New Wilmington – Pa. – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford softball team dropped both games of a non-conference doubleheader at Westminster College on Tuesday afternoon.
The Panthers lost the opener, 6-5, before falling 7-4 in the finale.
"We played pretty well today," said Pitt-Bradford head coach Tina Phillips. "Amber played great defense and Jenna had a big hit for us. We had a tough break, which gave them two runs. We just didn't come out with enough effort in the second game. Liz did a nice job in relief."
Amber Fox, Maddy Hillery, Liz Dzurisin and Meagan Hillard all had one hit each while Cassidy Lewis drew two walks and Jill Fleming had an RBI in the loss. Lewis took the loss, falling to 2-3 on the year in the circle, allowing six runs on nine hits while striking out two and walking two in six innings of work.
Amber Forrest led the Titans offense with two hits and one RBI while Kailey Liverman had a two-run double. Gabby Butcher, Emily Lindsey and Alexis Sheffer drove in one run each in the victory. Forrest picked up the win in the circle, improving to 4-5 on the year after, allowing just one earned run on four hits while striking out five over seven innings of work.
Despite dropping the heartbreaker, Pitt-Bradford did jump out to an early 3-0 lead. Hillery started the two-out rally in the top of the first with a single to left and Dzurisin followed with a single to right. Lewis then drew a walk to load the bases and all three scored on a fielding error by Westminster's right fielder.
The Titans came back and made it a one-run game with a two-run home half of the third. Forrest led off the inning with a walk and was then bunted over to second and moved to third on a ground ball. Francesca Nardone reached on an infield single, giving Westminster runners on the corners with two outs and Liverman cleared the bases with a two-run double to left-center.
The Panthers extended their lead to 4-2 on Fleming's RBI groundout to second base. Lewis scored on the play after drawing a leadoff walk and then advancing to third on a throwing error earlier in the inning.
Westminster again made it a one-run game, this time at 4-3, on Forrest's RBI single to center in the fourth. Alexa Owrey made the trip home from second after doubling earlier in the inning. Lewis was able to get out of the jam by getting Nardone to pop out to end the inning.
The Titans eventually took a 6-4 lead with a three-run home half of the sixth, again scoring all of their runs with two outs. Butcher and Lindsay roped back-to-back doubles while Sheffer followed with an RBI single to center to cap Westminster's big inning.
The Panthers threatened in the top of the seventh. Hillard hit a one-out single to right field, took second on a wild pitch and then moved over to third on Fox's single to right, giving the Panthers runners on the corners with two outs. The Panthers then executed a perfect double steal, allowing Hillard to come home as the Titans tried to throw out Fox at second to end the game. The big play brought Pitt-Bradford within 6-5, but that's as close as they would come in the opener.
Westminster came out hitting in the second game. The Titans took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first and put the game out of reach with four runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Dzurisin, Hillery and Fox drove in one run each in the loss while Jenna Dean and Fleming added hits. Dzurisin tossed two scoreless innings of relief in the game two loss.
The Panthers scored three runs in the top of the sixth, but it was too little, too late as the Titans hung on for the victory.
The Panthers get right back at it as they host the Medaille Mavericks for a doubleheader at the Kessel Athletic Complex on Wednesday afternoon at 3:00. It will be the AMCC opener for both the Panthers and the Mavericks.
