Turning away elimination for a third straight time in the NCAA Division II College World Series, surging IUP baseball pushed on and now sits one win away from the national championship game.
Elijah Dunn, a Norwin product, went 2 for 4 with a home run, double, four RBIs and two runs scored Thursday as IUP held off Angelo State, 10-8, to extend its first trip to the World Series in Cary, N.C.
The Crimson Hawks (41-17) will play Angelo State (43-20) again at 1:30 p.m. Friday for a spot in the final of the double-elimination tournament.
Dunn hit a two-run home run in the first inning to get the offense started before Blase Zieders added a two-run blast during a four-run fourth.
A two-run double by Dunn in the fourth gave IUP a 6-3 lead, which it stretched to 8-3 on Zieders’ homer.
Ryder McDaniel ripped a two-run double to left center for the Rams to make it 8-7 in the eighth.
But Zach Miller’s (Burrell) squeeze bunt in the eighth scored Harrison Pontoli (Beaver) for the 10th run and a two-run advantage.
The Rams had the bases loaded in the ninth, but IUP escaped the jam with Casen Sandri earning the save.
IUP also out-hit Angelo State, 10-8.
Ricardo Aponte had three hits and Pontoli scored three times for the Crimson Hawks.
Mark Edeburn (Peters Township) earned the win on the mound, tossing five inning while scattering six hits and five earned runs.
Three relievers helped to hold back Angelo State in Jimmy Tooley, Bryce Devan and Sandri.
IUP, which set a school record with its 41 wins, opened the CWS with a 2-1 loss to Point Loma on Saturday, but rallied back to clip Central Missouri, 4-3, and then Point Loma in a rematch, 1-0, before winning again Thursday.
What a wild game. A real heavyweight battle. Angelo State nearly pulls off the comeback, but @IUPBaseball escapes a bases-loaded jam and staves of elimination again! Angelos State's 6-game Cary win streak snapped.
— Wayne Cavadi (@WayneCavadi_D2) June 6, 2024
Angelo State and IUP, Part II tomorrow from Cary! #D2BSB pic.twitter.com/fTLbFhGAnx
Stayin’ alive ???????? pic.twitter.com/0clregdY4I
— IUP Baseball (@IUPBaseball) June 6, 2024
