It took a little longer than they would have liked, but Bobby Sorokas made sure the Pitt-Bradford baseball team got their home season started on the right note.
Sorokas threw a complete game (7 innings) six-hitter, allowing just two runs (one earned) and also went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs as the Panthers' leadoff hitter in a 6-2 win over Hilbert in their home opener from a rainy Kessel Athletic Complex on Thursday. The second game of the twin-bill was postponed by rain.
"If we pitch that way, we're going to be able to compete," said Pitt-Bradford coach Bret Butler. "I like the mentality our arms have right now."
Its been a tough start to the season for the Panthers, as they went 0-6 on their trip to Florida and then went two-and-a-half weeks between games.
But now, after a win over Elmira on Wednesday, they have won two-straight and are playing much better baseball.
"We started the season slow, playing a lot of young guys and we knew it was going to take some time," Butler said. "The bad part about sitting on our hands for two weeks is that we had to practice in the gym. The good side was we got to work on the things we needed to work on."
It started, literally, with Sorokas.
He worked around a leadoff single to pitch a scoreless top of the first and then led off with a single in the bottom half.
He was out on a fielder's choice, but the Panthers did strike early as Ethan Showers drove in his first of two runs of the day on an RBI single, scoring No. 2 hitter Jay Clinger, who walked.
Sorokas and Clinger set the table perfectly for the Panthers, as they combined to go 5-for-7 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
"How about those two guys," Butler said. "Our offense is starting to blue collar it out. They're being patiently aggressive. They're drawing walks, but when they get their pitch, their going after it. In Florida we were spotting pitchers that second strike and falling behind but we've turned that around."
Sorokas struck again in the second inning, ripping an RBI double into the gap, scoring Scottie Frisina and then he worked around some trouble on the mound in the third, where he gave up his only earned run.
It could have been worse however, as he was able to get out of a two on, one out jam with just the one run.
For the game, Sorokas was very efficient, striking out four.
"He was pitching with passion, pitching with heart and being aggressive," Butler said. "Bobby's not an overpowering pitcher. He's not an Aaron Cressley where he's going to go out and get nine punchouts every game. But if he gets ahead 0-2, 1-2 he's got good enough stuff, if he stays the aggressor, to get ground balls and that's what he did today. He was very efficient and when he pounds the zone he's going to have success."
The Panthers tacked on a run in the fourth on Showers' second RBI and another in the fifth on Sorokas' second RBI double of the contest, chasing Hilbert starter Sal Carroccia in the process.
In the sixth, UPB got all the cushion it needed on an RBI single by Connor Borowski and a sacrifice fly from Jean Turber.
Sorokas surrenderd just the one unearned run in the seventh, finishing the game in the rain. He also kept his batting average above .500 on the young season.
"We're taking baby steps," Butler said. "We told the guys early on it's a marathon, not a sprint. We have to crawl, then jog, then run. In May we want to be running."
The Panthers are scheduled to play again April 3 at Penn State Behrend in a doubleheader.
