CHILLICOTHE, Ohio -- Point Park University baseball put on a very strong performance to take the 2023 River States Conference Baseball Championship on Sunday, May 7 from VA Memorial Stadium. The Pioneers pounded a barrage of offense in victories of 15-3 and 18-4 over IU Southeast, which also included a pair of gutsy pitching performances on short rest. 

Point Park (36-15, 20-7 RSC) earned an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round with their doubleheader sweep in the finals of the RSC. It is the third year in a row and the seventh time in the last 12 years that the Pioneers will be headed to nationals. 

Point Park, the No. 2 seed, lost its first game of the RSC Championship, 7-6, to No. 5 Rio Grande (Ohio) on Thursday night. The Pioneers proceeded to win four straight elimination games outscoring their opponents 48-8 from Thursday to Sunday to leave no doubt and earn the national bid. 

There was plenty of offense and some huge pitching performances along the way. Point Park stayed alive with a 6-1 win over Oakland City (Ind.) on Friday with Javier Cardoso tossing 8.0 innings. The Pioneers shut out IU Kokomo, 9-0, on Saturday to stave off elimination again behind Sebastian Rodriguez's 8.0 innings and more hitting. 

On Sunday, the Pioneers needed two wins for the title whereas No. 3 IU Southeast (33-20) needed just one as the undefeated team 3-0 in the bracket. Point Park went all the way with its bats and arms. 

Easton Klein got the start Thursday night, and he took the ball in Sunday's opener. On two days rest, he pitched 8.0 innings giving up just two earned runs. The Grenadiers got two runs on the board in the bottom of the first, but Klein allowed just one more run the rest of the way. He struck out eight, walked three and scattered eight hits. Point Park had an 11-3 lead after his day was done.

In the winner-take-all championship game, Cardoso stepped up to throw 7.0 innings on one days rest. He shutdown the Grenadiers for just one run and four hits. He struck out seven and pounded the strike zone with no walks in his outing. The Pioneers were ahead 17-1 when he exited the game.

The hitting on Sunday was very impressive with hard-hit balls and line drives all day long. The Pioneers racked up 33 runs on the day with 31 hits -- 22 of which went for extra bases. Point Park had an incredible 15 doubles in the doubleheader and also smashed three triples and four homers.

Trailing 2-0 in the opener, Point Park came alive for seven runs in the top of the second, and they never trailed again all day. Isaac Santana was a big catalyst for that going 5 for 6 with three doubles, a homer and six RBIs in the first game. He had two doubles and three RBIs in that second inning alone as he began and ended the scoring in the inning.

More runs came on Omar Morillo's RBI double in the fourth, Santana's two-run homer in the fourth and Jordon Campbell's double in the fifth.

The bench got involved as well with Luis Gonzalez pinch hitting for a three-run homer in the ninth. Santana capped off his first game with an RBI single later in the inning for a 15-3 lead. 

Point Park's 14 hits came from nine different players in the opener and came versus four pitchers for IU Southeast.

The second game picked up right where the first one left off. Morillo led off bottom one with a double, Jordon Campbell walked, and his brother Jared Campbell sent the first pitch he saw over the right field fence. That put the score 3-0 three batters into the game. 

Morillo was 4 for 6 with four runs and three RBIs in the final game. He led off the second inning with his first home run of the year, a shot straight out to right field. Later in the inning Justin Oakley smashed a double off the wall in center field to drive in two. He was 3 for 3 with two doubles in the game. 

Point Park was ahead, 9-0, through four innings. That's after Michali Brito blasted an RBI double and later scored on a wild pitch in the fourth. 

The Pioneers scored eight runs in the sixth inning for a 17-0 lead. That included RBI doubles from Brito and Santana, Eddie Javier, Jr.'s base hit to drive in a run and Morillo's base hit two drive in two. The Campbell brothers followed with a deep sacrifice fly and liner to the gap in left from Jordon and Jared, respectively, to tack on two more runs. 

Another big hit from the bench came from Jean Santos in the ninth, a triple to right center to score Morillo, who had picked up his fourth hit just earlier. 

Point Park had 17 hits versus six IU Southeast pitchers. Point Park had relievers Ramon Rodriguez close out the first game and Jose Moreno and Joathan River close out the second game. 

Point Park will learn of its destination and matchup for the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round during the NAIA Baseball National Championship Selection Show on Thursday, May 11 at 5:00 p.m. ET. The Pioneers will be sent to one of 10 opening round sites around the country for a bracket May 15-18. The 10 winners advance to the NAIA World Series May 26-June 2 in Lewiston, Idaho.