INDIANA, Pa. – A leadoff seventh inning home run from Max Mandler proved to be the difference as IUP dropped a 5-4 decision against Seton Hill in the NCAA DII Super Regional best-of-three series on Friday afternoon at Dougherty Field.
Making the team's first NCAA Super Regional appearance in program history, IUP (36-16) evened the score on the sixth inning on a
Davin Landers sacrifice fly before Seton Hill (41-15) countered back in its next trip to the plate.
Mark Edeburn surrendered five runs over seven innings with a pair of strikeouts.
Jason Madrak followed with a scoreless pair of innings on the mound. Andino Vecchiolla entered in relief for the victory and Michael Marinchak collected the final four outs, picking up his fifth save of the year.
Peyton Johnson notched three of IUP's eight hits on the day with
Harrison Pontoli adding two more knocks. The Crimson Hawks strung some hits together at the onset of the game, moving ahead 1-0 in the first on a grounder from
Ricardo Aponte. Down 2-1, IUP responded with a run-scoring knock from Johnson in the home half of the fourth.
SHU had a response of its own in the sixth with two runs, including one on a misplayed ball in left for a 4-2 margin. Landers worked IUP even once again with his seventh inning sacrifice fly.
IUP has matched the program record for wins in a season and will need to set the school record in order to keep its season alive in the best-of-three NCAA Super Regional.
Up Next
IUP and Seton Hill continue the NCAA Super Regional series on Saturday, May 24 at 11 a.m.
If necessary, game two begins at 2 p.m.
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