JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – IUP baseball saw a pair of tie games go the other way as the Crimson Hawks dropped both ends of a doubleheader to Pitt-Johnstown on the road Friday afternoon. The Mountain Cats won games of 5-2 and 4-3.
Ben Teplin had a team-best three hits on the day and
Jeff Allen struck out seven in game two with the Crimson Hawks falling to 6-13 overall and 0-6 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division.
Allen went a full 6.0 innings but gave up 10 hits and four runs, all earned, in addition to his strikeout total. He's now 3-2 on the season.
Claus got the call in game one, striking out four in 5.0 innings while scattering six hits. None of the five runs he allowed were earned. Claus fell to 1-4 on the year.
Nine different players collected a hit for the Crimson Hawks, with Teplin,
Luke Hollander and
Markus Cestra each getting multiple base knocks.
Game one
After the Mountain Cats (15-9, 3-3 PSAC West) scored a pair in the second, IUP came back to tie the game in the top of the third by taking advantage of UPJ miscues.
Hollander led off the inning with a single and two batters later
Chris Eisel reached on an error. Two batters later and with two down, another throwing error allowed Hollander and Eisel to score and tie the game at 2-2.
UPJ didn't waste any time regaining its lead scoring three runs on two hits and a pair of IUP errors in the bottom half, going on top 5-2.
The Crimson Hawks threatened in both the fifth and seventh innings but left two runners stranded in each frame.
Game two
The Crimson Hawks took their turn getting on the board first when
Ty Diehl knocked Teplin in on a double to left center. Teplin had led off the inning with a single and advanced to third on a throwing error after
Nick DiAndreth's sacrifice bunt.
DiAndreth would get caught stealing and a pair of strikeouts ended the threat.
The Mountain Cats took the lead in the bottom half with three runs on five hits, including a 2-RBI single.
IUP tied the game in the fifth with a 1-out RBI single from
Markus Cestra that scored DiAndreth and Teplin. But again, two straight strikeouts left a pair of runners stranded.
UPJ led off the bottom half with a home run to take a 4-3 lead and forced the Crimson Hawks to leave two more runners on base in the sixth.
Up next
The Crimson Hawks and Pitt-Johnstown wrap up their series Saturday afternoon. The doubleheader has officially been moved to Point Stadium in Johnstown. First pitch Saturday is noon.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP baseball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPBaseball.
