Point Park’s baseball team played on the road this weekend against the Asbury University Eagles, winning game one 4-3 on Friday, March 5, and losing games two and three 3-0 in both games on Saturday, March 6. The Pioneers will start the month of March with an 8-4 record, although they will stand at 1-2 in River State Conference (RSC) play. The boys’ next game will be at Lourdes University in Sylvania, Ohio, in a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 9. 

Game one started with a run for the Eagles in the bottom of the third to give them a 1-0 lead, but it would be the only time they would lead during the contest. The Pioneers’ bats wouldn’t get going till the top of the fourth inning, thanks to the bat of Sophomore first baseman Ty Andrews, who would launch a solo homer to tie the game up at 1-1 and boost his home run total to three on the season. Junior right fielder Alejandro Pelaez would break the tie in the top of the sixth with a base hit until the Eagles would squeak across another run to tie it at 2 apiece in the bottom of the inning. Senior utility man Antonio Carrillo would put the Pioneers ahead for good in the top of the seventh, plating the go-ahead run with a stinging single. He would give the Pioneers an insurance run in the top of the ninth with a sac fly to put Point Park up 4-2. 

“Honestly, it goes back to the coaches and the team. All the work we put in together, helping with swings,” Andrews said while talking about his home run and the offense. “Also, them believing in me and motivating me keeps me relaxed. Knowing they have my back no matter if I’m hitting homers or if I’m struggling helps a lot.”

Starter Nick Beardsley would go 5.1 innings and only give up a run and struck out two, while senior reliever Ruben Ramirez would come in to pitch the remaining 3.2 innings to claim the win, striking out four and keeping the Asbury scoreboard clean for the rest of the game. 

Games two and three would be a bit more empty-handed for the Pioneers’ offense, leaving 18 runners on base between the two games. Neither team would score during the first five innings of game two, with both pitchers keeping the opposition at bay throughout the contest. Point Park’s defense would break first sadly in the bottom of the sixth, with Asbury being able to scratch across a run, effectively ending senior starter Marco Qiuntanar’s night after going 5.1 innings and giving up one unearned run while striking out three. Ramirez would come in to relieve again and would allow two more runs (one earned) in the bottom of the seventh and eighth to finish out the game while striking out two. Senior Christian Negron would start in game three for the Pioneers in the seven-inning nightcap, going 4.1 innings while giving up two runs (one earned) while also striking out three. Junior Jonathon Pacheo would come in to relieve Negron, pitching 1.2 innings to finish off the game while giving up an earned run and striking out one. The Pioneers would record only three hits in game three, the lowest amount they had recorded all season. 

“It was one of those days that we just weren’t getting key hits we needed with runners on,” Andrews said. “We just need to flush those two games, make our adjustments, and come back better this week.”

The Pioneers will look to bounce back with a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 9, against the Lourdes University Grey Wolves on the road. Point Park will then travel to Rio Grande, Ohio, to play back-to-back doubleheaders against another RSC rival, the University of Rio Grande Red Storm, on Friday, March 12 and Saturday, March 13. The Pioneers currently sit in sixth in the RSC standings in the early season with a 1-2 record in RSC play.