The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team returned to action on Friday afternoon as they took on Mount Aloysius, needing at least one victory from the doubleheader to stay in postseason contention. The Panthers fell short, losing game one 5-2 and then dropping game two 4-3.
In between games, the Panthers also took a few minutes to recognize six seniors who will be graduating on Sunday. Bret Babcock, Nico Hall, Evan Fragela, Aaron Hair, Andrew Bokulich, and Ben Suter were all recognized for their time with the Panthers. The seniors were joined by their families as coaches greeted them on the field with a gift from the program.
Game One: Pitt-Bradford 2 - Mount Aloysius 5
In game one, Pitt-Bradford fell behind the AMCC leaders early and despite rallying for a pair of runs in the 6th, fell short in a 5-2 loss.
The Panthers sent ace Shawn Mannering to the hill as he entered the game off of being named AMCC Pitcher of the Week. Mannering ran into trouble early, as the Mounties pushed across two runs without getting the ball into the outfield. He walked the leadoff batter before retiring two in a row on a strikeout and a grounder to third. The inning was prolonged as he allowed the next two batters to reach on free passes. With the bases loaded, Mannering got the next two batters to put the ball in play softly, but no play was able to be made, allowing the two runs to score on infield hits.
Pitt-Bradford looked to strike right back in the bottom of the inning. Andrew Bokulich started a rally with a single to center, and then the Panthers filled the bases when Evan Fragela reached on an error and Blake Prestash was hit by a pitch. The rally came to a quick end, however, as Bret Babcock sharply grounded into an inning-ending double play.
In the second, the visitors tacked on another run on a contentious call at second base. With one out and runners on first and second Mannering induced a groundball to short, seemingly ending the threat. Kyle Kimoto fielded the grounder and seemingly stepped on the bag before throwing to fist, but the umpire in the field called the runner safe at second, believing that Kimoto missed the base. Mount Aloysius sent their runner to the plate on the play, which resulted in a run.
After the Panthers went down quietly in the 2nd, Mount Aloysius added another run to their lead with a two-out single to right. The Panthers put a pair of runners on in the bottom half, but could not come up with a third hit, leaving a pair on base. Neither team threatened in the 4th before the Mounties added a fifth run on 2 singles, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI groundout in the 5th.
Collin Porter worked around a throwing error and a single to strand two in scoring position in the 6th. The Panthers put together a rally in the bottom of the inning, scoring twice on four hits and an error. Blake Prestash led off the inning and reached on an error. He moved to third on a single through the right side by Babcock. After two quick outs, Kyle Kimoto came through with his third hit of the game, driving a single into center field to bring in Prestash. Alex Ognen continued the rally with a single to left before Nico Hall found the hole on the right side to bring in the Panthers' second run of the game.
In the final inning, Porter kept the deficit at 3, working around a hit batter with one out to post another 0. The Panthers sent their third, fourth, and fifth batters to the plate in the bottom half, but the trio went down in order, finishing the game.
Shawn Mannering (5-4) picked up the loss after allowing 5 earned runs in 5 innings pitched. He struck out 6. Collin Porter threw two scoreless innings in relief, allowing one single while striking out one batter. Kyle Kimoto was the only Panther to post a multi-hit game. He finished 3 for 3 with an RBI. Nico Hall drove in the other Panther run.
Game Two: Pitt-Bradford 3 - Mount Aloysius 4
Needing a win in game two to keep their postseason hopes alive, the Panthers fell behind early. They rallied over the last four innings, but left the bases loaded in the 8th and 0th innings, falling to the Mounties 4-3.
Patrick Synan started the game for the Panthers and fell behind early. He allowed a run in the top of the first, despite not allowing a hit. he walked two batters around a pop-up and then uncorked a paint of wild pitches allowing the runners to advance two bases and score one run. He settled down after the second, striking out the next two batters to end the frame.
