WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The IUP softball team had a roller coaster day to open action at The Spring Games in Florida.
IUP (9-3) started the day with a dramatic 11-10 win against St. Michael's (1-3) in 11 innings.The Crimson Hawks then took on fifth-ranked Grand Valley State in a game that did not reach its conclusion.
Play was stopped in the fourth inning against the Lakers due to an injury and no stats for the contest are counted.
Paige Truax posted a game-high five hits for the Crimson Hawks, none bigger than the go-ahead knock in the 11th inning.
Maddie Griffin went 4-for-6 at the plate with three RBI.
Sara Tailford and
Madison Pikula added two hits and two runs scored each. Both IUP and St. Michael's finished with 18 hits on the day.
In the circle, the Crimson Hawks used three different pitchers.
Kendall Young earned the win (4-1), tossing the final 5.1 innings of relief and allowing two runs.
Elizabeth Kasper made the start, tossing 2.2 innings before giving way to
Olivia Hillegas for three innings.
IUP struck first on a
Delaney Patella single back up the middle for a 1-0 edge in the first. SMC pushed across three runs in the home half of the third inning before IUP found a rhythm offensively.
The Hawks battled back with a run-scoring single from Griffin in the fifth, later breaking out with a five-run sixth inning. Griffin delivered again with runners in scoring position, driving home two with the bases loaded for a 6-3 margin.
Leading 7-3, St. Michael's used a five-run sixth inning and regained the advantage in a back and forth matchup. The Hawks led 9-8 and 10-9 in extra innings before the Purple Knights answered back.
Jordan Sylvia ripped a single to right in the eighth before Regan Rand came around to score on an error in the ninth. Truax put IUP ahead for good in the 11th inning with a single up the middle that scored Smiley from second, beginning the inning at second as part of the international tiebreaker rule for softball.
Young got the final three outs in the bottom half of the 11th. A sacrifice bunt moved the potential tying run to third before Young got a popup and groundout to secure the victory.
Up Next
IUP returns to the field tomorrow (March 10) for a doubleheader against Missouri St. Louis and New Haven. The opening game begins at 3:00 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.
