INDIANA, Pa. – Winners of nine in a row, the IUP baseball team boasts the longest winning streak of any team in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) currently. The Crimson Hawks dispatched Pitt-Johnstown with a doubleheader sweep, posting victories of 6-2 and 10-1 on Friday.
IUP moved to 28-10 on the season with the sweep, moving to sole possession of first place in the PSAC West at 16-6 in the division. The 28 wins are the most in the
Steve Kline era and the highest single season win total for the program since 2010 (31-24 overall).
IUP recognized seniors
Blaise Zeiders,
Andrew Sicinski,
Zach Miller,
Mark Edeburn and
Harrison Pontoli for Senior Day between contests. Edeburn whirled his fifth complete game of the season in game two, following a lockdown effort on the mound from
Derrick Shields earlier in the day.
Game One: IUP 6, UPJ 2
Shields set the tone for the day with his third complete game of the season, allowing just three hits and two runs on the mound. Shields kept UPJ off the board until the sixth inning with IUP ahead 3-0.
Shields carved through the UPJ order, facing one over the minimum through three innings. Offensively, run-scoring doubles from Sicinski and
Brady Yard handed the Hawks a 3-0 advantage.
Two more doubles in the sixth, this time from Pontoli and
Ricardo Aponte, handed IUP a cushion at 6-2. Aponte and Yard registered two RBI apiece.
Pontoli scored a pair of runs in the eighth straight victory for IUP.
Game Two: IUP 10, UPJ 1
Edeburn picked up on the mound where Shields left off in game two. Surrendering just one run over seven innings, Edeburn fanned six in a complimentary effort for the Crimson Hawks.
Cementing himself among the top pitchers in program history, Edeburn moved to 5-1 on the season. With 228.1innings pitched in his career, Edeburn is .1 innings shy of matching Antony Zambotti (228.2) for the school record. He is tied for sixth in school history in wins (17), sixth in strikeouts (178) and third in starts (35).
The IUP offense collected 11 hits on the day, racing ahead 6-0 before passing the lead at 10-1 in the fourth. IUP bookended the scoring with two home runs, a solo shot for
Elijah Dunn in the first and a three-run blast by Yard in the fourth inning.
Peyton Johnson recorded three hits, while
David Kessler drilled a two-run triple in the second.
Up Next
IUP closes its series with UPJ on Saturday, April 27 in Johnstown. First pitch from Point Stadium was bumped back to 2:00 p.m.
Follow
For coverage of the IUP baseball program, follow the Crimson Hawks on X (Twitter), Instagram @IUPbaseball and online at IUPathletics.com.
