After Point Park softball found three wins in a row, they were fed three back-to-back-to-back losses on the road against River State Conference opponents. The Pioneers (13-15, 10-10 RSC) defeated WVU Tech (16-10, 6-10 RSC) in the first match-up before being routed 7-1 by the Golden Bears and then losing 2-1 and 5-1 to the University of Rio Grande. 

Point Park vs. WVU Tech

In the road victory against WVU Tech, senior pitcher Angelee Beall threw all seven innings and struck out four batters while allowing six hits and one run to score. Junior infielder Sydnie Reese was one-for-three at the plate with one run scored and two runs batted in while senior first baseman Alex Bondi was two-for-four at the plate with one RBI and one run scored. 

Point Park scored first after Reese hit a home run in the top of the second inning to score herself and bring home Bondi, who was on base thanks to a single to the shortstop. The Pioneers found the board again in the third after they dropped a crooked number courtesy of a single from Bondi that scored sophomore infielder Melanie Taylor. Reese reached first on an error to score Beall and give PPU a 4-0 advantage, which remained the score until the bottom of the sixth when the Golden Bears found a run. The home team was not able to rally, and Point Park won game one, 4-1. 

The Pioneers offense was quiet in the second game while WVU Tech’s offense found a rhythm to defeat PPU 7-1. Senior pitcher Jada Simon pitched the entire game and struck out five batters but allowed nine hits and seven runs. Bondi was two-for-three at the plate and Beall went one-for-three with an RBI, the sole RBI of the game for the visitors.

Point Park scored first in the top of the third inning after Beall singled to score sophomore outfielder Remi Koi, who ripped a single to get on base. The Pioneers did not cross the plate again for the remainder of the game, but the Golden Bears tacked on a handful of runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to propel them to a 7-1 victory. WVU Tech mustered up nine hits while PPU had five hits.

Point Park vs. University of Rio Grande

After the business trip to West Virginia, the Pioneers traveled to Ohio to face Rio Grande for another double-header. The first game was a close contest with neither team scoring until the sixth inning, but Rio Grande put up a crooked number in the bottom of the inning and held down Point Park’s offense to secure the final score, 2-1 in favor of Rio. 

Taylor was two-for-three at the plate and homered to score the sole run of the game for the visitors. Beall was one-for-three at the plate and pitched the entire game. She struck out two batters but allowed eight hits. 

The second game was no better than the first for the Pioneers, as they once again only managed one run. Taylor singled down the line to right field and was then pushed to second due after senior outfielder Cameron Meier had a sacrifice bunt. Beall hit a single to center and Taylor crossed the plate. Point Park’s offense was never able to get hot and they lost, 5-1. 

Rio Grande had nine hits compared to PPU’s five. Beall was one-for-four at the plate with the only RBI of the contest. Bondi was two-for-three and Taylor was one-for-three with one run scored.

Simon pitched 4.1 innings and allowed eight hits and had only one strikeout. Beall was in the circle for the final 1.2 innings of the matchup and allowed one hit. 

Point Park will face Siena Heights University at Fairhaven Park in a double-header on April 18th, before publication. The Pioneers will then host Brescia University in a double-header on April 21 and Indiana University Southeast on April 22 for another two-game series. Point Park’s last home series will be against WVU Tech on April 24 before going on the road for their final three regular season games. Scores, updates and any other information can be found on the athletics website, pointparksports.com.