INDIANA, Pa. – The IUP softball team (14-12, 6-2 PSAC West) returns to divisional play this weekend as the Crimson Hawks play at Slippery Rock (12-15-1, 1-5 PSAC West) on Friday and hosts Cal U (15-8, 5-1 PSAC West) on Saturday. 

It will be a big weekend on IUP's South Campus as the Hawks celebrate Senior Day and Alumni Day on Saturday during their games with the Vulcans. 

LAST TIME OUT
>> The Crimson Hawks went 1-3 last week, dropping both ends of a doubleheader at Gannon while splitting games at Shippensburg.
>> Renee Wall had a huge weekend, hitting .727 with a 1.636 slugging percentage and 6 RBI. 
 
SERIES NOTES
>> IUP is 11-7 against Slippery Rock since the 2013 season. The Hawks took three of four from The Rock last year. 
>> The Hawks are 2-15 against Cal U since 2014, splitting the four-game regular season series in 2021.

RHUE HAVING CAREER SEASON
>> Jenna Rhue is one of the top sluggers in Division II, ranking 9th in HR/game (.38), 28th in RBI/game (1.12) and 33rd in slugging percentage (.790).
>> She ranks 2nd in the the PSAC in home runs (10), HR/game and RBI/game, and is 3rd in slugging.
>> She's averaging a home run every 8.1 at-bats, which is ahead of the current IUP single season record set by Kaitlyn Beers (8.7) last year.
>> Rhue is hitting .358 on the year with six multi-hit games, including three games with 3+ hits. 
>> She was a All-PSAC Central selection as catcher her freshman year (2019). Last season she suffered through mid-season injury, only playing in 20 games with 19 starts last season. 

NEED FOR SPEED
>> The Crimson Hawks have 45 stolen bases in 53 attempts this season, a percentage of .849.
>> They average 1.73 steals per game, which is the highest rate in program history.
>> Joelle Synder is perfect this year stealing 14 of 14. Freshman Allyssa Schmidt ranks second on the team with 12 steals.
 
NEWCOMERS MAKING A SPLASH
>> Four of IUP's top seven hitters are newcomers, and all are batting over .300 on the year.
>> Grad transfer Joelle Snyder leads the team with a .398 batting average and is 3rd on the squad with a .557 slugging percentage. 
>> Snyder also leads the team with 23 runs scored, 35 hits, a .442 on-base percentage, and 14 stolen bases. 
>> Freshman Sara Tailford is 2nd on the team batting .373, freshman Allyssa Schmidt is 4th at .338 and freshman Jordan Sylvia is 7th at .310. 
>> Those four players have also combined for 14 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers, 42 RBI and 34 stolen bases.

WALL GETTING BACK ON TRACK
>> With the help of her big weekend, Renee Wall increased her batting average by nearly 70 points, going from .240 to .328.
>> Wall went 8-for-11 on the weekend, nearly doubled her season RBI output (6 of 14), had 2 of her 3 doubles on the year, and 2 of her 4 home runs. 
>> Wall is a two-time All-PSAC selection, including PSAC Central Freshman of the Year (2018) and PSAC Central Athlete of the Year (2019).