Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team made their way into the win column on Tuesday as they swept St. Elizabeth in a doubleheader on day two of their Spring Break trip to Fort Myers, Fla.
Game 1:
The Panthers took advantage of 6 Eagle errors as they won their first game of the season 10-5.
- Pitt-Bradford jumped ahead early as they were gifted a run in the first without recording a hit. Evan Fragela reached on an error with two outs and moved to second on a Jake McNabb walk. He went on to score in the next at-bat when Justin Dattoli reached on a throwing error from the St. Elizabeth catcher.
- Starter Kyler Majka threw a shutdown inning in the bottom of the first and was rewarded, as the Panthers piled on the Eagles with 3 more in the second. They put runners on second and third following two more St. Elizabeth errors and a fielder's choice and Kevin Rehak drove them in with a single to centerfield. Pitt-Bradford loaded the bases with an Evan Fragela single and another error and Justin Dattoli drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk to bring in the 4th run of the game.
- Both teams were kept off the board for two innings until St. Elizabeth tied the game with 4 runs in the 4th. Majka walked the leadoff batter and then allowed a triple to center to bring in the first run. He walked the next batter before a double down the right-field line scored two more, cutting the lead to 1 run with no outs recorded in the inning. The Eagles put runners on the corners with a single to left but had a base-stealer thrown out to make the first out of the inning. They tied the game with a single through the left side before Majka got a pop-up and a grounder to first to end the frame.
- Pitt-Bradford battled back and retook the lead in their next at-bat. Justin Dattoli drew a leadoff walk and then scored when Tyler Aires drove a double to left field. Aires moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and then was thrown out at the plate attempting to score on a sacrifice fly.
- Majka put up another shutdown inning in the 5th, retiring the side in order, and picked up another support run in the 6th. Rehak reached on an error with one out and moved to third as the Panthers loaded the bases with singles by Fragela and McNabb. Dattoli drove a sacrifice fly to center field to bring Rehak across the plate and give the Panthers a two-run advantage.
- After Majka put up another 1-2-3 inning in the 6th, the Panthers opened up the game with 4 in the top of the 7th. Noah Meyers led off the inning with a double to the gap in left-center and moved to third on a groundout. Jake Soricone brought Meyers in with a single to left-center and then moved to third as Rehak singled through the left side Evan Fragela also singled through the 5-6 hole to bring in Soricone and McNabb drew a walk to load the bases. Dattoli came through again, hitting a single to left to bring in two Panther runs.
- While Majka had cruised through the 5th and 6th innings, he ran into some trouble in the 7th. He walked the leadoff batter, but quickly got two outs on a fly ball to left and a fielder's choice. An infield single and a walk loaded the bases for St. Elizabeth and Majka hit the next batter with a pitch to bring in the 5th run of the game. With the tying bases loaded and the tying run on deck, the Panthers turned to Shawn Mannering, who quickly struck out the only batter he faced to end the game and pick up a save.
Kyler Majka (1-0) picked up the win after allowing 5 earned runs on 6 hits and 6 walks. He struck out seven batters. Mannering was awarded his first collegiate save after striking out the only batter he faced to end the game. Evan Fragela finished the game 3-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Kevin Rehak was the only other Panther to record a multi-hit game. He went 2-5, scored 3 runs, and drove in two more. Justin Dattoli was the main run producer for the Panthers, finishing 1-2 with 4 RBIs and a run scored.
Game 2:
The Panthers used a dominant pitching performance from Alex Miles to complete the sweep of the doubleheader with a 9-1 win.
- Pitt-Bradford was once again able to take advantage of a St. Elizabeth error in the first, as they scored 5 runs after an Eagle error to jump ahead. Kevin Rehak started the game with a leadoff walk and was quickly joined on the basepaths when Fragela was given a free pass and Jake McNabb loaded the bases with a single to right. With the bases full, Noah Meyers reached on a throwing error, which allowed two runs to score. The Panthers added a third on a Dattoli sacrifice fly and reloaded the bases with back-to-back walks by Andrew Bokulich and Reid Tarnowski. Nico Hall followed the walks with a 2-run single to left field to put the Panthers up 5-0 after 1.
- Miles went back to work after the high-scoring first inning and retired 8 straight Eagle batters. His run came to an end with two outs in the 4th, as he allowed back-to-back doubles, cutting the lead to 5-1.
- The Panthers quickly regained momentum, however, as they scored 4 more runs in the bottom half of the inning. Reid Tarnowski led off the inning with an infield single and moved all the way to third on a stolen base and wild pitch. Nico Hall drew a walk and quickly stole 2nd to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Kevin Rehak brought Tarnowski home with a sacrifice fly to right and Tyler Aires followed that with a single through the right side to bring in Hall.
- Pitt-Bradford continued the rally after the Aires hit, putting runners back on second and third as Fragela singled, Aires moved to third on a fly ball to right and Fragela stole second. The third run of the inning scored as both runners advanced on a passed ball and Noah Meyers brought in the final run as he singled through the left side to bring in Fragela.
- Up 9-1, Miles ran into trouble in the 5th as he gave up two singles to start the frame and hit a batter to load the bases. He was able to escape the jam with no damage as he struck out a batter and got the next to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. This was the last time St. Elizabeth would threaten as Miles allowed two hits in the final two innings, but did not let the runners advance to second base.
Alex Miles (1-1) picked up the win as he threw a complete game, allowing 1 run on 7 hits and 0 walks. He struck out 5. Nico Hall finished the game 2-2 with 2 RBIs and a run scored. Tyler Aires also had a multi-hit game, going 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI.
The Panthers move to 2-4 with the sweep. Their regulars will have a day off tomorrow, as the younger players on the team will play Rockford in a 9-inning exhibition matchup starting at 9:00 a.m. The Panthers will return to official action on Thursday when they take on Alvernia.