DUBOIS, Pa. – The IUP softball team rolled to a doubleheader sweep of Clarion on Sunday at Heindel Field in DuBois, recording wins of 12-0 and 13-7.
IUP (20-11, 6-5) posted its second divisional sweep of 2024, surpassing 10 runs for the eighth time this season. The Hawks mashed a combined 25 runs and 26 hits on the day.
Game One: IUP 12, Clarion 0 (5 Innings)
Six players collected multiple hits for IUP in a resounding 12-0 victory to begin the doubleheader. IUP pushed across seven runs in the third inning, continuing to pour it on over the fourth and fifth innings.
Delaney Patella and
Jordan Sylvia ripped home runs for the Crimson Hawks, which had six extra-base hits in the opening game.
Maddie Griffin,
Jaycee Haidze,
Tess Smiley,
Paige Truax and
Jess Cekada all had two hits apiece for the Crimson Hawks.
Meanwhile,
Kendall Young picked up her sixth win of the season in the circle. She tossed all five innings, scattering three hits and posting five strikeouts in the win.
Kelly Szolek delivered in a key situation, clearing the bases with a double for a 5-0 margin. Szolek had three RBI on the day with her timely double, while Patella scored three runs for the Hawks. Sylvia and Patella each added two-run homers in the fourth and fifth innings, ballooning the advantage to 11-0. Cekada rounded out the scoring with a run-scoring double in the fifth inning.
Game Two: IUP 13, Clarion 7
IUP had another seven-run inning in the second game of the day, racing to an early advantage. Posting seven runs in the second, IUP held a 9-2 advantage before the Golden Eagles slowly narrowed the gap.
Clarion trimmed its deficit to 9-7 in the fifth inning. From there,
Olivia Hillegas shut the door in the circle with two innings of scoreless relief. The IUP offense created some breathing room with four more runs in the seventh.
Working a patient approach in the second, IUP drew multiple walks and created traffic on the basepaths.
Madison Pikula opened the scoring in the frame with a single to left before
Maddie Griffin doubled home a pair of runs. Haidze highlighted the inning with a three-run homer for a commanding 8-2 edge.
The Golden Eagles answered back with a run in the third and a pair of runs each in the fourth and fifth innings. Leading 9-7, the Crimson Hawks got some insurance in the seventh inning with four more runs on the board. Among the key sequences was a two-RBI triple for Pikula that widened the IUP margin to 12-7.
Pikula finished 3-for-4 at the plate in game two with four RBI and three runs scored. Haidze racked up four RBI of her own, while Griffin collected three hits and three RBI. Truax scored three runs in the contest.
Up Next
IUP is back home for a divisional doubleheader against Slippery Rock on Tuesday, April 9 at 2:00 p.m.
Follow
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