Point Park LHP Nate Sphon threw a shutout to win Game 1 at Asbury (Ky.). Photo by Sam Robinson.
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WILMORE, Ky. -- No. 24 Point Park University baseball opened KIAC play on Friday night with two victories at Asbury (Ky.) University, 6-0 and 9-3.
The Pioneers (13-4, 2-0 KIAC) racked up 24 hits on the day and held Asbury (Ky.) (4-12, 0-2 KIAC) to just four hits in each game.
Senior left-hander Nate Sphon (3-1) tossed a four-hit shutout to win the first game. The Greensburg, Pa., native picked up the second shutout of his career. A four-year starter, Sphon started a series opener for the first time. He struck out five and walked three.
Point Park got another strong start in the nightcap as Nolan Krivijanski (3-1) took a no-hitter and a shutout into the sixth inning. By that time, the Pioneers were already up, 9-0, as they tallied a season-high 15 hits.
As Krivijanski's pitch count rose above 100, Asbury got three runs on four hits in the sixth, but Krivijanski was already on his way to picking up the win in six strong innings. He struck out seven and walked five.
A lead-off single by Asbury's McKenzie Sullivan broke up the no-hitter in the sixth. A two-run single by Bryce Anderson on Krivijanski's 101st pitch made it 9-3, but it was too late.
It was the bottom of the Point Park order that did the damage in the opener. The last four hitters in the lineup accounted for seven of the nine hits led by designated hitter Andy Chacon, who was 2 for 3 with a home run, a double and three RBIs.
The Pioneers broke open a scoreless tie with four runs in the fourth. It was Chacon's two-run double that delivered the big blow. Chaz Russo followed with another big hit, an RBI single.
Chacon struck again when his solo homer with two outs and no one on in the sixth made the score 5-0. In the seventh, No. 9 hitter Shane Conley doubled for one of his two hits and later scored on a dropped fly ball.
Chris Herandez, who hit sixth in the order, was 2 for 3.
Losing pitcher Zach Settle (1-2) went four innings and gave up four runs on seven hits. He struck out four and walked none.
Point Park's 15 hits and nine runs in the nightcap came against four Asbury pitchers. Eagles starter Caleb Rankin lasted the longest at three innings.
Point Park was holding on to a 2-0 lead until breaking things open with three runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth for the 9-0 lead.
Demetrius Moorer was the hitting star with a 4-for-4 performance that included a home run, a double and three RBIs. A center fielder from Homestead, Fla., Moorer led off the game with a solo homer and ripped an RBI single in the second to account for the 2-0 lead.
But it wasn't just Moorer as five players had multi-hit games. Chacon was 2 for 3 and had an RBI single in the fifth. The fifth inning also had runs score on a wild pitch and a passed ball after Russo had doubled. Russo was 2 for 3 as well.
Conley, who wsa 2 for 3, started the four-run sixth with a bunt single and a steal of second. Moorer followed with an RBI double, and Jordan Crowell followed that with a run-scoring single, one of his two hits. After Oscar Romero doubled, Jake Horew brought home two more runs with a base hit.
Point Park and Asbury conclude the series with two more games on Saturday with the doubleheader scheduled for 12 p.m. Live Video and Live Stats available at AsburyEagles.com
