ERIE, Pa. – The IUP softball program posted a doubleheader split with Gannon on Monday afternoon in a rescheduled affair in Erie. The Crimson Hawks won the opening game by a 5-3 score in nine innings before the Knights answered back with a 7-4 win in the second game.
IUP (15-7, 1-1) has four divisional doubleheaders on tap this week after last week's action was postponed.
Jess Cekada came up clutch for IUP in the first game, belted a two-run home run in the ninth inning of the opening game.
Jordan Sylvia produced the IUP offense in the second game, driving in all four Crimson Hawk runs with a 3-for-4 effort at the dish.
Game One: IUP 5, Gannon 3 (9 Innings)
Cekada's third home run of the season proved to be the difference in the ninth inning, helping IUP secure a 5-3 victory in the opening game. The two-run shot came with two outs after an infield single from
Maddie Griffin.
Kendall Young fired 102 pitches in seven innings before
Amanda Fischer closed out the game in the eighth and ninth innings. Fischer earned the victory, not allowing a hit in the extra frames.
Paige Truax and Cekada had three hits apiece for the Hawks, which finished with 12 hits on the day against Gannon starter Gabi Vasi.
Tess Smiley added an RBI single in the third.
Truax leveled the score at three with a single to left, plating Sylvia in the fifth. The IUP pitching staff took control from there, keeping the Knights off the board. Young got a key groundout with the bases loaded to finish out the fifth.
Game Two: Gannon 7, IUP 4
IUP jumped out to an early advantage before the Golden Knights racked up seven runs over the third and fourth innings. Sylvia went 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI and
Tess Smiley scored a pair of runs.
In the circle,
Elizabeth Kasper and
Olivia Hillegas split time. Hillegas allowed just two hits and one run over her 2.2 innings of relief work. Sylvia opened the scoring in game two with a hard-hit single into center field. Smiley, on base throughout the day, and Briana Pusateri scored on the play for a 2-0 IUP lead.
The Knights regained the advantage at 7-2 after four innings, highlighted by a pair of home runs. Sylvia brought IUP back within three with a two-run single in the top half of the seventh. With runners on the corners and two outs, IUP would not get any closer as Gannon starter Maggie Lenda got out of the late jam.
Up Next
IUP returns to the field, continuing a busy week on Tuesday, March 26 for a home doubleheader against California (Pa.). First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m.
Follow
For coverage of the IUP softball program, follow the Crimson Hawks on X (Twitter) and Instagram @IUPsoftball and online at IUPathletics.com.
