BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — IUP softball tied the program record for wins in a season Friday before its PSAC Tournament run came to an end in the semifinals.
The Crimson Hawks opened the day with a 2-1 victory over West Chester, earning their 38th win of the season to match the 2010 and 2011 teams for the most wins in program history.
IUP later fell to East Stroudsburg 7-3 in an elimination game despite bringing the tying run to the plate in the seventh inning.
Junior Kendall Young delivered a complete-game performance in the win over West Chester, allowing one run on eight hits across seven innings.
The Crimson Hawks defense backed Young throughout the game, handling 19 balls put in play without committing an error. Young recorded six ground-ball outs and 13 fly-ball outs.
Trailing 1-0 entering the sixth inning, IUP mounted the game-winning rally. Delaney Patella led off the inning with a single before Jess Cekada delivered a two-out RBI single to tie the game. Sydni Hoobler followed with an RBI triple that proved to be the difference.
In the semifinal matchup against East Stroudsburg, the Warriors surged ahead with six runs over the first two innings.
IUP got on the board in the fourth inning, but East Stroudsburg added another run in the sixth to take a 7-1 lead into the final frame.
The Crimson Hawks attempted a late comeback in the seventh, scoring two runs and loading the bases to bring senior catcher Reagan Rand to the plate as the tying run. Rand ultimately fouled out to first base to end the game.
Taylor Bumgardner took the loss after allowing six runs on five hits in 1 2/3 innings.
IUP's postseason run ended in the PSAC semifinals after a strong tournament showing that included victories over Kutztown and West Chester, two teams ranked No. 3 and No. 7 in the Atlantic Region entering the tournament.
The Crimson Hawks entered the postseason outside the top 10 in the regional rankings despite winning the PSAC West regular-season title.
