After winning four games in a row, the Pioneers (RSC) are on a four game skid. St-Mary’s-of-the-Woods College and Oakland City University (14-11, 7-8 RSC) dealt Point Park two losses at home. 

The Pioneers faced St. Mary’s in a double-header on Thursday and fell 7-5. Senior pitcher Angelee Ball pitched all seven innings and allowed nine hits on top of walking five batters. Senior catcher Hailey Leitner was one-for-three at the plate with three runs batted in while Beall was two-for-three with a run scored and an RBI.

Neither team struck until the third inning when the Pomeroys brought home four runs. An error from the Pioneers pushed the SMWC batter to second which quickly turned into bases loaded after Beall walked two batters. A single up the middle and an error from PPU’s center fielder scored two runners. Another single up the middle scored two, but one was unearned. 

Sophomore infielder Melanie Taylor got on base thanks to an error by the visitor’s third baseman, and senior outfielder Cameron Meier hit a single to move her over. A single to the pitcher from Beall pushed Taylor to third, who then scored an unearned run thanks to a sacrifice fly from Leitner. PPU trailed 4-1 heading into the fourth.

St. Mary’s scored in the top of the fourth to extend their lead 5-1. SMWC put up a crooked number in the top of the seventh as the Pomeroys did not seem to struggle against the Pioneer’s pitching.

Sophomore outfielder Remi Koi hit a homerun before Beall hit a triple to score Taylor and Leitner hovered to score Beall and herself. Point Park tried to rally back in the bottom of the seventh as they put up four runs, but they still came up short.

The second game was no better for the home team as they could not generate a single run. The Pioneers were mercied 11-0 in five innings. Senior pitcher Jada Simon allowed 14 hits and nine earned runs to score in 28 batters. 

St-Mary’s-of-the-Woods was all over the ball and PPU’s defense could not keep up. They allowed seven runs to cross the plate in the second inning, two of which were unearned. 

As a whole, Point Park had a mere three hits. Taylor, Simon and senior infielder Mara Iagnemma each went one-for-two at the plate and Taylor was walked once. They must’ve forgotten to wake their bats up.

The hitting woes followed the Pioneers into the double-header the next day against Oakland City. Point Park only crossed home once and was routed 13-1. Taylor, Leitner and junior infielder Sydnie Reese each had a hit to combine for the sole three hits of the contest.

Beall threw 117 pitches in 6.2 innings to allow 14 hits and 13 runs, five of which were unearned. She struck out four batters and walked four in 36 at-bats.

Oakland City homered in the top of the second to lead 1-0 and then the Pioneers responded with a run to tie it at one apiece. The Mighty Oaks scored four runs in the top of the third and another run in the top of the fifth to lead 6-1 heading into the last inning. 

OCU grabbed seven runs in the top of the seventh to secure their win, as Point Park was not able to spark a comeback. The defense for the home team fell apart in the seventh as five of the runs scored were due to errors.

The Pioneers were able to get more runs on the board in the second game, but they still could not manifest a victory as they lost 8-4. Simon pitched all seven innings and let in six earned runs and 11 hits in addition to two batters walked. Taylor was two-for-three at the plate with a run scored and Meier and Koi were one-for-three with one run scored and an RBI. 

Point Park got on the board in the bottom of the first to lead 1-0 after Simon doubled to left center to push over the runners and score Meier. 

Oakland City ignited a spark in the top of the fourth inning that the Pioneers couldn’t extinguish. The Mighty Oaks put five runs on the board as they were eating up the pitching. 

Point Park responded with three runs of their own to trail by one (5-4). Koi roped a double to score senior outfielder Hayley O’Neil who ran for sophomore infielder Bella Magliocco. Koi scored after Meier smashed a single and Taylor moved to third. Taylor, who reached the bases on a walk, scored after Reese crushed a double. 

Oakland City struck again in the top of the seventh to muster up some insurance runs as the Mighty Oaks scored three runs, two of which were unearned. 

The Pioneers are going to need to find some consistency if they want to have a winning season. Point Park plays April 11 at Carlow University for a double-header set to start at 3p.m. PPU will then travel to West Virginia for a double-header against WVU Tech on April 14, set to start at 12p.m. The following day the Pioneers will travel to Ohio for a match against the University of Rio Grande.