Box Score PITTSBURGH -- No. 22 Point Park University baseball closed out a four-game sweep of Cincinnati Christian University on Sunday with victories of 10-0 and 5-2. The Pioneers are now 18-1 overall and remain tied for first place in the River States Conference with a 9-0 RSC record.
Sunday's opener was a conference game, and it ended after seven innings due to the 10-run rule. The teams played a fourth game of the series afterward with that being a non-conference matchup of seven innings.
POINT PARK 10, CINCINNATI CHRISTIAN 0
The Pioneers waited for their chances taking 10 walks and one hit batter in the game and mixed in some smash hits to clean up the bases. Richard Perez and Chris Hernandez led the offense combining for seven of the 10 RBIs, and Jake Horew knocked in two.
In the first inning, Perez stroked a two-run single with two outs for an early lead of 2-0. That followed up three walks to load the bases. Perez was 2 for 4 with three RBIs.
Hernandez crushed a three-run double in the fourth, and two batters later, Perez brought home a run with a base hit. Hernandez, who was 1 for 2 with four RBIs, capped off a four-run fifth with a sacrifice fly to deep left for a 10-0 lead. There were four hits in the fifth inning, including Billy Kidd's run-scoring single and Jake Horew's two-run base hit. Kidd was 1 for 2 with a walk and a run. Horew went 1 for 2 with a two walks, a run and two RBIs.
Nick Bucci (3-0) pitched six of the seven innings for Point Park to earn the victory. He worked out of a couple of jams but also had two 1-2-3 innings and another of facing only four batters. He gave up just three hits in six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and two walks.
Ryan Huber worked a very quick seventh inning with two strikeouts to finish off the game and put the 10-run run into effect.
POINT PARK 5, CINCINNATI CHRISTIAN 2
The Pioneers tacked on a non-conference win to end the weekend, a 5-2 victory. They scored all of their runs in the first two innings, and starting pitcher Christian Negron took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of a contest that was scheduled for seven.
A double by CCU's Jared Seibert with two outs in the six broke up the no-hitter, and other than a single run in the sixth, Negron cruised to improve to 3-0 in his third start. He struck out eight, walked none and allowed just one run on two hits. CCU's only base runner before Seibert's double in the sixth came on a passed ball after a strikeout in the second inning.
Billy Kidd had the biggest swing of the game, a drive to right field that CCU could not come up with. With two runners on, it went for a three-run, inside-the-park home run for a 4-0 lead. It was the third hit of the inning with a leadoff single by Cole Horew and an RBI base hit by Erik Montero coming earlier.
In the second, Reynaldo Adames tripled off the wall in center field and scored on Jake Horew's sacrifice fly to deep left field for a 5-0 lead.
The game lasted only 1 hour and 20 minutes with Negron retiring the sides quickly. The Eagles got an unearned run off of Anthony Savarino in the top of the seventh to cut the score to 5-2, but he got a groundout and a strikeout to close out the game and strand two runners.
NEXT GAMES
The Pioneers host Fisher (Mass.) on Monday for an NAIA non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is 12 p.m., a start time that was moved up one hour from the original plan. Fisher lost at RSC member Rio Grande, 10-0, on Sunday. Point Park is scheduled to play NCAA Division II Seton Hill on Tuesday at 3 p.m. for one game.
FOLLOW THE PIONEERS
Follow the Pioneers all season long at PointParkSports.com and on social media @PointParkSports and @PPUBaseball.
