INDIANA, Pa. - The Crimson Hawks kept pace in the divisional race as they split a home doubleheader with Mercyhurst on Saturday afternoon at Dougherty Field. IUP won the first game 6-2 and the Lakers took game two 6-1. 

The Hawks are now 23-17 overall and one game back of the divisional lead with a 12-8 PSAC West mark. Mercyhurst is in a three-way tie for that first place spot in the division with a 25-10 overall record and a 13-7 markin the West.

Game one
The Hawks opened the scoring in the first when Austin Mueller homered over the fence in left center, bringing home Markus Cestra to make it a 2-0 game. Cestra then doubled home Au'sean Owens in the second and drove home Colin Williams with another two-bagger in the fourth, giving up a 4-0 lead.

The Lakers managed a pair of runs in the sixth but IUP added insurance runs in the bottom half with another Cestra RBI double and a sac fly by Harrison Pontoli. 

IUP starter Jimmy Tooley gave up just one hit in the first two innings and shut the Lakers down 1-2-3 in the third, fourth and fifth innings. He made it into the seventh inning before giving way to Eli Glass. Tooley picked up the win to improve to 7-0 on the year, giving up two runs on three hits while striking out one.

Cestra finished 3-for-3 with three doubles and three RBI. 

Game two
The Lakers scored first with a two-run homer in the first inning and had another home run in the second to take a 3-0 lead. RBI doubles in the third and fifth gave Mercyhurst a 6-0 lead through five innings.

IUP threatened in the sixth, with Mueller bringing Pontoli home with a one-out double. Peyton Johnson also singled but both him and Mueller were stranded. IUP then went down 1-2-3 in the seventh. 

Up next
IUP heads to Shippensburg for a midweek 9-inning game on Tuesday. The Hawks next divisional series is next weekend against Gannon. 

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