Seton Hill welcomed IUP to town on Saturday for a PSAC West doubleheader to open the four-game weekend set between the teams. After the Crimson Hawks used an early outburst to key a 7-2 victory in the first game, the Griffins used a stellar pitching performance from Jared Dowey and Caiden Wood to blank IUP 8-0 in the second game and gain a split on the day.

The opening game saw the Crimson Hawks jump out to a 7-0 lead after two innings. In the first frame, a hit batter and two walks fueled a six-run surge and in the second, a leadoff single was followed by a stolen base, a balk and wild pitch to perch IUP out to that big lead.

The SHU bats were limited to an Owen Sabol double through the first three innings and they didn't get on the board until the fifth. A dropped fly ball with two outs allowed the first run to score, which was followed by a RBI single by Vincenzo Rauso to trim the Hawks lead to 7-2. But the Griffins managed just one more base runner through the final two innings, as IUP secured the 7-2 triumph. Rauso had two of Seton Hill's four hits in the game and also stole a base.

The game one starter for SHU was Kevin Vaupel and after a leadoff single in the second, Brandon Bergert entered in relief and threw four hitless innings, striking out five while walking two. Payton Faris then threw two perfect innings to finish the game, which set the tone for the nightcap.

Dowey took the hill in game two for Seton Hill and blanked the Crimson Hawks on one hit through the first three innings. The Griffins managed just a walk through the first two innings, but broke out in the third. Rauso collected the first RBI when an error allowed a runner to score and then Jack Oberdorf cracked a two-run triple. That was followed by back-to-back RBI doubles by Neal McDermott and Tanner Froehlich to give SHU a 5-0 lead. 

That would more than enough support for the Seton Hill pitchers in this one. Dowey got the first two batters in the fourth and was lifted after a two-out walk, with Caiden Wood coming in from the bullpen. He walked the first batter he faced, but that was the last runner to reach for IUP. Wood got out of the inning with a ground out and then Seton Hill added two more runs in the fourth. A leadoff double by Omar Ward, his second of the game, started the rally. Braden Durham singled him to third and after Durham stole second, both runners scored on single by Rauso to make it a 7-0 lead. 

The Griffins tacked one more run in the fifth on an RBI single by Brett Morris. Meanwhile, Wood was in complete control, as he retired the final nine hitters on the afternoon. His 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief gave him the win to raise his record to 4-0 for the season. After the Crimson Hawks' early outburst in the first two innings of game one, Seton Hill pitching blanked IUP over the final 12 innings on one hit while striking out 14 batters.

With the sticks in game two, Rauso was the big hitter, going 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs. McDermott had a solid game was well with two hits, two runs scored and one RBI. Ward and Durham had a pair of hits as well, while Froehlich and Morris drove in one run each.

The teams are scheduled to complete the series Sunday with a doubleheader at IUP set to begin at 1 pm.