Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team wrapped up a brutal 6 games in 3 day stretch on Tuesday, losing both games of a doubleheader 6-0 to Hilbert.
Game 1: Pitt-Bradford 0 - Hilbert 6
In the opener, the Panthers stayed with the Hawks early, but a key error led to a 4-run inning which the Panthers could not come back from, falling 6-0.
Collin Porter started on the hill for the Panthers, and was dominant early, retiring 6 of the first 7 batters he faced, only allowing a first-inning walk. The Panthers had a chance to take the lead in the second, as Blake Prestash hit a one-out double to left. Pitt-Bradford could not bring him around to score, however, as the next two batters went down on a strikeout and a groundout to end the threat.
Porter ran into trouble in the third. He walked the leadoff batter, and then a single between a pair of outs. A stolen base put runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs. Porter induced a ground ball, but an errant throw pulled Bret Babcock off the bag at first, allowing two to score. The inning continued with a catcher's interference before two more runs scored on a single and a double to left.
In the 4th, Porter was able to work around a leadoff walk and a bunt single to post a zero. Evan Fragela led off the 4th with a single up the middle, but the next three Panthers were retired to end the inning.
Porter returned to the mound in the 5th, but was relieved after allowing a leadoff single and a double to the gap, bringing in another run. He was replaced by Brandon Amidon-Crawford, who retired three straight batters, but a sacrifice bunt and an RBI groundout allowed the inherited runner to score. Garrett Smith singled with one out in the bottom of the inning but never advanced.
Amidon-Crawford kept the Hawks in check over the last two innings, facing the minimum. In the bottom of the 7th, the Panthers put two runners on via a leadoff walk and another hit by Smith, but the Hawks answered by bringing in their closer, who retired the next two batters on popups to end the game.
Collin Porter (0-3) was saddled with the loss after allowing 6 runs, 2 earned over 4+ innings of work. He struck out 2. Brandon Amidon Crawford pitched the final three innings, allowing just one hit. The Panthers' offense finished with 4 hits in the game, led by Garrett Smith who had two singles.
Game 2: Pitt-Bradford 0 - Hilbert 6
In the nightcap, the Panthers offense was sluggish once more, as the visitors slowly built a lead, eventually winning once more 6-0.
Maddox Stadler started on the mound for Pitt-Bradford and made quick work of the Hawks in the first. After a 1-2-3 inning from the Panthers, he ran into trouble in the 2nd. Stadler allowed a leadoff home run to right field, followed immediately by a triple to the gap. After a walk, the Hawks drove in their 2nd run of the frame with a sacrifice fly to right. A Hilbert single put runners on the corners with one out, but Stadler settled down and ended the inning with a strikeout and a lineout to right field.
The Panther offense continued to sputter, as they only reached base on free passes or errors over the first four innings. The Hawks tacked on another run with two doubles in the fifth before the Panthers put their first hits on the board in the bottom of the 5th. Bret Babcock had the first with a single to left, and then after a flyout, Alex Ognen grounded a single through the right side. Nico Hall was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Andrew Bokulich's ground ball was reached by the Hilbert infield and flipped to second for the third out.
In the 6th, the Hawks put two runners on to start the frame, chasing Stadler who was relieved by Joe Long. The lead runner advanced to second on a flyout to center, and then an errant pickoff throw to first allowed the runner to score. Long was able to settle down, ending the inning with a strikeout and a flyout around an infield single.
Long found trouble in the 7th when a leadoff walk was followed by three straight singles to score another run. After the 4th hit, he was replaced by Ben Suter. Suter allowed one runner to score as he picked up one out on a fielder's choice and then escaped the jam by inducing a 6-4-3 double play.
Over the final three at-bats, the Panthers were not able to register a hit as the last 9 batters were retired in order. Branson Scarantine pitched the final two innings for Pitt-Bradford, retiring the side in order in the 8th before getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the 9th to keep the deficit at six.
Maddox Stadler (0-1) received the loss after allowing 4 runs on 7 hits in 5.0 innings pitched. He struck out 3. Ben Suter and Branson Scarantine combined for three shutout innings to finish the game. The Panthers only registered two hits in the loss, singles by Bret Babcock and Alex Ognen.
The losses drop Pitt-Bradford to 10-20 on the season with a 3-7 record in AMCC play. They are scheduled to return to action on Saturday, April 20th, when they travel to Pitt-Greensburg for a road doubleheader.
