Point Park vs Malone

Point Park split the double-header against Malone University (6-9) on Tuesday. The Pioneers (1-6) dropped the first game 5-2 and produced seven hits in 28 at-bats. 

Senior pitcher Angelee Beall pitched all seven innings and allowed seven hits on top of two walks and three strike-outs. 

Malone University scored one run in the top of the first inning on a run-batted-in double. Beall singled to the left side with two outs in the bottom of the first, but that was the only hit of the inning for the Pioneers. Malone went on to put up a crooked number in the second inning and score three runs thanks to a solo homerun and a single to center field that scored another two runs.

Point Park reached the plate in the bottom of second after senior first baseman Alex Bondi singled to the left to score junior infielder Sydni Reese, who was on second after she nailed a double to the left. The Pioneers had two hits in the bottom of the third, but the third to sixth inning was scoreless on both sides. 

Malone broke the scoring drought in the top of the seventh to take a 5-1 lead. Point Park was able to manifest one run, but they couldn’t rally to pull off a walk-off win and fell 5-2.

Point Park was able to regroup and shut Malone out, 3-0, in the second game. The Pioneers had six hits in 24 at-bats and three RBI’s but left five runners on base throughout the game. Senior pitcher Jada Simmon pitched seven innings and allowed five hits but struck out three batters. Sophomore infielder Melanie Taylor was 2-of-3 at the plate and scored two runs. 

The Pioneers scored two runs in the first inning courtesy of a home run from Bondi with Taylor on base. The bats were quiet up until the bottom of the fifth inning when Taylor broke the silence with a triple to right. Senior shortstop Mara Iagnemma reached first on a fielder’s choice and Taylor scored to grab a 3-0 advantage. Neither side scored in the remaining inning and a half, which marked another tally on the left for the Pioneers (2-6).

Point Park vs University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg

The Pioneers returned to Fairhaven Park the next day to face the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg (3-7) in a double-header. Point Park won the series and only allowed two runs to score in 12 innings. Beall pitched all five innings in the first game. The Export, PA native allowed three hits and one run and struck out four batters in 17 at-bats.

Bondi had two hits in three plate appearances, sophomore outfielder Remi Koi was 2-of-2 at the plate with two runs and Taylor went 2-of-4 with two hits. 

Pitt-Greensburg got on the board first after a single to the right side to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. The Pioneers responded in the bottom of the second to tie the game up after senior outfielder Hayley O’Neil singled to center to score senior outfielder Cameron Meier, who reached first on an error by the Bobcats.

Point Park rallied in the fourth inning and scored five runs and had a stolen base. Koi singled to the left to score Moore, who pinch ran for Bondi then stole second. Taylor followed up with an infield single to score O’Neil, who was walked. Beall doubled to the left and scored Iagnemma, Taylor and Koi to lead 5-1. PPU left three runners on base but they got through the line-up more than once.

The Pioneers scored another three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to execute the mercy rule against Pitt-Greensburg. Taylor knocked a triple to the left to score Koi, who singled to the left to get on base. Senior catcher Hailey Leitner singled to center field to score Taylor and push Iagnemma, who was walked, to second. Reese doubled to left to score Iagnemma and won 9-1.

In the second and last game of the series, the Pioneers won 7-1. Simon pitched four innings and allowed one run and four hits along with one strike out. Senior pitcher Courtney Shoemake came in and pitched the remaining three innings. Shoemake allowed two hits and struck out two batters in 11 at-bats. 

Simon got the Pioneers on the board first after she roped a double to the left in the second inning to score Moore, who pinch ran for Bondi. Pitt-Greensburg scored an unearned run in the top of the third inning, but Point Park responded with three runs in the bottom of the same inning. The Bobcats were held scoreless for the remainder of the game thanks to solid pitching and a Pioneer defense that stayed strong.

Reese scored and the rest of the runners moved to the next base after Simon singled up the middle to make it a 2-1 ball game. Meier followed up with a single to left to score Bondi and push Simon to third base. Sargent kept the two-out intensity alive with another single to score Simon. Three runners were left on base and the Pioneers were up 4-1 after Koi lined out to shortstop.

Point Park’s bats got quiet until the sixth inning when they generated another three insurance runs. Iagnemma started it off with a single to center and then scored after Simon singled and moved Reese, who was also on base because of a single, over to second. Freshman catcher Gianna Welsh singled to center and scored Reese and Chavez to go up 7-1, which ended up the final score.

Meier was three-for-three at the plate with one RBI and a stolen base while Simon was three-for-four with three runs batted in during the winning effort.

The doubleheader at Midway that was scheduled for Friday the 24th was postponed as well as the doubleheader that was set for Sunday against Kentucky Christian University. The match against Asbury University was canceled. Makeup dates are to be determined.

For streaming, schedules and more information see Point Park’s athletics site,  pointparksports.com.