ERIE, Pa. — The IUP baseball team picked up two more wins on Sunday, knocking off Gannon by scores of 7-5 and 12-5 on Sunday in Erie. 
 
IUP has won five straight, improving to 11-4 and 4-0 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play. The Hawks manufactured some offense in game one, holding on late for the victory. In game two, IUP busted the game open with seven runs in the fourth. 
 
Zach Miller finished with five hits on the day and Harrison Pontoli added a home run, three walks, five RBI and three runs scored. Ricardo Aponte also had five hits between the two games. 
 
IUP combined for 19 runs on the day, defeating Gannon (2-14, 0-4) for a seventh consecutive contest since 2022. 
 
Game One: IUP 7, Gannon 5 
IUP starting pitcher Jake Black worked through two bases-loaded jams in the first two innings, holding the Knights scoreless on each occasion. In the first inning, Gannon loaded the bases with two outs before Black dealt his second strikeout of the frame. The Knights loaded the bases again in the second, this time with nobody out, before Black got out of trouble again by retiring the next three batters. 
 
The timely outs kept Gannon off the board early and allowed IUP to muster offense. The Hawks scored a run in five different innings for a 7-0 lead. Gannon battled back, pushing across five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. 
 
Black earned the win, moving to 3-1 on the season after striking out eight. He allowed 10 hits and five runs over 5.2 innings, numbers not entirely indicative of his timely pitching early on. All those Gannon runs came in the sixth inning before Cooper Baxter entered for the eventual save with 1.1 innings of hitless relief.
 
Miller went 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored, while Davin Landers drove in two runs with a pair of run-scoring singles. Harrison Pontoli and Peyton Johnson each walked twice and scored two runs. 
 
IUP manufactured offense throughout the day, posting runs via a walk, two sacrifice flies and a groundout. Landers pushed IUP ahead 1-0 with a single that plated Johnson in the second inning. Teague Hoover raced home on a single from Owens in the fourth before Harrison Pontoli and Aponte smacked sacrifice flies for a 5-0 margin. 
 
Hoover walked twice for the Hawks, continuing to string together quality at-bats this season.
 
Landers delivered another RBI single, this time in the fifth for a 6-0 margin. Brady Yard scored Pontoli with a productive groundout in the sixth before the Knights found some offense in the home half of the frame. 
 
Baxter sent the Knights down in order in the seventh with relative ease, picking up his first career save. 
 
Game Two: 
IUP broke the game open with a big fourth inning, pushing across seven runs to regain the momentum. That run support helped starter Nathan Mankoski, who pitched into the fifth inning. 
 
Mankoski earned the victory, going 4.2 innings while allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits. Casen Sandri followed on the mound, allowing his first run in five relief appearances. 
 
Gannon started the second game of the day in a similar fashion to the first, loading the bases. This time the Knights converted in the home half of the first, plating two runs for an early lead.
 
Following a leadoff single from Ricardo Aponte, Brady Yard slapped a double to get IUP on the board. The Crimson Hawks continued the momentum in the fourth, taking the lead at 3-2 on an Andrew Sicisnski double that proved to be a turning point. Owens swung on a well-placed infield single that stayed just fair, scoring another run in a big fourth inning. 
 
From there, IUP benefited from some wild pitching from Gannon with the bases loaded in the fourth. Pontoli drew a walk, Yard was plunked and Johnson walked with runs coming home on each occasion for a 7-2 margin. 
 
The Knights added anther on a fourth inning RBI single from Reece Colvin, who was thrown out at second on a strong relay from Owens for the final out of the frame. Owens was impactful defensively, showcasing his strong range and speed in center field.
 
IUP tacked on another run in the sixth on an RBI single from Sicinski, expanding the lead to 9-3. Pontoli cracked a big homer, widening the lead to 12-3 in the seventh. 
 
Up Next 
IUP baseball has a busy week ahead, beginning with another trip to Bloomsburg on Tuesday, March 26 at 2:00 p.m. 
 
Follow
For coverage of the IUP baseball program, follow the Crimson Hawks on X (Twitter) and Instagram @IUPbaseball and online at IUPathletics.com. 
 

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