JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Senior shortstop
Hannah Mercer (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg Area) set the school record for career hits and career runs scored as the IUP softball team split its regular season finale doubleheader with Pitt-Johnstown, dropping a 3-1 decision before recording a 6-0 victory in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play on Saturday at the V.E. Erickson Complex.
With the split, the Crimson Hawks earn the No. 3 seed in the upcoming 2017 PSAC Softball Championship and move to 24-17 overall and 13-7 in league play. Meanwhile, the Mountain Cats move to 15-23 overall behind a 4-16 mark in PSAC play.
Kaitlyn Beers (Reynoldsville, Pa./DuBois Area High School) led off the fourth inning with a single before reaching third on a fielder's choice by Mercer. With
Amanda Parrish (Dysart, Pa./Altoona) batting, Beers and Mercer executed a double steal as Beers stole home and Mercer swiped second. Pitt-Johnstown answered in the bottom half of the fourth as Kelsey Feeney hit a two-run home run to left field to take a 2-1 lead. Allison Rizzo then delivered an insurance run in the sixth with an RBI single to provide the winning margin.
Beers finished 1-for-3 with a run and a stolen base.
Lauren Goetz (Cleveland, Ohio/Cuyahoga Heights) was 1-for-3 as the Crimson Hawks were held to just two hits in game one. IUP starting pitcher
Lauren Zola (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-La Salle) tossed 6.0 innings while striking out three and allowing nine hits in suffering the loss.
IUP jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of game two after Goetz drew a one-out walk. She then scored on Mercer's home run to center. The Crimson Hawks extended the lead in the third. Mercer collected a one-out single and then stole second. Two batters later she scored her 134th career run on an error and broke record previously held by Angela Hileman (1999-2002). A Zola RBI single then pushed the lead to 4-0. One batter later
Kassie Kesneck (Houston, Pa./Chartiers-Houston) scored on a passed ball to make it 5-0.
Laura Cotter (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) added a solo home run in the sixth to make it 6-0. Mercer then broke Hileman's career hits record of 219 with an infield single to shortstop.
Mercer was 3-for-4 with two RBI, two runs and a home run. Cotter finished 1-for-3 with a home run, two runs and an RBI. Zola tallied two hits and an RBI. Kesneck was 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Crimson Hawks starting pitcher
Megan Risinger (Creekside, Pa./Marion Center) tossed a complete game while scattering four hits and struck out three in earning the win.
Up Next
The Crimson Hawks (No. 3 Central seed) will travel to Quakertown, Pennsylvania for the 2017 PSAC Softball Championship from May 3-6. IUP will square off against Shippensburg, the No. 3 seed in the East, with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP softball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_Softball.
