Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Lady Pioneers fight for clutch wins

After losing four consecutive games to three different teams, the Point Park University Softball team was battling to stay alive in the second game against Ursuline College late last Thursday. In the top of the second inning with Point Park leading 1-0, Ursuline’s Liz Miller, hitting number eight came to the plate with the bases loaded.  Miller then hit a grand slam making the game 4-1. “It was kind of a tough blow, but at the same time I was confident that we could recover from it because once our backs are against the wall, we tend to fight that much harder for the win,” said junior outfielder Larissa Banks in an email interview. Banks had two hits in the second game against Ursuline including a double that drove in three runs in the bottom of the third to tie the game 6-6. “I was down in the count with two strikes on me but I realized that I had no other choice but to swing and try to put the ball in play to give us a chance at scoring,” says Banks.  “And after I hit it, I knew we were going to win that game.”The Pioneers went on to finish the game with three more runs giving them the win at 9-6.  The Pioneers continued their endeavors and won both games against Malone University on Saturday.  This gives the Point Park Softball team a record of 14-13 overall and 4-2 in the American Mideast Conference. In their conference, Point Park’s only other loss was against Mt. Vernon Nazarene on April 1, where they split the games with a win of 5-3 and a loss in the second game, 10-9.  Both games were decided in the seventh inning with late key hits. When asked in an email interview what the team does to stay competitive junior outfielder Nichelle Navarro says the team is, “Preparing [themselves] both mentally and physically.”Preparing for games has been rather difficult for the team. As of April 8th, Head Coach Michelle Coultas states that the team has no had one outside practice on a field.  “Nice days we play, and every other day it rains and we are indoors,” Coultas said in an email interview. “We are very limited indoors at this point in our season.”But even with these limitations the team was able to pull together on offense and defense to get one of two wins against Ursuline in their last home game.  In the second game, senior pitcher Kristen Zelenka gave up only two singles when she entered the game in the third inning before retiring the last 13 batters she faced.  Zelenka threw five scoreless innings and improved hers season earned run average to 2.20 and has a total of 35 strikeouts this season.The most devastating blow came to Ursuline in the bottom of the fourth inning from freshman shortstop Ashley Morran.  With no outs and two players on base, Morran hit a three run home run over the left field.  Morran was two for three on the day with a double earlier in the game.  This is her fourth homerun of the season this year.  Morran, Banks, Navarro, and senior first base Julie Campbell all had two hits a piece to help contribute to a total of 12 hits compared to three from Ursuline.Point Park continued to rally wins against Malone with scores of 6-4 and 6-1 Saturday. “When we played Malone this past Saturday, we did awesome and that is the team that we know we can be and so much more,” said Navarro. The next home game for the Point Park softball team is scheduled for Friday April 15th, at 3 pm on their home field of Lind Field at Fairhaven Park in Kennedy Township.It is USG T-shirt Day and a Fan Van will be provided.  For more information visit the Point Park softball schedule on the Point Park University Athletics website. 

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All Point Park Globe Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *