Canton, OH – On Wednesday afternoon the Pioneers welcomed their cross-town rivals, the Walsh University Cavaliers.
Malone fired on all cylinders as they dominated the Cavaliers en route to a sweep.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Game 1: Walsh University Cavaliers 1– Malone University Pioneers 4
- Game 2: Walsh University Cavaliers 6 -- Malone University Pioneers 11
- Records: Malone 18-8 (4-4 G-MAC) | Walsh 6-16 (1-3 GMAC)
- Location: Canton, OH
GAME ONE
Freshman
Mia Rose continued her dominance as she opened the game by retiring nine consecutive batters. While the Pioneers mustered minimal offense in the first two innings, they provided all the support that Rose would need in a dominate third inning.
Karlie Duvall and
Amber Miller provided a spark from the bottom of the line-up as they opened the home half of the third with a pair of singles.
Madi Pukansky followed suit with an RBI single to put the Pioneers on the board. A costly cavalier error allowed
Taylor Kern to double the Malone advantage on a fielders choice.
Faith Yoho took advantage of the extra life and capped the inning off with a 2-run single. Rose took over from there and only allowed one unearned run on three total Cavalier hits as she went the distance to lead Malone to a 4-1 victory in Game 1.
GAME TWO
Walsh looked to bounce back in Game 2 as they quickly plated a run in the first. Although they loaded the bases with only one out,
Grace Kissick provided a timely strike out and forced a pop-up to limit the damage. Malone answered right back with a pair of RBI singles in the second and third via the bats of Duvall and Kern. The Cavaliers exploded in the top of the fifth when they plated five runs, which was capped off by a three run homer. With the Pioneers down 6-2, Coach
Jeff Hite lit a fire in his team as they looked to battle back. Pukansky began the comeback with an RBI double. Kern followed suit with an RBI single to cut the deficit to two.
Halyn Cawthorne was able to drive home two more as her RBI double tied the game. Rose came back in to preserve the tie and give the offense a chance. Pukansky opened the sixth with a 2-run RBI single. Rose then preserved her second victory of the day with a towering shot into deep right field to drive home three more as the Pioneers finished ahead by a final score of 11-6.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Mia Rose earned the win in both games as she pitched 9 innings and allowed just 4 hits and 0 earned runs.
- Madi Pukansky led the way with 4 hits and 4 RBI's, Karlie Duvall and Amber Miller each matched her hits with 4 a piece while Duvall also had 1 RBI. Taylor Kern followed suit with 3 RBI's and 3 hits, while Lacie Quarles had 3 hits and 4 runs scored.
UP NEXT
The Pioneers stay at home as the Fairmont State University Falcons come to town on Tuesday, April 2nd at 2:00 P.M. for a non-conference doubleheader.
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