Bradford, PA. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford softball team returned to home action on Tuesday as they hosted top-ranked Penn State-Behrend. The Panthers struggled with the Lions pitching staff, as they were limited to three total hits on the day. They lost the opener 3-0 and the nightcap 8-0 in 5 innings.
Game 1: Pitt-Bradford 0 - Penn State-Behrend 3
The first game of the double dip featured a pair of strong pitching performances by each team. Unfortunately for Pitt-Bradford, the Lions were able to come up with a few more clutch hits, eventually winning 3-0.
Starting pitcher Krislyn Clement made quick work of the Lions in the first, getting the Panther offense to the plate right away. In the bottom of the first, Sara Stroup hit a one-out double down the left field line. She moved to third on a groundout but was stranded there as the inning ended a batter later on a strikeout.
Following a quiet 2nd inning, the visitors struck first in the 3rd. With one out they strung together a pair of singles, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd. They brought in the go-ahead run with a safety squeeze that did not result in an out. Clement settled down after the run scored, ending the inning quickly on a pop-up and a strikeout.
The Panther offense continued to struggle against Penn State-Behrend pitcher Abby Tingley, as they were only able to muster a 4th inning walk over the rest of the contest. The Lions tacked on to their lead with a two-out double in the 4th and then following a Panther error in the 5th, hit another double to go ahead 3-0.
Krislyn Clement (6-2) went the distance for Pitt-Bradford, allowing 3 runs, 2 earned, on 7 hits and a walk. She struck out 7. Sara Stroup had the lone hit for the Panthers, a first-inning double.
Game 2: Pitt-Bradford 0 - Penn State-Behrend 8 (5 innings)
In the nightcap, Pitt-Bradford stayed with the Lions early, but the visitors exploded for 5 in the 4th and 3 more in the 5th to finish the game in five innings.
Bri Heller started in the circle for Pitt-Bradford and retired the side in order in the first. In the bottom of the inning, the Panthers threatened to go ahead as Faith McLaughlin led off with a single and then a batter later, Lexi Peters hit a single to right. The inning came to a sudden end however, as Krislyn Clement hit a hard line drive right at the Lion first baseman, who made the catch and stepped on the bag for an inning-ending double ply.
Heller worked around a pair of singles to keep the game scoreless in the 2nd and after a 1-2-3 inning for the Panthers in the bottom half, retired the side in order in the 3rd.
In the 4th, the freshman pitcher ran into trouble. With one out, Heller allowed two seeing-eye singles to put a pair of runners on. She struck out a batter for the 2nd out, but could not put away the next batter, who drew a walk in a long at-bat to load the bases. The next Penn State-Behrend batter grounded a single up the middle to bring in a pair, and then a line drive double to left just missed McLaughlin's glove to bring in two more. The Lions added one more run in the inning on a bloop infield single before a pop-up ended the inning.
Stroup drew a leadoff walk to start the 4th for the Panthers, but three straight outs ended the inning without a threat.
Heller retired the first two batters of the 5th inning, before running into trouble once more. The Lions put a pair of runners on with a single and a walk, and then a hit through the right side pushed the deficit to 6-0. The next batter hit a high fly ball that bounced off the wall in center field for a two-run triple.
Needing to score to extend the game, Ciera Adams hit a two-out single back up the middle, but the game came to an end a batter later on the 3rd strikeout of the frame.
Bri Heller received the loss after allowing 8 earned runs in 5 innings. She finished with 2 strikeouts. The Panthers had 3 hits in the game, all singles from Faith McLaughlin, Lexi Peters, and Ciera Adams.
Pitt-Bradford falls to 14-8 after the losses with a 3-3 record in conference play. Their next home game will be on Friday, April 19th, when they host Penn State-Altoona at 3:00 and 5:00 p.m.
