KENNEDY TWP, Pa. -- Senior Day turned into Senior Night for Point Park University softball on Friday from Fairhaven Park. But in the end it was a sweep of WVU Tech with the seniors playing big parts in the victories of 6-5 and then 4-3 in extra innings.
Point Park (17-15, 8-8 RSC) got out to a 6-1 lead in the first game and held on for the 6-5 win with Angalee Beall finishing off her complete game and stranding the tying run in the seventh. WVU Tech (21-20, 7-11RSC) had scored two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to make it a close one.
Point Park had to go deeper into the night than scheduled with the 4-3 win in Game 2, which lasted nine innings. In the bottom of the ninth, senior Jodi Frontino capped off her big day with a walk-off double to win.
The pre-game recognition of the five seniors -- Frontino, Taylor Goldstrohm, Hailey Leitner, Carissa Scekeres and Courtney Shoemake -- carried right over into the first few innings of Game 1.
The Pioneers were riding high, and their seniors took them there. Frontino homered in the third inning for a 2-1 lead. Later in the inning, Leitner went opposite field for a three-run shot and a 5-1 advantage.
Frontino was at it again in the fourth to pad the lead to 6-1 on a sacrifice fly. Melanie Taylor, who was 2 for 3, singled to lead off and was bunted to around to third by Alex Bondi.
But that was the last of the runs for Point Park. Beall got through the 7.0 innings and held off the Golden Bears' late charge. Beall got a big strikeout to end the sixth, strand two runners and keep the score 6-3.
A triple and a single in the WVU Tech seventh made the score 6-5. But Beall got a flyout and a groundout to close things out.
In the second game, WVU Tech had its chances early, but the score remained 0-0 until the middle innings. The Golden Bears left seven runners on base through their first four times at bat.
That was with Point Park starter Jada Simon getting some big outs with runners on. None was bigger than the fourth inning when three singles loaded the bases with one out. But Simon got a flyout and a strikeout to get out of it and keep the shutout alive.
Point Park went up 2-0 when Sydnie Reese smashed a two-run homer to center field in the bottom of the fourth. Leitner had walked in the previous at bat.
Simon did give up a solo homer to Macy Wilkens with two outs in the fifth to cut it to 2-1. It was the first run allowed by Simon in 11.2 innings with her coming off a shutout of Carlow two days prior.
The Point Park defense had Simon's back with three double plays in the game. All three of which started with infielders grabbing line drives and doubling up runners on base.
The trouble didn't start for the Pioneers until the sixth, when a pair of throwing errors led to a couple of unearned runs. The Golden Bears scored two runs without the benefit of a hit.
The score was still 3-2 when Point Park came to bat in the bottom of the seventh. Frontino came up big with a lead-off double to the fence in right-center field. Goldstrohm bunted her over to third. Scekeres was the next batter, and she came up with a clutch sacrifice fly to deep left field to tie things up and force extra innings.
WVU Tech left the go-ahead run at third in the eighth as Simon got through 8.0 innings with only one earned run in her outing. After the Pioneers went 1-2-3 in the bottom half, Angalee Beall took over as the Point Park pitcher in the ninth. WVU Tech again pushed the go-ahead run to third with one out, but Beall got out of it.
The Point Park ninth started with Cristina Sargent ripping a base hit through the left side. Bondi came up with another sacrifice bunt to move her up. Frontino stepped in next, and her smash to the left-center gap won the game.
Beall got the win in 1.0 inning to improve to 10-5 on the year. She has won her last five starts and has picked up six wins in the last 10 days. Simon, meanwhile, gave up only three runs (one earned) in her 15.0 innings pitched this week.
Point Park is off until its road trip next weekend to Brescia (Ky.) and IU Southeast. Point Park plays its final 10 games -- all within RSC play -- on the road. That does include a doubleheader at Carlow on April 26.
