Point Park is now 8-12 and 4-8 in conference play after a tough road trip for the girls. Although the record is not brilliant, there is still a lot of softball to be played, and the Pioneers have a resilient group that is very capable of turning things around. 

The trip started on Saturday when the Pioneers faced off against the red-hot Indiana Southeast Grenadiers, who came into the doubleheader against the Pioneers off two wins over Ohio Christian University. The Grenadiers were also 11-1 in the conference, sitting at first in the west part of the River States Conference. 

The opening game was a pitcher’s duel at first glance, as no team could draw first blood. It was scoreless heading into the fifth inning. 

This all changed when the Grenadiers put on a flawless offensive performance to put the game out of reach for the Pioneers. Cassi Roman hit a triple to center field to get the scoring rally started with one out. Next batter came up and Issy Wright lined out. With two outs and a base runner on third, the Pioneers looked to get out of the inning scoreless. 

The Grenadiers proceeded to get hot, thanks to an explosive two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth. It started with a pair of hits from Brynlea Bennett and Autumn Oehlstrom to make the score 2-0. 

The knockout punch from the Grenadiers came from Erin Templeman, who scored a two-run homerun over the centerfield fence to make the score 5-0 going into the sixth. Although Pioneer pitcher Jaylyn Mullenax had a strong first four innings giving up no runs, the fifth inning was just not her’s. 

The very next inning, the Grenadiers refused to take their foot off the gas pedal. They put up five more runs, with the final score being 10-0 Grenadiers.

The second game of the doubleheader was more of the same for the Pioneers. In this series, they scheduled to hit as they only had five combined hits in the series which added up to one run.

Indiana Southeast Pitcher Madison Wathen pitched an outstanding complete game, and the Pioneers struggled to figure her out throughout the game. Wathen finished the game only giving up two hits, one earned run and 11 strikeouts. 

The Grenadiers opened up the first inning with the opening score with a Macie Zink single down the left field line to score Oehlstrom. The Grenadiers would proceed to put up the next three runs, making the score 4-0 heading into the top of the seventh. 

The Pioneers needed a seventh-inning rally, and they opened the inning with two strikeouts. Mia Arndt would get her first career home run to score the first run for the Pioneers in the series. However, it was not enough, as the Pioneers fell to a score of 1-4. 

The Pioneers would head to Kentucky to face the Midway Eagles, a team that is in a bit of a slump with a conference record of 6-6 and an overall record of 8-14. The Pioneers could not afford to have a 0-4 road trip and they desperately needed to win one of the games.

The first game of the doubleheader was more of the same for the Pioneers, as right from the jump the Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 lead with pairs of singles from Kennadi Thompson and Sawyer Snodgrass. 

The Pioneer offense needed to wake up, as the pitching was struggling throughout the three games of the road trip. The Pioneer’s offense once again struggled to contribute, and the Eagles made quick work of the Pioneers scoring eight unanswered runs. 

The top of the fifth was really the only bright spot for the Pioneers, as Mia Arndt singled to left field. She was then driven in by Remi Koi. The final score would be 9-1 Eagles in five innings.

With their backs against the wall in their final game of the road trip, pitcher/infielder Savannah Lee reflected on the previous three games, saying, “I think as a team we didn’t go into Saturday’s games with high energy, and it carried over into Sunday’s first game. In between games we talked about going into the next game with clear minds and with a positive attitude and I believe that helped us to fight back and win the second game.”

With that, infielder Sydnie Reese also commented on how passionate and battle-tested this team is and how their conviction to win never faded away. 

“As a team, we knew what we expected out of each other as well as ourselves. Seeing the results of three of the games, it was a little discouraging. One thing that I love about this team is that we can forget what has happened and we can go into the next game with a different mindset as well as fixing our mistakes,” Reese said. 

“I think that this team has the most potential, and everyone here sees that, so I think that our mindset going into our last game was to stay on top and be each other’s ‘pick-me-ups,’” she said.

Game two of the series was all Pioneers, as they dominated right from the start. Savannah Lee was a force to be reckoned with in this game, as she was nearly unhittable. The Eagles struggled to figure her out all game. The bats also finally woke up for the Pioneers, combining for nine hits as a team. 

The score was 0-0 through the first three innings. Although the Eagles scored first in this game in the bottom of the fourth, the Pioneers responded with a four-run fifth inning. Multiple errors and wild pitches cost the Eagles in the fifth inning, and they never bounced back. Pioneer Sydnie Reese hit a three-run home run, driving in Mara Iagnemma and Melanie Taylor. 

Reese reflected on her home run ball. “I did know that it was gone right off the bat! My approach going into my last at-bat was to attack anything in my zone that I can drive,” she said. “I wanted to be able to get the two runs on base to score and I was able to produce for the team.”

Pitcher Savannah Lee ended the game pitching all seven innings, only giving up one run and one hit in a dominant performance. 

“I was able to pitch a good game because of the amount of confidence I have on the defense behind me,” Lee said. “Having a lot of confidence with the girls on the field helps me stay focused and relax when pitching because I know they’ll do their jobs and I just have to worry about doing mine.”

The Pioneers would win the final game of the road trip 7-1. This game was crucial for the team as they have a nice six-game home stand to come back to.

“I think that win was very important because it can bring momentum into the next week and help us keep our heads up and not get down when we’re in the middle of our season,” Lee said.