Baseball, basketball stars inducted into Pioneer Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday
October 2, 2018
Point Park University announced two alumni would be enshrined in the Pioneer Athletic Hall of Fame midway through September. The Class of 2018 includes baseball’s George Schroeder and women’s basketball’s April Austin.
The pair was officially celebrated last Saturday at the induction ceremony as a part of the university’s eighth annual Point Park Athletics Alumni Weekend.
Schroeder played first base for the Pioneers from 1993-94 and again from 1997-98. He accumulated numerous accolades throughout his career including two National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Honorable-Mention All-American honors, Northwest Region Player of the Year and Keystone-Empire Collegiate Conference Player of the Year.
The first baseman helped pave the Pioneers’ return to the NAIA World Series in 1998 with a record of 46-6-2. As a senior, Schroeder hit .371, recorded a career-high 50 RBIs and scored 67 runs.
“It was a very talented team, himself and a lot of other talented players, but by all accounts, he was a guy that was a team leader that really pushed them to that success, and you need that,” Assistant Athletic Director Kevin Taylor said.
In 1997, as a junior Schroeder batted .378 with 14 doubles, six triples, two homers and 46 RBIs.
Schroeder was not concerned with his statistics and the numbers of his career. He emphasized relationships, specifically those with friends, family and his teammates.
“That’s what I think about, and that’s what I’m most proud of as I leave this stage tonight,” Schroeder said.
The Pittsburgh native remains close to home teaching social studies at Pittsburgh Carmalt.
Austin, a 2013 graduate, completes the Hall of Fame Class of 2018. The basketball star originally played for NCAA Division I University of Dayton before transferring to Point Park.
“She left there after a semester and came to us, and that was our gain,” Taylor said.
In three and a half seasons, Austin remains one of the best players to suit up for women’s basketball.
“She’s a high-caliber player, very fast and athletic,” Taylor said. “She could shoot the three, she could drive, she could do it all.”
Austin led the Pioneers to their very first conference title and NAIA national tournament appearance in 2011-12 and completed the same feat the following year. She earned NAIA Honorable-Mention All-American as well as two all-conference player honors.
The North Catholic High School all-state player ranks eighth all-time with 1,252 points, second with 398 assists and fourth with 272 steals. In her last two years, Austin was nationally ranked in assists and steals. Austin leads the green and gold in 3-pointers with 191.
A humble Austin never realized her impact on the Pioneers.
“You truly don’t understand what you’ve done until someone else tells you what you’ve done,” Austin said in her speech
The point guard returned to the court following graduation but not to play. Austin served as an assistant coach until her latest engineering assignment sent her to St. Louis, Mo.
