WASHINGTON, Pa. – Point Park battled to a hard-fought split against MEC South foe Concord
University on Saturday afternoon at Wild Things Park in Washington. Concord pulled away for an 11-3 win in game one, before the Pioneers evened the day with an 8-3 triumph in game two
Point Park is now 14-6 overall and 5-1 in conference play, while Concord moved to 11-9 overall and 4-2 in MEC action.
Game 1
Through two innings, Pioneer ace
Javier Cardoso II pitched two hitless frames, striking out two batters.
In the bottom of the second with the Pioneers at the plate (with one out),
Joseph Pilewski hit his first home run of the season to left-center, bringing home his sixth RBI of the year and giving the Pioneers an early 1-0 lead.
However, Concord would score nine runs over the next three innings to take a 9-1 advantage into the middle of the fifth inning.
Point Park stopped the run with a solo home run by designated hitter Jordan Campbell, his third of the season, bringing the score to 9-2 to close out the fifth inning.
In the sixth inning, each team exchanged a run. With one out,
Isaac Santana hit his fifth double of the season and was driven in by
Trevor Jones on a triple.
Point Park ultimately fell by a score of 11-3, ending their five-game winning streak and losing their unbeaten mark in conference play.
The Pioneers hit two home runs, marking their sixth multi-home-run game of the season. It was also the eighth time they recorded double-digit hits, finishing with 10.
Game 2
Harold Boyce made his first start of the season and surrender one run in the top of the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Kaden Swaim.
Point Park responded in the bottom frame of the second, with a leadoff walk by
Isaac Santana, followed by a double from
Joseph Pilewski, who recorded his third hit of the doubleheader and his second extra-base hit.
With runners on second and third,
Luis Gonzalez reached base on a fielder's choice, but Santana was thrown out at the plate as Concord was able to preserve the run.
Still in the second, Pilewski and Gonzalez advanced on a wild pitch to second and third.
With two outs, the Pioneers showed their depth with clutch hitting, as
Trevor Jones drove in both runs with a single up the middle, giving Point Park a 2-1 lead.
In the third, Point Park continued their offense with a leadoff single to right field by
Chris Williams.
Jared Campbell then reached on a fielder's choice, followed by a single from
Isaac Santana. A wild pitch allowed the runners to advance to second and third, setting up
Joseph Pilewski, who was intentionally walked to bring up
Luis Gonzalez.
Gonzalez also drew a walk with the bases loaded and one out, scoring a run. However, Concord escaped the bases-loaded jam with a pair of strikeouts to end the frame.
Leading 3-1 with two runners on in the fourth, Point Park's
Isaac Santana jacked a three-run home run to center field to give the Pioneers a 6-1 advantage.
In the fifth inning, Concord scored their second run to make it 6-2 on a sacrifice fly.
However, Point Park quickly responded in the sixth as their leading slugger,
Jared Campbell, launched his MEC-leading eighth home run of the season deep to center field, extending the Pioneer lead to 7-2.
During the twinbill, Point Park hit four home runs, bringing their season total to 25 (second in the MEC).
Before the inning ended,
Isaac Santana capped off his stellar performance with a single, finishing 3-for-3 at the plate with a walk.
Joseph Pilewski followed by driving Santana in with his second double of the day, ending the inning with another run and pushing the lead to 8-2.
Ethan Parker came in for relief in the seventh inning, replacing
Harold Boyce, who delivered a stellar six-inning performance to pick up the win. In his first start of the season, Boyce allowed just four hits, one earned run, and tied his season high in strikeouts with three.
Concord plated one final run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly to make the final score 8-3 in game two.
Up Next
Point Park is set to face Glenville State in a doubleheader tomorrow at Wild Things Park in Washington. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