The Panthers went down in order in the bottom of the first, and then the Mounties added to their lead with another run in the 2nd. The first two batters reached on a single and a high fly double that dropped between outfielders to begin the frame. Synan nearly wriggled out of the jam, striking out a batter and then inducing a popup, but could not get out of the inning unscathed, allowing a single to left to drive in another run.
The Panther offense continued to sputter early, as they only mustered one hit, a single from Evan Fragela through 5 innings. The visitors added a run to their lead in the fourth on a leadoff double followed by a single, and then another in the 5th. After retiring the leadoff batter, Synan walked another and then allowed a single to put runners on first and second with one out. The Panthers went to the bullpen and brought in Branson Scarantine to get out of the inning. Scarantine hit the first batter he faced, loading the bases, and then allowed an inherited runner to score on a sacrifice fly to right. A batter later, he ended the inning on a line drive to short.
Scarantine posted a 0 in the 6th with the help of a 6-4-3 double play before the Panther offense came alive in the bottom of the inning. Alex Ognen started the frame with a single to left, and then took second on an errant pick off throw. Nico Hall came to the plate next and grounded a double down the third base line to put the Panthers on the board. After he advanced to third on a wild pitch, Andrew Bokulich smoked a double over the left fielder's head to bring in Hall and cut the deficit in half. The second double led to a Mount Aloysius pitching change. Later in the frame, the Panthers loaded the bases on an error and a hit batter, but the Mounties got the last out on a fielder's choice groundout at third.
Brayden Hageter replaced Scarantine in the 7th and worked around a pair of walks to keep the Mounties off the scoreboard. In the 7th, the Panthers rallied again, scoring once more on 2 hits and a hit batter. With one out, Ognen reached on an infield single, leading to another pitching change. Nico Hall was hit by a pitch and then was retired on the basepaths when Andrew Bokulich beat the relay to first on a double play ball, which allowed the inning to continue. Evan Fragela came to the plate next and was able to beat out an infield single to shortstop, driving in Ognen and cutting the lead to one.
Ben Suter made quick work of the Mounties in the 8th, setting up another Panther rally. Ryota Kaneko led off the inning with a single and then advanced into scoring position on an error on a sacrifice bunt. After a shallow flyout, Kimoto singled through the right side to load the bases. Alex Ognen had the first chance to tie the game but was retired on a foul pop-up. After a pitching change, Nico Hall hit a grounder up the middle, but it was fielded by the Mount Aloysius shortstop who stepped on the bag to end the frame.
The Panthers went to the bullpen once more in the 9th, turning to Joe Long to keep the deficit at one. Long was successful, using a double play to retire the side in order. In the bottom of the 9th, the Panthers put together one final rally. Bokulich led off the inning and reached on an error before moving to scoring position when Fragela drew a walk. Blake Prestash dropped down a perfect bunt and beat it out for a single, loading the bases with no outs. Kaneko was the next Panther batter, but he could not come up with a single, going down on strikes for the first out. Bret Babcock stepped to the plate next and hit a ground ball up the middle, it was fielded near the bag and turned into a game-ending double play.
Patrick Synan (2-4) picked up the loss after allowing 4 earned runs on 6 hits and 3 walks over 4.1 innings pitched. He struck out 4. Four Panther relievers combined for 4.2 scoreless, hitless innings, keeping the Panthers in the game. Branson Scarantine threw 1.2 innings, while Brayden Hageter, Ben Suter, and Joe Long each had 1. HAgeter was the only reliever to record a strikeout, as he had 2. Alex Ognen and Evan Fragela had multi-hit games for the Panthers. Ognen was 2 for 4 and scored twice. Fragela went 2 for 4 with a walk and drove in a run. Nico Hall and Andrew Bokulich both had RBI in the game.
The Losses drop the Panthers to 11-23 on the season and 4-10 in AMCC play and knock them out of post-season contention. They will bring their season to an end on Tuesday, April 30th with a doubleheader at Wells.
