JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The IUP softball team picked up a doubleheader split on Wednesday with a 12-0 run-rule victory before a tough 12-11 setback in game two.
IUP is now 22-13 overall and 8-7 in league play following the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference doubleheader. Pitt-Johnstown moves its record to 6-18 (3-9).
Just one day after head coach
Shawna Bellaud recorded her 100th career win, the Crimson Hawks had two more milestones on Wednesday. With her third inning single in game two,
Jordan Sylvia reached 100 collegiate hits. Additionally,
Delaney Patella set a new mark for walks in a season (32), moving to fourth in career base on balls.
Game One: IUP 12, UPJ 0 (5 Innings)
IUP raced ahead early, scoring in every inning during a resounding opening game victory against the Mountain Cats.
Kendall Young racked up her eighth win of the season with a shutout effort in the circle.
Already leading 3-0,
Jess Cekada cleared the bases with a one-out double. The extra-base knock scored
Paige Truax,
Tess Smiley and Sylia for a commanding 6-0 advantage.
Jaycee Haidze belted a homer in the second and kickstarted the scoring for the Hawks in the third with a single.
Madison Pikula widened the IUP margin to 10-0 with a two-run double in the third before Sylvia registered career hit number 99 with an RBI double in the fourth. Sylvia eventually scored on a throwing error in the fifth, rounding out the offensive outburst at 12-0 for the Hawks.
Patella had three hits on the day, while Pikula,
Maddie Griffin, Haidze and
Kelly Szolek added two knocks apiece. Young whiffed five, allowing just three hits on the day.
Game Two: UPJ 12, IUP 11
A pair of seventh inning home runs, including a two-run walk-off from Kayla Miehl pushed UPJ to a wild 12-11 victory in the second game against the Crimson Hawks. The Hawks accounted for eight straight runs spanning the second, fourth and fifth innings for a 9-3 lead before UPJ clawed back.
Pikula and Haidze posted three hits apiece, marking a five-hit day for Pikula between the two games. Sylvia and Truax posted two hits apiece, while Patella walked twice to secure the single season record.
Miehl mashed two homers for UPJ in game two, posting five RBI with a 3-for-4 showing at the plate. Mia Smith nabbed her fifth win of the season in the circle with a complete game effort.
In the fifth, Sylvia capped off a three-run inning for the Hawks with a single for a 9-3 margin. Jenna Tallman countered back in the home half of the fifth with a three-run blast of her own, slicing the Mountain Cat deficit to 9-7. Ahead 10-9, Patella provided IUP some insurance with a solo homer in the seventh.
UPJ led off the bottom of the seventh with a homer before Miehl walked the game off with a two-run shot.
Up Next
IUP is tentatively scheduled to host Gannon on Friday, April 12 for a doubleheader at Podbielski Field. First pitch is at 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.
