INDIANA, Pa. – The IUP softball team was not deterred by rain and wind, opening up the season in style with a pair of run-rule victories against Wheeling. The Crimson Hawks rolled to wins of 12-3 and 19-8, both combining in five innings.
 
Jess Cekada led a well-rounded offensive charge for IUP in the opening games of the season, going a combined 6-for-7 (.857) with two home runs, one double and five RBI.
 
Madison Pikula added five hits for the Hawks in the leadoff spot, including a triple against the wall in center on the first pitch of the season. Overall, had five players with four hits or more across the doubleheader sweep.
 
Kendall Young settled in during her first collegiate start, allowing three runs in the first inning of game one before locking in the rest of the way. Among those with four hits were transfers Maddie Griffin and Reagan Rand, who both slotting into the starting lineup seamlessly in what appears to be a dynamic lineup for the Crimson Hawks and head coach Shawna Bellaud.
 
Game One
IUP fell behind early in the first game as Wheeling plated three runs before the Crimson Hawks stepped to the plate. IUP wasted little time working the score tied, evidenced by Pikula's triple on the first pitch of the bottom of the first.
 
She eventually came home to score on a sacrifice fly from Griffin before Cekeda delivered a game-tying double to right field. That hit to the wall scored Delaney Patella and Rand as IUP worked back even at three.
 
Young shut the door from there for IUP, tossing four scoreless innings the rest of the way. She finished with a pair of strikeouts, earning the win I her collegiate debut.
 
The IUP offense put up another three-spot in the second and late blew the game open with six runs in the third. Leading 6-3, Cekeda led off the third with a home run to center. It opened the floodgates for the Crimson Hawks in the third, which pushed across five more runs in the frame.
 
Jaycee Haidze made the score 11-3 with a single to right before Olivia Hillegas rounded out the scoring with a single of her own following a Wheeling pitching change. Young worked a perfect fifth that included consecutive groundouts to Patella at the start of the frame.
 
Game Two
With windy and rainy conditions moving in for the start of game two, IUP exploded for 12 runs in the first inning. It proved to be all the offense IUP needed, despite Wheeling answering back in the third.
 
A home run for Madison Kay lifted Wheeling to an early 2-0 lead in the first. IUP nearly batted through the lineup twice in the home half of the first, kept alive by three Wheeling errors. Haodze had a pair of run-scoring doubles in the frame for the Hawks, handing the hosts a 3-2 lead before breaking the game open for an 11-2 advantage. 
 
Haidze finished the second game with three extra-base hits, two doubles and a triple to go along with four RBI.
 
IUP tacked on one more run in the second for a 13-2 margin. Wheeling did not go quietly, adding five runs of their own in the third and one more in the fourth, pulling within 13-8.  The Hawks responded back in a big way the next inning for the third time in the doubleheader, plating six runs to pull away for good.
 
Patella, the reigning PSAC West Freshman of the Year, smacked a two-run double to right. She ultimately came around to score on a triple to right from Haidze. Cekeda put an exclamation mark on the proceedings with a homer to right, plating Hillegas for a 19-8 cushion.
 
Elizabeth Kasper earned the win in relief, allowing two hits over 2.1 innings of action in the circle.
 
Up Next
IUP is back home next Wednesday, February 21 for a doubleheader with West Liberty, beginning at noon.
 
Follow
For coverage of the IUP softball program, follow the Crimson Hawks on X (Twitter) and Instagram @IUPsoftball and online at IUPAthletics.com.