Point Park wins KIAC Baseball Game of the Week series over WVU Tech
(Story By Point Park Sports Information)
PITTSBURGH -- Point Park University baseball won the four-game series over WVU Tech when David Barefoot came through with a walk-off base hit in extra innings to win game four of the series, 3-2, on Saturday at Point Park Field at Green Tree Park.
The series was designated as the KIAC Baseball Games of the Week. The Pioneers (17-14, 11-5 KIAC) lost the first game on Saturday, 5-4, but since they won both games to open the series on Friday, 3-2 and 6-1, they took the series three games to one over WVU Tech (18-12, 10-6 KIAC).
Barefoot, a second baseman from Johnstown, Pa., was 3 for 5 with two RBIs in Saturday's doubleheader. The winning RBI came with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the eighth. His liner to center field brought home Jake Horew to clinch the series.
Horew had reached on an error to start the bottom of the eighth. Logan Linder was looking to sacrifice the winning run to second, but instead he reached via a hit by pitch. Daniel Sanchez again had the bunt assignment, and his bunt resulted in an infield hit. Barefoot followed with the walk off.
Each team had only five hits in Saturday's nigthcap. Barefoot had two of them, and another one was Linder's two-run single that tied things at 2-2 in the fourth inning.
WVU Tech had gotten out to a 2-0 lead through three. That came against Pioneers starter Ben Jarboe, who gave up the two runs on only two hits. He walked two and struck out two.
WVU Tech's runs came in on Trever Lam's solo homer in the second and Marcus Rodriguez's sacrifice fly in the third. The sacrifice fly was set up by Tommy Weaver's leadoff single, which was followed by a pair of walks.
A tough situation resulted in Jarboe being lifted with no outs in the fourth. Two straight infield errors put runners at the corners through no fault of Jarboe. Given the tough spot and already down, 2-0, Keenan Smith was called upon to get out of the jam, and he did. Two strikeouts and a groundout ended the threat.
Smith pitched two scoreless innings of relief and handed a 2-2 tie over to Jarrad Brown in the sixth. Brown pitched the final three innings and did not give up a run, either, and earned the victory.
Brown pitched a total of seven innings of relief on the day. He gave up just one run, which was unearned. The bullpen pitched nine innings on the day with no earned runs, including five in game two.
The unearned run that Brown gave up was the winning run in Saturday's opener. In the 5-4 loss, the Pioneers were hampered by two errors that resulted in two unearned runs.
The second unearned run gave WVU Tech the eventual winning run on Roy Suzuki's RBI double in the fifth. Doug Prather had reached on an infield error with two outs and no one on and scored from first on the double.
Earlier in the game, Point Park had erased an early 3-1 deficit to go ahead, 4-3, through four, but they could not comeback in its final three times at bat. The Pioneers got the potential tying run on base in the fifth, sixth and seventh but could not come up with the key hit.
Demetrius Moorer, who was 3 for 3 with a sacrifice fly in the opener, got a bunt single with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Shane Conley followed by reaching on an error. Both runners moved up on a groundout to the right side.
But WVU Tech's Tanner Levine finished off his save by getting a strikeout to end the game and strand the potential winning run at second. Levine pitched the final 2.2 innings to protect the 5-4 lead. He gave up two hits.
WVU Tech starter Josh Hudson worked 4.1 innings for the win. He gave up eight hits, and two of the four runs he gave up were unearned.
Moorer doubled and scored on a groundout in the Point Park first. He later produced a sacrifice fly to cut the score to 3-2 in the second.
The Pioneers took their 4-3 lead in the third when Sanchez and Barefoot came through with back-to-back singles to score one run apiece. That came with two outs and after Andy Chacon reached on an error and Linder walked.
Point Park starter Anthony Garofalo pitched into the fourth inning. He came out after his fourth walk. He gave up five hits, four runs (three earned) and struck out two. Brown pitched the final four innings and was saddled with the loss.
Point Park's next games are Wednesday at Shawnee State for a 1 p.m. doubleheader. The Pioneers are 11-5 KIAC for third place and 2.0 games out of first. Asbury is 12-4 KIAC after sweeping CCU this weekend and stands in second place.
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