PITTSBURGH – Following Monday's 4-0 game one victory, Point Park won the Mountain East Conference North Division Championship in its first year as a member of NCAA Division II and the conference. The Pioneers also went on to win game two, 6-5, to take a four-game sweep over Wheeling University in MEC play.
With the sweep, Point Park completes conference play on a nine-game winning streak and currently has a record of 34-11 overall and 22-6 in the MEC.
Game 1
In game one, Point Park's
Ramon Rodriguez threw a two-hit shutout in six innings of work, which included nine strikeouts while walking just two. Rodriguez is now 5-2 on the season.
Orlando Leon recorded the final three outs in the seventh, although it was a non-save situation.
At the plate, Point Park jumped in front by a 4-0 margin in the first two innings and went on to grab the win.
In the first inning with
Omar Morillo on first,
Jared Campbell stepped to the plate and hit a two-run home run to center field – his 14
th home runs of the season.
Campbell also reached 50 RBIs for the season during today's doubleheader.
In the second inning, with Jordan Campbell on second, Morillo singled up the middle to bring Campbell around to score, giving Point Park the 3-0 advantage. Then, during the next at-bat,
Crixtian Taveras doubled to the left field fence to send Morillo home from first.
That margin would remain the same as the game went final at 4-0 after seven innings.
Game 2
In game two, Wheeling took a 4-0 lead after the top of the fourth inning and appeared to be on its way to its first win in the series.
However, Point Park has other plans and rallied for the lead in the bottom of the fourth.
The stretch began with a solo home run by
Trevor Jones – his first career collegiate home run. Later with two runners on,
Chris Williams scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-2 in favor of Wheeling.
Then, with Jordan Campbell and
Luis Gonzalez on second and third, Morillo tied the game on a single up the middle by clearing the bases.
The scoring continued with
Jared Campbell giving the Pioneers the lead on a single to left field, and Taveras scored on another wild pitch to make the score 6-4 following four innings of play.
Wheeling would plate one final run on a sacrifice fly in the seventh, but Point Park held on for the 6-5 final.
Ethan Parker grabbed the win, allowing three earned runs (four total) on seven hits while striking out eight in four and one-thirds innings of work.
Logan Creamer pitched the seventh inning to record the save.
Point Park will wrap up the regular season with five non-conference games, beginning with a single nine-inning game against PSAC-power Slippery Rock on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
Slippery Rock has a record of 29-15 this season, including 15-9 in PSAC play. The Rock is 15-5 at home this season.
