PITTSBURGH – Point Park baseball prepares for a four-game weekend of MEC cross-division action against the Charleston Golden Eagles and the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets.
Point Park (12-8, 5-3 MEC) enters the weekend with momentum after shutting out non-conference opponent California (Pa.) on Thursday afternoon. Noah Jordan earned his first win as a Pioneer, tossing three innings while striking out two and allowing just two hits.
Olindo Pezzone stayed hot at the plate, homering for the third consecutive game and for the fourth time in the last five contests. He now has nine home runs on the season.
Charleston comes into the weekend with a 7-18 overall record and a 4-4 mark in MEC play. The Golden Eagles split last weekend, getting swept by Frostburg State before sweeping Fairmont State. Samuel Lemond leads the team offensively with a .349 batting average and four home runs. On the mound, expect to see either Breven Deckrosh or Landon Ingram on Friday. Deckrosh is 2-1 with a 3.12 ERA, while Ingram is 0-4 with a 6.84 ERA.
West Virginia State enters with a 7-15 overall record and a 2-6 conference mark. Facing the same opponents as Charleston last weekend, the Yellow Jackets went 1-3, splitting with Fairmont State and getting swept by Frostburg State. Brodie Guenther leads the team with a .323 batting average and 11 RBIs. Among qualified pitchers, Jared Nethercutt has made six starts and holds a 5.04 ERA
STORYLINES
- Blake Ewing was named MEC Co-Baseball Player of the Week, becoming the second Pioneer to earn the honor this season, joining Olindo Pezzone (March 9). The junior from Columbus, Ohio, hit .500 (6-for-12) with 11 RBIs and a grand slam against Concord.
- Pezzone leads the conference in OPS (1.455) and ranks fourth in batting average (.388).
- Ewing ranks fourth in the MEC in slugging percentage (.679) and leads the conference with 22 walks.
- The duo of Pezzone (9) and Ewing (7) rank first and second, respectively, in the MEC in home runs.
- Ethan Parker ranks second in the conference with a 2.16 ERA and is tied for first with three saves, including two last weekend. He has allowed just seven runs (six earned), both ranking second in the MEC. Ramon Rodriguez follows closely, ranking third with nine runs allowed (eight earned).
- The Pioneers' pitching staff leads the MEC in multiple categories, including ERA (4.20), shutouts (3), saves (6), runs allowed (86), earned runs allowed (72), and walks (55). Point Park is the only team in the conference that has not allowed 100 runs this season.
- Defensively, the Pioneers lead the MEC with a .979 fielding percentage.
NOTES
The Pittsburgh Pirates named Don Kelly their new manager this offseason. He made his debut on Thursday against the New York Mets.
A former Point Park standout, Kelly graduated in 2001 after hitting .400 for his career. In his senior season, he batted .450 with 45 RBIs and 34 stolen bases, earning NAIA All-American honors. He was inducted into the Point Park Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
Professionally, Kelly was named the Detroit Tigers Triple-A Player of the Year in 2009 before joining the major league club in 2010. He made his MLB debut with the Pirates in 2007 and spent time with the Tigers and Miami Marlins.
Kelly began his managerial career with the Houston Astros in 2019 before returning to Pittsburgh to join the Pirates organization in 2020.
