Point Park University baseball is 6-6 on the year returning from Florida having battled NAIA Top 25 teams. The Pioneers now open up River States Conference play for the first of eight straight conference weekends scheduled from March 2 through April 20. 

The Pioneers started out their Florida trip this past weekend with a tough matchup versus No. 1-ranked Southeastern, a team that improved to 12-2 with the win over Point Park. The Pioneers played a potential Top-10 team the next day taking two close loses to No. 12 Webber International (Fla.), 1-0 and 5-4. The Warriors were 13-3 after those victories.

Point Park, ranked No. 20 in the NAIA Top 25 preseason poll, did close out its Florida trip with a nice win over Mt. Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) to start the final day in the Sunshine State. The Pioneers won, 5-4, with the eventual winning runs in the top of the seventh and the bullpen hanging on in the bottom half. 

Point Park got out to a 2-0 lead over MVNU (2-2) with a pair in the top of the third. Chris Williams, who was 2 for 4 in the game, drove in both with a clutch double. Point Park padded the lead to 3-0 on Isaac Santana's homer in the top of the fifth. 

Point Park starting pitcher John Hawley took a shutout into the fifth inning before giving up his only run. Can came out with two outs in the frame having struck out seven, walked two and allowing five hits. 

Ethan Parker came in to get out of the fifth and pitched the sixth with one run on two hits. He kept Point Park ahead, 3-2, with his relief outing. 

The Pioneers got some insurance runs -- which ended up being needed as the winning runs -- in the top of the seventh. The Pioneers strung together three hits with Santana and Williams both ripping triples and Crixtian Taveras delivering a two-run double to make the score 5-2.

MVNU got something going in its last at bat, but reliever Joathan Rivera closed things out for the Pioneers. A two-out double brought in two runs and putting the tying run in scoring position. But Rivera got a groundout and strikeout to end it and pick up his third save. 

In the last game of the Florida trip, Point Park sufferred a 13-4 loss to Cornerstone (Mich.). The Golden Eagles got seven runs in their last at bat in the top of the seventh to pull away. The game was close, and the Pioneers had the lead before that. 

Point Park was ahead 2-0 after the first inning. Cornerstone eventually tied it up with a run in the fourth and then went ahead 4-2 with two in the fifth. Point Park did respond with Williams' two run single to tie things at 4-4 in bottom five. 

Ethan Van Scoy started for Point Park pitching the first 4.0 innings. He gave up two runs to leave with a 2-2 tie. He struck out nien and walked none while allowing three hits. 

Point Park's first RSC series is at IU Kokomo March 2-3. The three-game set starts out with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. and a single game on Sunday at 12 p.m. Live video streaming and live stats will be provided by IUK athletics.