INDIANA, Pa. – The IUP softball team (15-15, 7-5 PSAC West) heads into the final week of the regular season looking to make a final push for the postseason with three doubleheaders on the schedule. The Crimson Hawks will host PSAC East opponent Bloomsburg (20-16, 6-6 PSAC East) Wednesday before getting back to divisional play against Seton Hill (31-8, 8-4 PSAC West) and Pitt-Johnstown (16-19, 4-8 PSAC West) this weekend. The Hawks host Seton Hill on Friday and finish the regular season in Johnstown on Saturday.
LAST TIME OUT
>> The Crimson Hawks went 1-3 last week, all against divisional competition. IUP split a doubleheader with Slippery Rock and dropped two to Cal U.
POSTSEASON PUSH
>> IUP is battling for position in the division with four PSAC West games left in the season.
>> The Hawks are currently fourth with a 7-5 divisional record. Cal U leads the West at 9-1, Gannon is 2nd at 9-3 and Seton Hill is 3rd at 8-4. Trailing the Hawks are Mercyhurst (6-6) and Edinboro (4-6).
>> The top five teams from each of the PSAC's two divisions advance to the conference tournament next week in Quakertown.
SERIES NOTES
>> IUP and Bloomsburg have not played since 2019 when they were in the Central Division, with the Huskies taking three of four.
>> The Hawks have dropped 12 of their last 16 against Bloomsburg dating back to the 2016 season.
RHUE HAVING CAREER SEASON
>>
Jenna Rhue is one of the top sluggers in Division II, ranking 15th in HR/game (.33), 48th in RBI/game (1.03) and 46th in slugging percentage (.756).
>> 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 9.0 at-bats, slightly behind the pace of the current IUP single season record set by
Kaitlyn Beers (8.7) last year.
>> Rhue is hitting .356 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 50 stolen bases in 60 attempts this season, a percentage of .833.
>> They average 1.67 steals per game, which is the highest rate in program history.
>>
Joelle Snyder has 15 steals in 16 attempts. Freshman
Allyssa Schmidt ranks second on the team with 12 steals.
NEWCOMERS MAKING A SPLASH
>> Four of IUP's top five hitters are newcomers, and all are batting over .300 on the year.
>> Grad transfer
Joelle Snyder leads the team with a .364 batting average and is 3rd on the squad with a .505 slugging percentage.
>> Snyder also leads the team with 23 runs scored, 36 hits, a .422 on-base percentage, and 15 stolen bases.
>> Freshman
Sara Tailford is 3rd on the team batting .338, freshman
Jordan Sylvia is 4th at .316, and freshman
Allyssa Schmidt is 5th at .313.
>> Those four players have also combined for 15 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers, 42 RBI and 36 stolen bases.
