Gaul as head coach for esports team

Baseball loses series to IUK, improves to 9-3

Pioneers improve conference record to 4-2, sit at fourth early in season

By Mason Strawn Staff Writer

The baseball team continued their March road trip, visiting Brescia University in Kentucky and Indiana University (IU) Kokomo this week.

The Pioneers swept the remaining Brescia game on Sunday, March 1 and won one of the three games against IU Kokomo last Saturday and Sunday. They now stand at a strong record of 9-3, with a record of 4-2 in River State Conference (RSC) play.

In the final game of the series against the Brescia Bearcats, the Pioneers pulled through with a 9-4 victory for the first game of March. Point Park scored first in the third inning and held a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. After giving up four runs in the bottom of the sixth, the Pioneers bounced back instantly, scoring three runs in back-to-back frames in the seventh and eighth innings. The bullpen shut the door on the Bearcats for the rest of the game, giving up two hits and no runs in the final three innings.

Sophomore infielder, Danilo Leon, went on a tear in the batter’s box, going

4-for-5 with four RBI and a triple to his name.

“When you put the ball in play, big things happen, and that’s what I did throughout the entire game,” Leon said. “Everytime I go out to play I have the same mentality and it’s to help my team win by playing hard.”

Senior relief pitcher Ryan Huber picked up the win, relieving senior starter Cole Horew in the bottom of the sixth and pitching 1.1 innings. Junior Jonathon Pacheco closed out the game over the final two innings and earned the save.

In the first game of the series against IU Kokomo, the Pioneers defeated the Cougars 5-1.

The name of the game was pitching that day; Point Park’s Marco Quintanar went seven innings while only giving up a single run and striking out nine. Huber came in for the two-inning save, recording three punch outs and giving up zero hits. In a rare occurrence, the Pioneers scored more runs than they recorded hits, with four hits compared to the five runs scored.

Junior Ed Pfluger was the main supplier of runs, hitting a three-run homerun in the top of the ninth to ice the game, with Horew (who can play outfield as well as pitch) and Senior Antonio Carrilo supplying the other Submitted | Cornerstone University Athletics Senior Antonio Carrillo in the box for the Pioneers in a spring training game against Cornerstone University. So far in the 12 games of the 2020 season, Carrillo is batting .400 with 18 hits and three homers. runs in the sixth.

On Sunday, Point Park would lose both games of their doubleheader against IU Kokomo, suffering their first losses in RSC play. They fell 4-5 and 6-12 to the Cougars. The Pioneers suffered a heartbreaker in game one, losing by a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth. In the second half of the double header, IU Kokomo exploded in the third inning for seven runs to put the game away early, even with Point Park scoring five runs within the first three innings.

Junior Carlos Sanchez was a major contributor at the plate in both games, going 4-for-7 and collecting seven RBI between the two games. The men will be back in action on Wednesday, playing their first home games against Chatham University in a doubleheader starting at 2:00 P.M.

From there, the Pioneers will travel south once again, facing off against Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky. on Thursday, then facing off at No. 22-ranked IU Southeast on Friday and Saturday. Saturday will also be a doubleheader.

Mason Strawn mtstraw@pointpark.edu

Chris Gaul hired as new varsity esports coach,

compliance coordinator for fall 2020 semester 2018 Allegheny College graduate hopes to develop ‘esports powerhouse’

By Allison Schubert Sports Editor

The Point Park athletic department announced last Thursday that they have hired Chris Gaul as both the varsity head coach of the upcoming esports program and the department’s compliance coordinator.

“Gaul quickly emerged as the No. 1 candidate during the search for our head esports coach and compliance coordinator,” Director of Athletics John Ashaolu said in an interview with the athletic department. “...He has experience recruiting and identifying prospective student-athletes who are leaders within the esports arena. I look forward to working with [Gaul] to grow our esports program regionally and nationally.”

Gaul graduated from Allegheny College in 2018 with a degree in economics and a minor in physics.

Just two months after, he was hired as the head esports coach and athletic department budget manager at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), the second-largest community college in the country.

For the past two years, Gaul has held both positions at NOVA, including building the esports program from the ground up.

“I am extremely excited about being hired for this position and to be joining the Point Park University team,” Gaul said in an interview with the athletic department. “Point Park is paving the way for col

Submitted | Northern Virginia Community College Newly-hired varsity Esports coach and compliance corrdinator Chris Gaul poses with the logo of the esports team at his former place of employment, Northern Virginia Community College. legiate esports in the Pittsburgh area, and I feel fortunate to be able to lead the initiative.”

Prior to his post-graduate experience, Gaul spent time competing on a Tier II level team for Overwatch. He took that experience to NOVA with him, where his teams competed in Overwatch, League of Legends and Rocket League.

“Gaul has experience running a collegiate sports team, and he is coming from a job in which he served multiple roles within an athletic department,” Associate Athletic Director and Director of Athletic Communications Kevin Taylor said. “That fit perfectly with what we were looking for in a candidate.”

Not only has Gaul been in a coaching position since graduating, but he has also served as an esports consultant for other schools looking to begin an esports program at the collegiate level, a project he says he is passionate about.

“I see this new program as being a big opportunity for students not only to compete at the collegiate level, but also as a space for students with similar interests to connect and find their home on campus,” Gaul said. “Above all else, I hope to provide the students with a place to grow and develop as student-athletes, as individuals and as members of an exponentially growing esports field.”

In addition to taking on the esports head coach role, Gaul was also hired as the compliance coordinator for the university.

“The compliance coordinator role in the athletic department oversees the eligibility of student-athletes for all of our teams,” Taylor said. “He will make sure that all of our student-athletes are meeting the eligibility requirements of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the department.”

“Point Park is paving the way for collegiate esports in the Pittsburgh area, and I feel fortunate to be able to lead the initiative.”

Chris Gaul Esports Head Coach

The Point Park esports program is set to start competing at the beginning of the Fall 2020 semester, and recruiting is open to both prospective and returning students.

“I plan to grow and develop a full-fledged varsity esports program that will compete at the highest level with other schools from around the nation,” Gaul said. “I aspire to put Point Park on the map as an esports powerhouse and the go-to esports program for many student-athletes.”