The Pioneers swept their River State Conference (RSC) rival WVU Tech Golden Bears, going 3-0 in the road series this weekend. The team would win 12-2 on Friday, March 20, and win the Saturday, March 21 doubleheader by the scores of 14-4 and 8-0. The sweep officially lands the Pioneers at 13-7 on the season and raises their RSC record to 6-3. 

Game one was an offensive showing for the Pioneers in the seven innings match-up, raking up all 12 of their runs in the top of the 3rd and 4th inning. The Pioneers would give up the first two runs of the game off a single and a walk but would settle down and keep the Golden Bears from scoring for the rest of the match-up. Junior Emille Morillo would be the first to put runs on the board with an RBI double in the third, which would be followed up by a monster three-run homer off the bat of senior Antonio Carrillo to put the Pioneers ahead for good. 

The following inning would be an explosion for Point Park, scoring eight runs on only five hits. Junior Dylan Winseck would start off the scoring with an RBI single, which would be followed by a multi-run single by Morillo. The next three runs would all come off of bases-loaded walks for the Pioneers and would be capped off by a two-run single off the bat of Winseck again. Winseck would end the night going a perfect four for four as well as three RBIs. Senior Ed Pfluger would also go a perfect three for three for the night from the plate. 

“We’ve got quality at-bats since the first innings of the games,” sophomore Danilo Leon said. “We try to put the ball in play and work the backside of the field, and that helped us a lot during the weekend.” 

Senior Nicholas Beardsley would start and finish the game for the Pioneers, going the complete seven innings, giving up six hits and two runs while striking out six in the solid outing. 

Game two would be another big game offensively for the Pioneers, not even allowing the Golden Bears to get a chance at the lead by scoring seven in the top of the 1st alone. Point Park would only record four hits in that 1st inning, but key base hit singles and taking walks would chase WVU Tech’s starter before the end of the first. The Pioneers would then go on to score two in the top of the third and fourth, as well as scoring a solo run in the tops of the 7th, 8th, and 9th to end the match-up. Sophomore Luis Hernandez would go four for four at the plate with an RBI in the game, making for three different players to go a thousand at the plate for the Pioneers over the weekend. Winseck and Morillo would both record a hit and two RBIs a piece, with sophomore Michali Brito leading the team in RBIs with four with a hit and a walk. Senior Christian Negron would start for the Pioneers, going seven innings in the win while giving up four runs and striking out five. Sophomore Easton Klien would relieve Negron in the 8th, striking out once in his solo inning of work. Senior Ryan Huber and Freshman Tyler Pullin would finish off the opposition in the 9th with a strike-out apiece for them. 

“I think the key for us is the synergy, the combined effort of each part of the team,” Morillo said. “We play for each other with a positive mentality.”

Game three came out to be a great all-around effort for the Pioneers, pulling off the sweep with an 8-0 victory in the seven-inning match on Saturday evening. Point Park would strike early again, putting up three runs in the top of the first, thanks to a groundout by Sophomore Ty Andrews and a two-run Carillo single. Senior Jouseph Renovales would single home a run in the top of the fourth, who would then score on a wild pitch later in the inning. 

The Pioneers would finish off WVU Tech with three runs in the top of the 7th, started by Renovales bringing home another run while reaching on an error. Morillo would take advantage of the Golden Bears’ defensive mistakes as well, scoring two after a dropped fly ball in the same inning. Senior Cole Horew would go five innings as the starter for the Pioneers, giving up a measly three hits while striking out two. Junior Jonathon Pacheo would relieve Horew in the 6th, striking out the side, and would be followed up by senior Ruben Ramirez, who would shut the door with a walk and a strike-out. 

The Pioneers will travel up north this week after spending most of their season south of Pennsylvania, heading to Ann Arbor, Michigan on Tuesday, March 23, to face off against Concordia University in a doubleheader. The team will then travel back home on Friday, March 26, and Saturday, March 27, to face off against RSC rival Brescia University in their first home series of the season. Point Park will then end the month of March with another home series against Fisher College on Sunday, March 28, and Monday, March 29. 

“We have a really good group of guys that fight for each other,” Leon said. “We fight till the end. We’re looking to keep that momentum going with solid hitting, pitching, and clean defense.” 

The sweep of WVU Tech also lands Point Park in fourth place in the RSC, just behind Midway University and ahead of Brescia University.