INDIANA, Pa. - The IUP baseball team (23-22, 12-12 PSAC West) look to conclude one of their best seasons in years as the Crimson Hawks head into a four-game weekend series against the Clarion Golden Eagles (10-32, 5-19 PSAC West). The Golden Eagles will host the first doubleheader on Thursday at the First Commonwealth Field in Homer Center, Pa. followed by IUP hosting on Sunday, which will be Senior Day for the Hawks. First pitch on Thursday is set for 4 p.m. while Sunday's first pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.  

The Crimson Hawks were on the wrong side of a weekend series sweep while still remaining in the PSAC tournament hunt. They lost to the now division PSAC West leading Gannon Golden Knights who went on to secure first place for the time being in the West thanks to their performances this past weekend. IUP is now currently residing in 6th place within this tight division with division rival Clarion on the horizon for this weekends matchup. Clarion is currently on a nine-game losing streak faltering to surrounding PSAC West opponents. They have posted a 3-10 home record this year while coming in at 6-21 on the road.

HAWKS FLYING HIGH
>> IUP enters the weekend having gone 10-8 overall since April 11, including a 7-7 in divisional play.
>> The Hawks are hitting .330 in those 14 games and are outscoring opponents 8.39 runs to 6.17 runs. 
>> During this span the Hawks posted a 7-game win streak, which is the longest by an IUP team since the 2013 season.
>> IUP scored 10+ runs four times during its 7-game win streak.
>> The 26 runs against Kutztown last week were the most since 2003, the first year of complete statistics.

DIVISION RACE HEATS UP
>> It's a tight race in the PSAC West with just a few games separating the top six teams in the standings.
>> Gannon has a formidable lead in first with a 17-7 division record while IUP is sixth at 12-12. Cal U and Mercyhurst are tied for third at 14-10. 
>> The Hawks wrap up league play this weekend with four games against Clarion (10-32, 5-19 PSAC West).

HAWKS LEFT OUT OF FIRST REGIONAL RANKINGS
>> IUP is on the outside looking in as the NCAA Selection Committee debuted its Division II baseball regional rankings on Wednesday. It was the first of three releases before the complete 56-team field is announced on Sunday, May 15. 
>> The top-10 teams in the Atlantic Region were released with IUP not being one of them. The top seven teams in the Atlantic will earn selection to the NCAA championship.
>> IUP is among the top-5 in the region in DII strength of schedule (3rd, .544), DII performance indicator (4th, 12.500), and in-region RPI (5th, .544). But the Hawks are 13th in the region in both DII win percentage (.575) and Atlantic Region win percentage (.568). 
>> IUP is looking for its first NCAA tournament berth since 1990. 

IUP IN PLAYOFF MODE
>> This is the latest in the season that IUP has been in the playoff race since 2017. That year the Hawks finished second in the division with an 18-10 record.
>> IUP is looking for its first PSAC tournament berth since 2017 and its fourth since 2010. 
>> The Hawks have won two of their five divisional series this year, including 4-0 against UPJ and 3-1 against No. 22 Slippery Rock. IUP also split four-game series with No. 13 Seton Hill and Mercyhurst. 

BIG IMPROVEMENTS
>> IUP has had it's fastest to 20 wins this season since before the 2011 season when the Hawks reached 22 in 42 games in the 2013 season. 
>> The 23 wins this year is better than IUP's win total from the 2019, COVID-shortened 2020, and 2021 seasons - combined. 
>> In those seasons the Hawks went a combined 20-73. 

LOADING THE BASES
>> Three Hawks currently have an OPS of over 1.000 with a min. of 129 at bats, led by Markus Cestra with 1.093.
>> Markus Cestra, Torrey Roper, and Harrison Pontoli lead the team in triples with 4 each. 
>> Four Hawks have double-digit doubles, led by Cestra with 21. 
>> 10 different players have combined to hit 34 home runs in 45 games. Last year IUP hit 10 homers in 37 games. 
>> IUP enters the week tied as the second best-hitting team in the PSAC with a .320 average.
>> The Hawks are 5th in slugging percentage at .506, 2nd in doubles with 101, and 1st in triples with 17.

SPEED ON THE BASEPATHS
>> The Hawks are 54-72 (.750) in stolen base attempts in 2022.
>> They have already accumulated more total stolen bases in 2022 than they did last season when they posted 33 stolen bags on 42 attempts.
>> IUP has five players with at least 7 stolen bags this season. Au'sean Owens leads the team with 12 steals on 15 attempts.

ALL THE TOOLS
>> Jimmy Tooley suffered his first loss as a Crimson Hawks succumbing to the offensive prowess of Gannon as IUP faltered 9-5.
>> Tooley leads IUP in wins (7-1), shutout (1), and second in WHIP (1.34). He also leads all starting pitchers in ERA (4.73) and second in opponent batting average (.255).
>> He's averaging 6.99 Ks per 7 innings, fanning a season-high 8 batters against Wheeling and No. 22 Slippery Rock. 
>> Tooley pitched a solid game fanning 6 batters, allowing 7 hits and gave up 6 runs in 6.0 innings of work in his performance against Gannon.

NEW FACE LEADS THE WAY
>> Veteran MLB pitcher and coach Steve Kline was named the program's 14th head coach last summer.
>> He spent the last 15 seasons as a pitching coach in the San Francisco Giants organization, aiding pitchers such as Madison Bumgarner, Luis Castillo, Sam Coonrod, and Zack Wheeler, among others.
>> Kline appeared in 796 games over 11 seasons in the Majors with Cleveland, Montreal, St. Louis, Baltimore, and San Francisco.