INDIANA, Pa. — The IUP baseball team enters the final week of the regular season with its PSAC Tournament berth secured and sits in second place in the West Division heading into a crucial series against Pitt-Johnstown.
The Crimson Hawks are also ranked No. 8 in the latest Atlantic Region poll released by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, marking another sign of the team's strong late-season push.
IUP holds a 14-10 record in PSAC West play and is 27-18 overall as it prepares for its final conference series of the regular season.
Junior catcher and leadoff hitter Ricardo Aponte was named PSAC West Athlete of the Week after going 9-for-19 with three extra-base hits across five games.
Aponte drove in five runs — one in each game — while scoring four times and continuing to set the tone at the top of the lineup.
The Crimson Hawks have won 11 of their 16 division games during the month of April and have positioned themselves firmly in the postseason race.
Before returning to PSAC play, IUP will host West Liberty on Tuesday in a nonconference matchup.
The Crimson Hawks then travel to Johnstown on Thursday to face Pitt-Johnstown at Point Stadium before closing the regular season with a Friday doubleheader against the Mountain Cats at Dougherty Field.
Atlantic Region Rankings
- Seton Hill (37-9)
- West Chester (34-8)
- East Stroudsburg (31-13)
- Millersville (31-13)
- Shippensburg (27-17)
- Wheeling (33-13)
- Frostburg State (29-16)
t-8. California (Pa.) (25-18)
t-8. Indiana (Pa.) (27-18)
- Slippery Rock (27-15)
