• Game 1 Box Score
• Game 2 Box Score

WASHINGTON, Pa. (March 17) – After falling 8-5 in the Game 1 on Saturday, the Vulcans rallied to claim a doubleheader split against IUP with a 7-6 win in the nightcap at CONSOL Energy Park in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.

With the split, the California University of Pennsylvania baseball team moves to 10-10 overall with a 1-1 mark in league play. Meanwhile, IUP moves to 8-9-1 this season and holds a 1-1 record in divisional action.

In Game 2, junior Kyle Petty (Stewartsville, N.J./Phillipsburg) allowed six runs (five earned) after scattering 11 hits and three walks in 7.0 innings (136 pitches). He now holds a 5-0 record this season and leads the team with a 3.11 ERA in six appearances (five starts). IUP reliever Austin Mock (0-2) was saddled with the loss after allowing one run (unearned) on one hit in 1.0 inning (12 pitches).

The Crimson Hawks benefited from a pair of errors in the second to take a 1-0 lead before adding a pair of runs in the third, 3-0. Cal U answered with six runs on five hits in the bottom of the third to take a 6-3 lead. With the bases loaded, freshman shortstop Matt Peters (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) lined an RBI single before sophomore third baseman Chuck Gasti (Carmichaels, Pa./Carmichaels) was hit by a pitch to cut the deficit to 3-2. Senior center fielder Troy Handza (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) followed with a two-run double and sophomore left fielder Ben Carson (Coal Center, Pa./California) lined a two-run triple. IUP evened the score in the fourth at 6-6 on a three-run triple by right fielder Aaron Lupia.

In the bottom of the sixth, Carson started the inning with an infield single and stole second before redshirt sophomore pinch hitter Giovanni Morales (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) reached on a catcher's interference. The Vulcans then executed a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position before Carson was tagged out at third after being running too far down the third-base line. Senior JB Sapienza (La Plata, Md./La Plata) then delivered a go-ahead, pinch hit RBI triple to right-center field to score Morales from second. IUP had runners on the corners with two outs in the seventh before Handza caught the final out of the game on the warning track.

Carson went 2-for-3 with two RBI in the win, while Peters also collected a pair of hits to extend his hitting streak to six games. During his streak, Peters is batting .556 (10-for-18) with three doubles, five RBI and five runs.

In Game 1, IUP scored a run in each of the first two innings before scoring twice in the third to take a 4-0 lead. The Vulcans answered in the bottom of the fourth with runs on a ground-out and an RBI single by Peters, 4-2. The Crimson Hawks expanded their lead in the fifth with a two-run homer by designated hitter Dylan Songer before scoring an unearned run in the sixth, 7-2.

Cal U cut the deficit to 7-5 in the sixth on four hits and one walk. Senior second baseman Kyle Bowser (Stoystown, Pa./North Star) led off the inning with a single before scoring on an RBI single by Gasti. Later in the inning, Handza and Carson posted back-to-back RBI singles before IUP added an insurance run in the seventh, 8-5.

Seven different players posted a hit in the loss with Peters going 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.

Junior Kyle Thomas (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) suffered the loss after yielding seven runs (six earned) on six hits and a career-high seven walks in 6.0 innings (125 pitches). IUP's Stephen Cook (2-0) earned the complete-game victory after allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits with eight strikeouts in 7.0 innings (102 pitches).

The Vulcans continue their series with the Crimson Hawks tomorrow, Sunday, March 18, with a doubleheader in Indiana, Pa., at 11 a.m.