JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A ninth inning rally ended abruptly for the Crimson Hawks, who dropped a 5-4 decision to 14th-ranked West Chester, ending IUP's season at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Baseball Championships at Point Stadium.
With one out and a pair of runners on in the bottom of the ninth,
Nate Dickey (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) singled to right field to score
Anthony Rigous (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) and make it a one run ballgame. That's where it ended, as West Chester closer Josh McClain forced a double play on an infield ground out.
The loss was IUP's second in the double elimination tournament, ending its season with a 22-25 overall record. The second seed in the PSAC West owned an 18-10 divisional record, including a 9-3 league mark since April 21.
West Chester will play the loser of tomorrow's Lock Haven / Seton Hill matchup at 6:30 p.m.
Mike Klingensmith (Punxsutawney, Pa./Punxsutawney) took the loss for the Crimson Hawks, giving up four earned in four innings, striking out five in the start.
Brian Albert (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) gave up an unearned run in four innings of relief, also fanning five, and
Christian McClure (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) tossed a scoreless ninth.
The Crimson Hawks struck first with a three-run blast over the wall in left center off the bat of
Chris Eisel (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) in the second inning. It was Eisel's second homer in as many days, putting another over the big wall in left in the ninth inning on Wednesday against Lock Haven.
West Chester (34-10) scored a run in the third and two more on three hits in the fourth to tie the game at 3-3. The Golden Rams led off the fifth with a home run, before Albert took the hill and then picked up a run off of him to take a 5-3 lead.
After collecting nine hits in the first four innings off of starter Jon Fisher, IUP couldn't generate any more offense with four straight 1-2-3 innings. In the ninth, Rigous reached base on an infield error to lead off, with DeSanti singling two batters later before Dickey's RBI hit.
IUP in the PSAC Championships
The Crimson Hawks were making the program's 15th all-time appearance in the PSAC tournament, and the first since 2011. The postseason trip came under the guidance of first year head coach
Anthony Rebyanski, who won the most games (22) for a rookie coach in program history.
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