ERIE, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team dropped a tough extra-inning affair in the second game of an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference doubleheader Thursday.
Pitt-Bradford (14-12, 7-7 AMCC) dropped game one 10-2 then fell in a back-and-forth affair in 12 innings in the second game 9-8.
"This game teaches us a lot about ourselves," Head Coach Zach Foster said. "Our guys battled their tails off in that second game. Those are the games that we love to be a part of because we find out who folds and punches back. Our guys will continue to grind games out. I have no doubt about it. A tough day at the yard for sure but the sun is still going to come out tomorrow and that means another day to work to get better."
In game two, Kevin Rehak scored on a passed ball in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 6-6 and eventually send it to extra innings.
Then in the 11th innings, Jake McNabb clubbed a solo home run to center field to put the Panthers ahead 7-6.
But, the Lions tied it in the bottom half, and then Pitt-Bradford grabbed an 8-7 lead in the top of the 12th as Tyler Hoops scored on a wild pitch.
An RBI double from the Lions in the bottom of the 12th tied it, then the runner came into score on a single.
Before extras, though, the two teams traded the lead multiple times.
Down 2-0, Tyler Aires hammered a two-run double and Sawyer Packard sent home one on a single to put the Panthers up 3-2 in the second.
Then with the game tied 4-4 in the sixth, Matt Hair stepped in and hammered a solo home run to left center to give Pitt-Bradford the lead.
A two-run single for the Lions in the bottom of the seventh put Behrend on top, but Rehak's run in the ninth sent it to extra innings.
Logan Edmonds started game one and tossed 6.2 innings while striking out four. Alex Andrzejewski then came in and threw 4.1 strong innings of relief and also struck out four. Nate Renick came in and threw the 12th inning for the Panthers.
Hair led the offense with three hits including a double and a homer. He scored twice as well.
McNabb, Aires and Packard added two hits apiece.
In game one, Behrend scored two in the first, then added a run in each the second and third innings.
Down 4-0, Pitt-Bradford got on the board in the fourth as Justin Dattoli doubled home McNabb.
But Behrend got it back in the bottom half, then a two-run single and a steal of home in the fifth put the Lions ahead 8-1.
Austin Parent knocked the Panthers' first homer of the day, a solo shot in the sixth, to cut the deficit to 8-2.
A pair of RBI doubles for the Lions in the bottom of the sixth rounded out the 10-2 eventual final score.
Andrew Bacha started for the Panthers and threw 4.2 innings while striking out four. Benjamin Hayes threw 1.1 innings of relief and struck out one opposing batter.
Up next, Pitt-Bradford will stay on the road and head to Medaille for a doubleheader Saturday.