ERIE, Pa. – The Crimson Hawks were robbed by a would-be walk-off grand slam by
Matt Swartz (Sarver PA/Freeport) in game one as IUP dropped both ends of a doubleheader with Gannon Saturday afternoon at McConnell Family Stadium.
The Crimson Hawks dropped game one 6-3 and game two by a score of 20-9. Gannon took three of four in the weekend series as IUP fell to 6-18 overall and 3-9 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division.
A one out single by
Chris Calliari (Brockway, Pa./Brockway Area) followed by walks from
Brock Bonadio (Connellsville, PA/Connellsville) and
Cory Wheeler (Butler, Pa./Butler) loaded the bases for IUP in the bottom of the seventh inning. Swartz then drove one deep to left but Kyle Cox brought the ball back over the fence to rob the Crimson Hawks of an exciting victory.
Jeff Allen (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg Area) had his best outing of the year, going 5.0 innings with a season-high five strikeouts. He scattered five hits, allowed two runs (one earned), and didn't walk a batter.
The Crimson Hawks took a 2-0 lead with a two-run home run by
Anthony Rigous (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) in the second inning. They went on top 3-1 in the fifth on an RBI double off the bat of
Cory Wheeler (Butler, Pa./Butler).
Gannon (18-10, 8-4 PSAC West) took the lead in the sixth with three runs and scored two more in the top of the seventh to go on top 6-3.
IUP totaled 12 hits in game two, but surrendered 19 to the Golden Knights while also committing three errors.
The Crimson Hawks scored in five of the first six innings, but seven runs by Gannon in the second followed by four in each of the next two were too much for IUP.
Nate Dickey (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) went 2-3 with a home run and three RBI.
Dan Sepic (York, Pa./Central York) also drove in three runs and Wheeler had a pair of hits.
Calliari, Wheeler and Dickey each had three hits in the doubleheader.
Up next
The Crimson Hawks play No. 18 Lock Haven (14-5) on the road Tuesday. They'll return to divisional play next weekend with a four-game series against Clarion (7-18).
Follow
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