PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania - In a continuation of a 12 game road swing for Salem Tigers Softball, the Tigers made the trip up to the Steel City this afternoon to take on the Point Park Pioneers. It was a closely contested pair of games with the Pioneers, and Salem ended up with a split of the afternoon's doubleheader. Each contest played out as follows:

Point Park 4, Salem 1

In Game 1, the Tigers found themselves in a pitcher's duel early on with neither team scoring in the first 3 innings. Point Park broke the deadlock with 3 runs in the third, so the Tigers had some work to do. They answered with a Brooke Wise home run in the 4th, but they were not able to turn that into a comeback rally the rest of the way. Therefore, Salem fell 4-1 in Game 1. In the pitcher's circle, Kendall Lemley pitched well despite the loss and struck out 4 in 6 innings of work. 

Salem 5, Point Park 2

For Game 2, the Tigers again fell behind early. However, they found their offensive footing with 3 runs to take the lead in the 3rd and 4th innings. Abigail Harki started things off with a double that brought home Bella Ortiz. Then, a Kendall Lemley sacrifice fly brought home Brooke Wise. Kylie Zinn finished off the 3 run rally with a single that brought home Harki to put Salem in control of the game at 3-1. Then, Brooke Wise launched her second homer of the day in the 4th with Alexis Valverde on first to put Salem up 5-1. The Pioneers added one more run in the 4th, but the Tigers were able to shut the door with some strong defensive play and a solid pitching performance from Franchesca Alvaro. Alvaro earned the win for the Tigers from the pitcher's circle for her 7 innings of work, and logged 5 strikeouts in the process. 

With their 4th straight split, Salem will be looking to take home a pair in their next contest. They will stay in the Steel City for that opportunity. They are set to take on the Carlow Celtics tomorrow (March 27th) for another doubleheader. First pitch of those contests will be at 5 PM in Pittsburgh.