Concord Starts Road Trip with Sweep of Point Park, 5-3, 6-3

PITTSBURGH – The Concord University softball team started off its final road trip of the regular season with a pair of wins over Mountain East Conference newcomer Point Park, 5-3 and 6-3, Friday afternoon.
 
After the twinbill, CU improves to 20-23 this spring and 15-11 in the MEC while Point Park falls to 13-25 overall and 7-15 in league play.
 
Game One: Concord 5 – Point Park 3
Both teams traded runs until the Mountain Lions took control in the top of the fifth.
 
With one out and Concord down 3-2, sophomore infielder Kendall Morgan reached on a fielder's choice. Then, senior first baseman/outfielder Kassidy Garvey picked up a two-out single. Junior pitcher/infielder Madison Hollis doubled to bring in both runners and give CU a 4-3 edge.
 
Freshman pitcher/outfielder Reghan Hintz added another run on an RBI single to right field and gave the Maroon and Gray a 5-3 advantage after five.  
 
Hintz pitched the final 3.2 innings of relief in the game as she sat down the Pioneers 1-2-3 in the fifth and seventh innings, while working out of a two-runner jam in the sixth to improve to 4-5 in the circle.
 
Senior infielder Courtney Raines broke the scoring silence in the top of the third, driving in the game's first run on a sacrifice fly, 1-0. After PPU tied the game 1-1, junior catcher/utility Gianna Sloan-Lebron drove in a run on a groundout in the fourth inning. The Pioneers jumped ahead 3-2 in the fourth before the CU three-run fifth.
 
Garvey, junior infielder Lacie Lewis, junior outfielder Alina Giles, and junior catcher/utility Morgan Gleason each had two hits in the game with Lewis and Gleason also adding stolen bases. Hollis got the start in the circle, surrendering three earned runs over 3.1 before Hintz tossed 3.2 scoreless frames in relief.
 
Game Two: Concord 6 – Point Park 3
The Pioneers plated a run in the first inning, but the Mountain Lions struck back with five runs across the third and fourth innings.
 
Lewis led off the top of the third with a double into the left-center gap. Then, Raines put down a sacrifice bunt to move Lewis to third with one away. In the next at-bat, Lewis came home to score on a PPU fielding error and knot the game 1-1. Later in the frame, Hollis gave Concord the lead on a one-out RBI single.
 
In the fourth, Giles stayed patient for a leadoff walk and moved to second after a sacrifice from Hintz, and to third on another Point Park error. Gleason hit a ball into right field for an RBI single and Lewis put a ball in play that scored Hintz on the second Pioneers' error of the frame. Raines ended the scoring run for the Maroon and Gray on a sacrifice fly to grab a 5-1 lead after four.
 
Freshman pitcher/utility Mahailey Nicholson did not allow a hit until the bottom of the fourth inning, where the Pioneers plated two runs to cut their deficit to 5-3. Nicholson retired PPU in order in the fifth and sixth to bring CU up to bat one final time.
 
Morgan began the top of the seventh with a double and advanced to third on a flyout later in the inning. Junior catcher/utility Kayla Sholter drove in the final Concord run of the doubleheader on an RBI single into right field before Nicholson locked down the final three outs to secure the sweep.
 
Morgan and Sholter each came away with multiple hits with Morgan securing a pair of doubles. Gleason and Hollis highlighted the offense with their RBI base-hits to jump back in front. Nicholson improved to 5-6 after throwing a complete game with four hits given up, three earned runs allowed, and three strikeouts.
 
CU plays Salem in a non-conference doubleheader Saturday starting at 2:00 p.m.