afternoon. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. IUP is coming off of a non-conference split at Wheeling on Tuesday (L 6-1, W 6-3) while Shippensburg hasn't played since March 10-11, winning four of five at West Virginia Wesleyan's weekend tournament. 

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
* Sophomore RHP Lauren Zola (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-La Salle) is coming off of a PSAC Central Pitcher of the Week nod, boasting a 1.62 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 34.2 innings in Florida last week
* IUP head coach Bill Graham is five wins shy of hits 250th career victory; He has guided IUP to six postseason appearances in the last seven seasons
* IUP is 7-47 all-time against Shippensburg, dropping each of the last five games dating back to 2013; The Crimson Hawks' last win over Shippensburg came in the 2011 PSAC Championships, defeating the Lady Raiders in back-to-back games (3-0, 8-1)
* Freshman Kaitlyn Beers (Reynoldsville, Pa./DuBois Area High School) and senior Hannah Mercer (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg Area) have been the best hitters so far this year, ranking first and second, respectively, with batting averages of .395 and .388; Beers and Mercer also have team-bests of five multi-hit games and two multi-RBI games, and are each on five-game hitting streaks