Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team was back in action Saturday for a crucial doubleheader against Pitt-Greensburg. The Panthers used a strong pitching performance to take game one 9-2, but blew an 8-run lead over the final 5 innings to drop game two 12-10.
Game One: Pitt-Bradford 9 - Pitt-Greensburg 2
In the opener, Shawn Mannering led Pitt-Bradford with a strong performance on the mound to win the game 9-2.
The Panthers jumped ahead of the Bobcats in the first, scoring one time in the opening frame. Andrew Bokulich hit a one-out single to center and then with two down advanced to third when Blake Prestash singled to right. Noah Avey came to the plate next and hit a grounder to third, but reached base on the play while Bokulich scored. In the bottom of the inning, Mannering posted a shutdown inning, working around a two-out walk to retire the side.
Following a quiet 2nd inning, The Panthers tacked on two runs in the 3rd. Bokulich started the rally again, this time leading off the inning with a walk. Evan Fragela followed with a single before Prestash dropped down a successful sacrifice bunt. Bokulich scampered home on a passed ball to double the lead and then Avey grounded out to shortstop, bringing in the third run of the game. Mannering looked like he was on the way to another shutdown inning in the third, but after retiring the first two batters gave up four straight singles, allowing the Bobcats to score twice.
Pitt-Bradford battled right back in their next at-bat, restoring their three-run lead with two in the 4th. Garrett Smith reached on an error with one out in the inning and then advanced to second on a single by Alex Ognen. Nico Hall had the big hit for the Panthers, driving a double into the left-center gap to bring around both runners and put the Panthers up 5-2. In the bottom of the inning, Mannering struck out the side around a Panther error and a single to keep the Panthers up three.
Mannering kept the Panther lead intact over the next two innings, stranding a pair of runners in the 5th and retiring the side in order in the 6th. In the 7th, the Panthers offense exploded, tacking on 4 more runs. Ognen started the inning with a double to right center and then moved to third on a wild pitch. He scored when Hall reached on an error in the infield. Hall stole second, and then added another run by scoring on a double by Fragela. Noah Avey singled in Fragela, and then after a hit by Jake Soricone, Bret Babcock drove in the final Panther run with a single to left. Mannering set down the side 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning to end the game.
Shawn Mannering (5-3) picked up the win after allowing 2 earned runs in the complete-game victory. He struck out 5 batters. Alex Ognen was 3 for 3 in the game with a double and 2 runs scored. Evan Fragela had the only other 2-hit game, Nico Hall drove in 3 runs, while Noah Avey had a pair.
Game Two: Pitt-Bradford 10 - Pitt-Greensburg 12
In game two, Pitt-Bradford jumped out to an early 9-1 lead but allowed Pitt-Greensburg to chip away at the advantage, ultimately losing the lead in the 7th and falling in the game 12-10.
As they did in game one, the Panthers jumped into the lead in game two early. Evan Fragela hit a two-out single up the middle. He scored a batter later when Blake Prestash's fly ball was dropped in the outfield. The Bobcats struck right back in the bottom of the inning, scoring a run on starting pitcher Patrick Synan. Synan allowed a one-out single and then a double off the fence in right-center.
Pitt-Bradford jumped right back in front in the second, scoring 4 runs on 3 hits and an error. Jake Soricone led off the inning with a walk and then Ryoto Kaneko singled up the middle. Garrett Smith came up next and dropped down a sacrifice bunt, but the throw to third base was off target and allowed both Pitt-Bradford runners to score. Two batters later, Andrew Bokulich singled to center to bring in Smith, and then Fragela hit a single to left to put the Panthers up 5-1. Synan went back to the mound with a lead, and made quick work of the Bobcats, setting down the side 1-2-3 for a shutdown inning.
In the third, Soricone started the frame with another leadoff walk and then stole second base. After a strikeout, Garrett Smith hit a single to center to bring in Soricone. Synan put up another shutdown frame in the 3rd and then watched as the lead grew to 8 in the 4th. The Panthers quickly loaded the bases with an error, a walk, and a single, but nearly saw the inning end on a fielder's choice and a strikeout. With two outs, Kaneko came up big, hitting a triple to right center to clear the bases and put the Panthers up 9-1.
Synan ran into trouble in the bottom of the 4th, as a leadoff walk led to 5 Bobcat runs. After the free pass to start the frame, the next two batters reached on a single and a double, scoring one run. A sacrifice fly brought in the 2nd run of the inning before back-to-back hits cut the lead to 9-5. After another single to center put runners on the corners, the Panthers made the call to the bullpen, bringing in Jacob Sherdel to try and end the jam. Sherdel induced a pop up from the first batter he faced for the second out, and then got another one from the second, but the second pop-up was misplayed in the infield, allowing another run to score, putting the Pitt-Bradford lead at 9-6 through 4 innings.
The Panthers left the bases loaded in the 5th despite a Prestash double around a pair of walks. In the bottom of the frame, the hosts scored another unearned run. Following a one-out double, Sherdel struck out the next batter, but the third strike was wild, allowing the batter to reach. The next batter nearly grounded into an inning-ending double play, but the relay throw pulled Babcock off the bag at first, letting the run score.
Pitt-Bradford was able to push their lead back to three in the 6th, as Kaneko created a run on his own. The outfielder led off with an infield single and then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and a fly out to right. With two down, he was able to score on a wild pitch. The Bobcats got the run right back in their half of the inning, hitting a home run to right center.
After a quick top of the 7th, Brayden Hageter replaced Sherdel on the mound. He retired the first batter of the inning, but the second reached on an error. The error was followed by a double down the left field line, putting the tying run in scoring position. Hageter struck out the next batter for the second out but was not able to get out of the inning. Hageter induced a soft grounder from the next Bobcat to hit, but the batter was able to beat out the throw to bring in a run and extend the inning. Pitt-Greensburg took advantage of the extra out, as the 6th batter of the inning hit a 3-run home run to center field, completing their comeback and putting Pitt-Bradford down 12-10. Ben Suter replaced Hageter after the home run and induced a groundout to end the inning.
The Panthers went down in order in the 8th, and Suter kept the deficit at two runs, as he worked around a leadoff single to send the game to the 9th with Pitt-Bradford down two runs.
In the 9th, Alex Ognen started a rally with a one-out single to center. After a fielder's choice recorded the second out, Bokulich hit a single to right, putting the tying run on base. Fragela came to the plate next but was unable to come up with the big hit, grounding out to second to end the game.
Brayden Hageter (0-2) picked up the loss after allowing 4 unearned runs in 23 of an inning pitched. Patrick Synan started and allowed 6 runs, 5 earned, in 3.1 innings pitched. He struck out 4. Jacob Sherdel also struck out four batters, allowing 2 runs, 1 earned in 2.2 innings. Ben Suter threw the final 1.1 innings, allowing just one hit with one strikeout. Ryota Kaneko was the offensive star for the Panthers, finishing 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI. Andrew Bokulich, Evan Fragela, and Blake Prestash all went 2 for 5 in the loss.
The Panthers record is 10-21 after the split, with a 4-8 mark in AMCC play. They will have the next week off for finals, before returning to action next Saturday when they host Mount Aloysius. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m.
