ELKINS, W.Va. – Point Park picked up a pair of 13-2 victories over Davis & Elkins on Saturday afternoon to improve to 4-0 in Mountain East Conference play. The Pioneers finished Saturday's doubleheader with four home runs, four doubles and a triple from the plate.
GAME 1
Point Park came out swinging as leadoff hitter
Omar Morillo opened the game with a single to center field – his 23
rd hit of the young season.
Jared Campbell followed with his first triple of the year, driving in Morillo and reclaiming the top spot with a team-high 24 hits on the season, before scoring on a passed ball.
The offense kept rolling as
Isaac Santana drew a walk,
Crixtian Taveras was hit by a pitch, and
Joseph Pilewski notched his first extra-base hit with a double to bring Santana home.
Luis Gonzalez put the ball in play and reached on an error, allowing Taveras to score to cap off a four-run first inning for the Pioneers.
Davis & Elkins got on the board with a run in the bottom of the second, but the Pioneers quickly responded in the top of the third to put the game out of reach. Taveras and
Joseph Pilewski reached base on walks before Gonzalez delivered the big blow, a three-run home run, bringing his RBI total to four for the game and extending the lead to 7-1.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Senators tacked on a run to make it 7-2, but once again, the Pioneers had an immediate response in the top of the fifth.
Taveras led off with a single and stole second. Gonzalez followed with a sacrifice fly to right field, picking up his season-high fifth RBI, as Taveras crossed the plate.
Campbell kept the momentum going with a double and quickly swiped third, marking the Pioneers' second steal of the inning.
Edward Mateo capped off the rally with an RBI single to right, extending the PPU lead to 9-2.
In the bottom of the fifth,
Brandon Clifford wrapped up his third start of the season, allowing just four hits and two earned runs over five innings while striking out two. His strong outing earned him his first win of the year.
In the top of the sixth, the Pioneers added two more runs to push ahead 11-2. After
Chris Williams and Campbell reached base,
Isaac Santana joined the action with a single, driving in his first RBI of the game. With Campbell advancing to third, Taveras brought him home with a sacrifice fly to right for the RBI.
The offense stayed hot in the seventh when
Trevor Jones pinch-hit for
Edward Mateo and reached on a single. Morillo followed with a base hit, but it erased on a double play.
With Jones on third, Campbell launched his sixth home run of the season while adding his third RBI of the game to make the PPU advantage 13-2.
The Pioneers sealed the victory with dominant relief pitching, as
Samuel Georgiana tossed a scoreless sixth inning before
Joey Tedesco struck out the side in the seventh, securing the Pioneer win.
GAME 2
Game two began with the Pioneers trailing by one after two innings, but they quickly took control in the third.
Morillo, who remains perfect on stolen bases with a 10-for-10 mark, walked, then stole second and third. Williams reached on an error, driving in Morillo to tie the game, before scoring himself on a wild pitch to give Point Park a 2-1 lead.
Campbell walked, Santana singled and stole second, before Taveras drove in another run with a lineout, making it 3-1. Santana then advanced to third and scored on wild pitch, extending the PPU lead to 4-1.
In the top of the fourth, Point Park added three more runs. Mateo reached base after getting hit by a pitch and quickly stole second, setting the stage for Morillo to drive him in with a double.
Campbell then extended the lead with his seventh home run of the season (second of the day), a blast that put the Pioneers up 7-1. Through 17 games, Campbell is leading the MEC with a .482 batting average, a 1.556 OPS, a .964 slugging percentage, and 29 RBIs, all of which are first in the conference.
A scoreless fifth inning followed, but the Pioneers rallied with two outs in the top of the sixth.
Williams walked, stole second, and was driven in by Campbell, who then stole second himself. Point Park had six stolen bases in game two on Saturday.
After Campbell got to second, Santana walked, putting two runners on for Taveras. Taveras made it 11-1 with a three-run home run.
In the sixth,
Orlando Leon capped off a stellar performance, allowing just one earned run, and striking out five batters. Leon is a perfect 3-0 on the season.
Offensively, the Pioneers weren't finished, adding two more runs in the seventh.
Marcus Franco pinch-hit for Jordan Campbell and doubled, while
Trevor Jones singled to left field. Franco came around to score on a sacrifice fly by freshman
Blake Ewing – his first RBI of the season.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Taveras singled to right field, bringing in his fifth RBI of the game.
Point Park surrendered one run in the bottom of the seventh but went on to win 13-2.
UP NEXT
The Pioneers will return to action on Tuesday, March 18th in non-conference action against Washington & Jefferson. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.
