Point Park baseball had a tough battle against longtime RSC rival, Rio Grande. The team would have to matchup against the Red Storm for three games in two days. The first game would be at Washington Wild Things Park in Washington, Pa.
Going into this game, The Pioneers were at the top of the RSC with their 8-1 conference record. They are also first in batting average, and total homeruns hit.
The Pioneers would start Javier Cardoso, the team’s ace. The Red Storm’s starting pitcher was Daewin Spence.
The team did not get the start they wanted, as Rio’s lead off batter Luke Lindamood hit a homerun in an 0-2 count. Cardoso would get the next three batters out to end the first.
As the game continued, the Pioneers bat could not get going, they would go scoreless until the fourth inning when Brito would hit a single to bring in the runner on second to tie the score at one a piece.
In the second inning, Jared Campbell would bring in the team’s second run of the game, to take the lead with a 2-1 score.
The Red Storm answered quick, in the 6th and 7th innings, Rio would score four runs and go up 5-2, leaving little room for Point Park.
The Pioneers managed to get back on the board with a two run homerun by Luis Gonzalez to put Point Park down by one. Rio immediately answered quick and scored two more runs in the top of the ninth, now up 7-4.
Point Park had to rally the troops together, and unleash a comeback down by three with three outs remaining. The inning started well, as the first three hitters would reach base. A single by Gonzalez would bring in the first run of the inning.
Rio would make the final pitching change of the game, with two runners on base and no outs it’s a difficult position to be in. A groundout to third would bring in the next run, making it a 7-6 game. Tavares was up to bat, and one swing is all it took. A single to right field would bring in the tying and winning run, and complete the ninth inning comeback.
Point Park advanced to 9-1 in the RSC after this victory, and 16-7 overall. “ This victory showed resilience and how good the Pioneers can be at any moment.” said a point park parent in the crowd.”
After the walk off swing the team hustled out of the cold weather, and got back home to prepare for their next two games against Rio on the next day.
This game was an uno reverse card, as the Pioneers would be the team winning in the ninth, yet they ended up losing.
Point Park was up with a score of 7-4 at the start of the ninth. Rio would score a outrageous six runs to take the lead 10-7. The pioneers now are down in the bottom of the ninth, but could not add on any runs, and this would be their first loss after a ten game win streak.
This event was a doubleheader, so the winner of this next game would win the series. The Pioneers pitching was on top of this game, as the Red Storm scored zero runs.
Isaac Santana had two rbis in this game, and is still the hottest hitter on the team, leading the team in homeruns. The Pioneers scored three separate runs, and won the final game of the series 5-0.
Point Park loses their 10 game win streak and got handed their second conference loss in heartbreak fashion, but still sits at the top of the RSC. The Pioneers were ranked in the NAIA but after some out of conference losses, they dropped. The Pioneers will now go to Lourdes for out of conference play in hopes of remaining at the top of the RSC.
Both teams matched up in the first round on their half of the bracket in a game where Rio came out on top. Point Park did go on to win four straight in the losers bracket to be crowned RSC champions and get their revenge on the Red Storm.
