Erie, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team kicked off its AMCC schedule on Monday, dropping a pair of close matchups to Penn State-Behrend.

Game 1:

The Panthers were unable to kickstart their offense against AMCC Preseason Pitcher of the Year Thomas Zbezinski, as they fell to the Lions 4-2 in the opener.

• Pitt-Bradford was held to just three walks through the first 4 innings of play as they were unable to find a rhythm against Zbezinski. Two of those walks came in the 4th inning but were followed by back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat.
• While the Panther offense struggled to find its footing, senior right-hander Reid Tarnowski worked to keep the Panthers in the game. He was able to work around a single and a passed ball in the first and an infield hit and a walk in the 2nd to keep the game scoreless. 
• Tarnowski's streak came to a close in the fourth as the first two batters of the inning reached on a bloop single and grounder through the left side. This was followed by a double to center to open the scoring. Tarnowski was able to settle down as he got the next two batters to ground out, but runners scored on each of the plays, putting the Lions up 3-0. 
• After the Panthers were unable to score in the 4th, the Lions tacked on the 4th run in the bottom half of the inning as Tarnowski gave up a 2-out home run to left.
• The Panthers looked to battle back in the 5th as David Gebhard drew a leadoff walk. They quickly loaded the bases with no outs as Noah Meyers lined a single to left and Kevin Rehak dropped down a bunt single. Nico Hall was able to hit a fly ball into foul territory in the next at-bat, however, Gebhard was thrown out at the plate trying to score for the Panthers. Penn State-Behrend ended the threat with a pop-up to second.
• Tarnowski was able to keep the Lions off the board in the 5th despite a leadoff walk and an error in the infield. He got a short pop-up to right and fielder's choice for the first two outs and struck out a batter to end the frame.
• He put up another zero in the 6th after a Panther threat was stifled in the top of the inning with a double play.
• In the 7th, the Panthers were able to put two on the board, but their comeback ultimately fell short. Gebhard drew another leadoff walk, and after a pop-up, Kevin Rehak drilled a long home run to left-center. It was his first of the year. The Panthers were unable to start anything else in the inning, as the game came to an end on a strikeout and ground ball to shortstop.

Reid Tarnowski (1-2) picks up the loss after allowing 4 earned runs in 6.0 innings pitched. He struck out 2 batters. Kevin Rehak had two hits in the game, including the 2 run blast in the 7th. Noah Meyers picked up the only other hit for the Panthers.

Game 2:

Game two saw another pitcher's duel that saw the teams score three combined runs. Alex Miles went the distance for Pitt-Bradford, but the Panthers came away with a tough 2-1 loss.

• The Panthers once again got off to a slow start, as they were unable to record a hit until the top of the 7th. They were able to draw walks in the 2nd and 4th innings but were unable to threaten to score.
• Alex Miles had a strong outing for the Panthers, matching the Lions zero for zero through the first three frames. He allowed a two-out hit in each of those innings but was able to strand the runner without any damage.
• In the 4th, the Panthers were unable to escape a two-out rally, as the Lions scored a pair of unearned runs. The inning started with some sharp defense as Trent Bielak snagged a line drive at first and then right fielder Tyler Aires threw out a runner attempting to stretch a single into a double. The Lions followed this with a pair of singles to left to put runners on first and second with two outs. In the pressure situation, Miles was able to induce a pop-up in the infield, but it was misplayed, allowing both runners to score.
• Miles responded to the unearned runs, retiring the next six batters he faced, and in the 7th saw the Panthers cut the deficit in half. With one out, Jake McNabb lined a home run to left-center to put the Panthers down 2-1. Noah Meyers followed this with a pinch-hit single up the middle but was left on base as the inning came to an end on a strikeout. 
• In the bottom half, Miles allowed a leadoff single, but worked around it, retiring three in a row to complete the shutdown inning. He also set down the side in order in the 8th, giving the Panthers a chance to tie it up in the top of the 9th. 
• Tyler Aires led off the final inning with a single up the middle to chase starting pitcher Jacob Lindow. Lindow's replacement was able to get Evan Fragela to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to erase the runner. McNabb followed this with a grounder towards the hole in the left side but a diving stop by the third basemen resulted in McNabb being thrown out at first to end the game.

Alex Miles (2-2) picks up the hard-luck loss. He allowed just two unearned runs in 8 innings of work. He worked around 7 hits and a walk while striking out 6. The Panthers' offense was only able to muster 3 hits in the game. Jake McNabb accounted for the lone run with a line-drive home run. It was his first of the year. Noah Meyers and Tyler Aires also picked up singles for the Panthers.

Pitt-Bradford falls to 7-13 on the season with a 0-2 record in AMCC play. They will have a chance to get back into the win column immediately, as they will host Hilbert for their first home game of the season tomorrow, Tuesday, April 5th. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m.