CARY, N.C. – IUP baseball scored the lone run of the game in the first inning, rode a stellar starting effort from
Jake Black and received a lockdown ninth inning from
Bryce Devan during a 1-0 victory against Point Loma, eliminating the Sea Lions in the DII College World Series.
IUP moves to 40-17 on the season, holds off elimination for a second time in the DII College World Series and advances to the national semifinals on June 6 against the defending national champions in Angelo State. Black recorded the longest outing of his brief IUP career, whirling a two-hit gem over eight innings.
IUP got some slick defensive plays throughout, none bigger than a sprawling grab by
Harrison Pontoli to close out the eighth inning. It was all part of a Black's season-saving start on the mound for the Crimson Hawks that spanned eight scoreless innings and 100 pitches.
A rematch from last Saturday (June 1), the Crimson Hawks found themselves on the winning side of a low scoring pitching battle this time around against the Sea Lions.
After two extended at-bats to lead off the game, the Crimson Hawks struck first in their initial trip to the plate, which proved to be the lone run of the afternoon.
Elijah Dunn laced a ball to left field, scoring Pontoli for a quick 1-0 advantage before the Crimson Hawks shut the door from there.
IUP posted six hits on the day and held Point Loma to three hits. Devan recorded a second straight save for IUP, logging his sixth consecutive relief appearance (eight innings) in a high leverage situation. Devan's last three outings have consisted of 3.2 innings of shutout relief in the Super Regional championship game against Seton Hill and ninth inning saves in the DII College World Series against top-ranked Central Missouri and Point Loma.
On the mound, Black retired PLNU and closes out the second inning, setting the tone for his start.
Ricardo Aponte cracked a one-out double in the third, stranded at second after consecutive outs.
Black continued rolling on the mound, not allowing a Point Loma hit until the fifth. Working ahead in the count most of the day, Black kept the Point Loma lineup off balance with 14 flyball outs.
Au'sean Owens drew a walk to begin the IUP half of the fifth, swiping second on a wild pitch. Ray Cebulski wiggled out of the jam for Point Loma with three consecutive outs that did not allow Owens to move past third.
Cebulski had an outstanding start of his own, tossing seven innings with nine strikeouts.
Pontoli ranged to his left on a hard-hit ball to finish out the eighth before Devan closed out the win.
Up Next
IUP is back in action on Thursday, June 6 against Angelo State at 11 a.m.
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