The Crimson Hawks boast a 14-4 record after a season-opening stretch of games in North Carolina and Virginia. The mark is the best 18-game start for IUP since 1992.

With more than 30 games to play, IUP needs just six wins to match last season's total.

"The things that are coming together right now, our older kids are providing extremely good leadership and team chemistry off the field," Ditch said, "and obviously, their ability on the field is leading the way.

"Our returning younger guys have had valuable experience from playing a lot last year. … Those young guys have experienced a lot of baseball as freshmen, and they've just developed physically.

"And the third group and kind of the final component of the whole thing, is all the new recruits have really inserted themselves into the positions where we needed help. So all three of those components have just come together and provided us with a great start." 

But simply matching last season's win output isn't what the Crimson Hawks are trying to do.

"Just knowing right now that we're only two weeks into the season and we're six games away from where we were last year just tells a lot about our team," senior pitcher Chris Twigg said. "Getting that 20th win is going to be a relief as soon as we can possibly get that. Then we can move on to our next stage, which is to get 30 wins this year."

Winning 30 games would be an accomplishment for any team, especially IUP's program. Since 1993, IUP has had one winning season and reached the playoffs once. And just two seasons ago, when Ditch began rebuilding the program in his first season, IUP was 10-41.

At this stage of the season, the Crimson Hawks have put themselves in a good position to have a winning record, and they expect to be competitive in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

"Respect is not given to us until we've earned it," senior pitcher Dan Snyder said. "Because of our history, respect has not been given to IUP baseball, and deservedly so. Shippensburg, Slippery Rock, California, all at one point in the season have been ranked in the top 30 in the nation. … It's going to be tough. … But I think we're showing some guts now, and I like our chances a lot. We need to find a way to beat them, and I think we'll be all right."

Twigg and Snyder, both local products, have been key components of the Crimson Hawks' starting rotation. The starters have posted a 12-2 record in 18 starts while giving up 2.2 earned runs per game, even with Twigg seeing limited action.

Snyder is 3-0 in three starts and owns an overall 4-0 record with a win in relief. In 19 innings this season, the Indiana High School graduate has given up just seven earned runs.

Conversely, Twigg has made only one start this season, allowing three earned runs in four innings of a no-decision. His limited workload is a precaution because he is still recovering from injuries, Ditch said. Twigg, a Penns Manor graduate, injured his ankle at the end of last season.

Ditch said Twigg has recovered from that setback. During the fall and winter practices, however, Twigg was bothered by shoulder stiffness, and that's what is holding him back.

"The last two years, on paper, he's been our ace," Ditch said. "He has thrown amazingly for us and gotten us a lot of important wins. … We were slowed down in the fall because his shoulder was hurting him a little bit. … We tried to get him going in January, and he sort of had the same stiffness in his shoulder. So we only gave him one start on the spring break trip when all the other starters got two starts. We've kind of been cutting his work in half. I guess the expectations don't change. He's been the ace for two years, and he can continue to do that in whatever role that is."

Twigg said his recovery is progressing favorably.

"I feel I'm where I almost need to be with working out my shoulder problem," he said. "It's just so nice to see that there are younger guys stepping up to the plate and picking up where I should be right now."

The most noticeable difference between last year's team and the 2008 squad is the offensive output. Through 18 games, the Crimson Hawks are averaging 9.6 runs per game and have scored at least 11 runs in six games. At the same stage of last season, they were scoring 4.7 runs per contest and had been shut out three times.

"The past couple years, we've had trouble scoring runs," Snyder said. "This year, our hitting and runs scored have dramatically increased. As a pitcher, that really takes a lot pressure off me just to be able to go out and not be worried about giving up that one or two runs and losing a game. Our hitters just learning to take the ball the other way and have quality at-bats, and that is really why we've had success so far."