Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team played their first home games of the season on Friday as they lost a pair of low-scoring pitcher's duels to LaRoche. The Panthers lost the 7-inning contest 2-1, before falling 4-2 in the 9-inning game.
Game 1: Pitt-Bradford 1 - La Roche 2
The season opener was a tight 2-1 contest that saw the Panther offense fall short, collecting just 3 hits in the loss.
Shawn Mannering started for the Panthers, and despite allowing a run on a bases-loaded walk in the first, kept the Panthers in the game while their offense got out to a sluggish start. The Redhawks strung together three hits around a strikeout to start the rally and then took the lead on the free pass. Mannering avoided further damage, getting out of the jam with another strikeout and a fielder's choice.
The Panthers offense was retired in order through the first three innings but Mannering kept the Redhawks off the board, striking out three more batters. The visitors scored another run in the 4th, doubling their advantage. Mannering walked the leadoff batter but then got two quick outs on a failed sacrifice bunt and a strikeout. LaRoche dropped a two-out single down the right field line to put runners on the corners and then brought in their second run of the game on a wild pitch.
Evan Fragela picked up the first hit of the game for Pitt-Bradford with 2 outs in the 4th, lining a single into right center. After Mannering posted another zero on the scoreboard with two strikeouts in the frame, the Panthers rallied in the bottom of the 5th. Blake Prestash led off the inning, hitting a double off the fence in left centerfield. The Panthers loaded the bases before an out could be recorded on a single from Bret Babcock and a Noah Avey walk. Prestash scored when Kyle Kimoto grounded into a 6-6-3 double play and then the Panthers stranded a runner at third as the inning ended on a foul out to first base.
Mannering retired the side in order in the 6th, finishing with a strikeout, his 9th of the game and 100th of his career. After the Panthers were set down in the bottom of the inning, Brayden Hageter replaced Mannering for the 7th. He worked around a one-out single to post an important scoreless frame, sending the Panthers to the plate down one in their final at-bat. Unfortunately, the Panther offense could not rally, as they went down in order once more, ending the game.
Shawn Mannering (3-3) received the loss despite a strong outing. He pitched 6.0 innings, allowing 2 earned runs on 5 hits. He struck out 9 Redhawks. Brayden Hageter pitched a scoreless 7th. Offensively, the Panthers had just 3 hits in the game. Blake Prestash had a double and a run scored, while Evan Fragela and Bret Babcock both had singles in the game.
Game 2: Pitt-Bradford 2 - La Roche 4.
The second game of the day saw the Panther offense sputter once more, as they tallied 2 runs on 6 hits in a 4-2 loss.
Patrick Synan was the starting pitcher for Pitt-Bradford, and he got off to a great start, retiring the side in order in the first with a groundout and two strikeouts. Fragela had a single in the bottom of the 1st, but the Panthers went down quietly.
In the 2nd, the Redhawks took advantage of a defensive miscue to take a 2-0 lead. With one out and runners on 1st and 2nd, Synan induced a ground ball, but the throw to second sailed into left field, allowing one run to score. Synan got the next batter to hit another ground ball, looking to end the inning, but the relay throw for the second out was not in time, allowing the second run of the frame to score.
Both squads stranded a runner in a quiet third inning before Pitt-Bradford halved the deficit with a run in the bottom of the 4th. Maxwell Rogers led off the frame with a single through the left side. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Prestash and then broke for third on a wild pitch. On the play, the LaRoche catcher tried to throw him out advancing, but his effort was errant, going down the left field line, allowing Rogers to score easily.
In the 6th, La Roche tacked on an insurance run, utilizing a Panther error, a two-out walk, and a bloop single to go ahead 3-1. The next six Panther batters went down in order, while Synan finished his outing by working around a leadoff hit batter in the 7th to keep the deficit at two.
Ben Suter replaced Synan in the 8th and after a fly ball, allowed two soft singles in the infield. He was able to get out of the jam, helping his own cause with a 1-6-3 double play. In the bottom of the inning, Alex Ognen laced a one-out double to left center, but could not advance as the inning ended two batters later when Bokulich lined out to right.
Suter retired the leadoff batter in the 9th, but then hit two batters and walked another to load the bases. The next batter reached on a sinking line-drive single to right to push the LaRoche lead to 4-1. Joe Long replaced Suter with the bases still loaded and induced a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. In the bottom of the inning, Rogers hit a one-out single and then moved to second after a strikeout when Babcock drew a walk. Jake Soricone continued the rally, lining a single into right field to bring around Rogers, but the rally ended a batter later when Kimoto went down on strikes.
Patrick Synan (2-2) was saddled with the loss despite allowing 3 unearned runs on just 2 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 4 batters. Ben Suter allowed 1 run on 3 hits in 1.1 innings and Joe Long recorded two outs while facing just one batter. Maxwell Rogers went 2 for 4 in the game and scored twice. Akex Ignen also had a multi-hit game, finishing 2 for 3 with a double. Jake Soricone had the only RBI of the day for the Panthers, going 1 for 4.
The losses drop Pitt-Bradford to 7-15 on the season, with a 0-2 record in AMCC play. They will return to action on Tuesday, April 3rd when they travel to Erie, Pa. to take on Penn State-Behrend. The games are slated to begin at 1:00 and 4:00 p.m.
