Bradford, Pa. – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team picked up a pair of tight victories over Alfred State at the Kessel Athletic Complex on Tuesday afternoon. The Panthers won game 1 5-4 with a pair of late runs and then went into extra innings, scoring twice in the 11^th to walk-off with a 4-3 win.

Game 1 - Pitt-Bradford 5 - Alfred State 4

In game one, Shawn Mannering started for Pitt-Bradford and was dominant through three innings, facing the minimum. In the second, Pitt-Bradford gave him a 3-0 lead with a two-out rally. Kyle Kimoto and Alex Ognen each singled before Nico Hall loaded the bases with a walk. Andrew Bokulich put the Panthers in front with a single and then Evan Fragela doubled in a pair with a drive to left field.

Mannering ran into trouble in the 4^th, allowing 4 runs to score on 3 hits and an error. After a bases-loaded walk put the Pioneers in front, Ben Suter replaced Mannering and ended the inning by getting an out on a suicide squeeze bunt.

Trailing 4-3 late in the 7-inning contest, The Panthers battled back, tying the game in the 5^th, and going back in front in the 6^th. Following a leadoff walk and a sacrifice bunt in the 5^th, Noah Avey doubled down the right field line to tie the game. In the 6^th, Maxwell Rogers singled through the right side to bring in Bokulich.

Branson Scarantine pitched the 6^th for the Panthers and escaped a 1^st and 3^rd with a one-out jam. He was replaced by Joe Long in the 7^th who allowed one runner to reach before retiring the side.

Scarantine (1-0) earned his first collegiate win for Pitt-Bradford, while Long picked up his 3^rd save. Evan Fragela was 3-4 in the game and drove in a pair. Maxwell Rogers and Andrew Bokulich each had 2 hits and an RBI.

 Game 2 - Pitt-Bradford 4 - Alfred State 3 - 11 Innings

In the 9-inning nightcap, Panther starter Patrick Synan was dominant, keeping Alfred State off the board through 7 innings of work.

In his 7 innings, the Panthers scored twice, posting one run in the 2^nd and another in the 3^rd. Blake Prestash was hit by a pitch with one out in the 2^nd, and then moved to third when Jake Soricone lined a double to right. Kyle Kimoto drove in the run with a groundout to second.

The Panthers doubled their lead in the 3^rd. Hall led off the frame with a single and then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. After a pop-up, Rogers was able to beat out an infield single, and Hall sprinted around third and dove into the plate ahead of the tag to score.

After Synan's quality start, Collin Porter replaced him in the 8^th and ran into trouble as the leadoff batter reached on an error, and then the next Pioneer doubled to the gap. Blake Prestash made a diving play to keep the runners from advancing for the first out, but Alfred State was able to cut the lead in half with an RBI groundout. Porter nearly escaped the inning with the lead, but an error in the infield allowed the tying run to score. Brayden Hageter replaced Porter after the run and got out of the inning with a popup.

Both teams put runners in scoring position in the 9^th and 10^th innings but could not come up with the final hit to bring in the go-ahead run. In the 11^th, Alfred State struck first off reliever Garrett Smith. Following a leadoff double, Smith retired a batter on a strikeout but then gave up another double to bring in the run. He then wriggled out of trouble, limiting the Pioneers to one run with a fly ball and a strikeout.

Pitt-Bradford came to the plate in the 11^th, needing at least one run to extend the game. After a flyball started the inning. Hall and Bokulich hit back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners with one out. Fragela came through with a line drive double to left field, tying the game at 3. After an intentional walk to Rogers, Noah Avey came to the plate and grounded a single through the right side to bring in the winning run.

Garrett Smith picked up the win, also the first of his collegiate career. He pitched 1.1 innings and struck out 3. Patrick Synan earned a hard-luck no-decision, pitching 7 shutout innings while striking out 5. Pitt-Bradford pounded out 16 hits, led by Jake Soricone, who finished 4 for 4 with two doubles. Evan Fragela was 3 for 6 with a double and an RBI, while Bokulich had three hits in the game.

The Panthers moved to 9-15 with the wins, including a 2-2 mark in AMCC play. They will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Altoona for a matchup against Penn State-Altoona.