The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford softball team (8-20, 2-8) dropped both games in an AMCC doubleheader with LaRoche (14-7, 6-2) on Saturday afternoon at the Kessel Athletic Complex.
The Panthers lost a 5-3 heartbreaker in the opener, before falling 8-5 in the nightcap.
"We gave that first one away with our lack of execution," said Pitt-Bradford head coach Tina Phillips. "I think the second game could have been ours too. It was nice to see the bats come alive. We just need to get some bounces to go our way."
Nicole Nolte had a huge day at the plate, starting with a 4-4 performance in the opener. Liz Dzurisin also had a big day, going 2-2 with two doubles and two RBI. Amber Fox chipped in with two hits while Maddy Hillery and Cassidy Lewis had one hit each.
Lewis took the loss, but pitched well in the circle, allowing just two earned runs while striking out two in six innings. Taylor Collins allowed one run on one hit in relief.
"I really think Cass pitched well today," Phillips said. She certainly pitched well enough to win, but we just couldn't execute when we needed to."
Marina Bowser led the Redhawks' offense, going 2-3 with a home run and three RBI. Sara Kohli added two hits and an RBI in the game one victory.
Savannah Leonard improved to 6-3 on the year, allowing three runs on 10 hits in a complete game effort in the circle for LaRoche.
Dzurisin got things started for the Panthers with an RBI double in the bottom of the first, and then another in the bottom of the third to give Pitt-Bradford an early 2-0 lead.
LaRoche tied the game at 2-2 with two unearned runs in the top of the fourth.
Alexis Woodin and Amber Fox executed a delay steal to perfection with runners on first and third, allowing the Panthers to take a 3-2 lead after five.
However, Bowser halted the Panther's momentum with a two-run homer to left field in the top of the sixth and Aubriatta Martin scored on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh to cap the Redhawks's scoring in their 5-3 victory in the opener.
Nolte continued to hit, going 3-4 with two RBI to lead the Panther's offense in the second game. Dzurisin and Emily Fair added two hits and drove in one run while Meagan Hillard had an RBI in the game two loss.
Dzurisin took the loss in the circle, allowing eight runs while striking out one and walking one over seven innings of work.
Kara Sainato led the Redhawk's offense to a victory in game two, going 3-4 with four RBI while Abriatta Martin drove in two runs and Mandie Lippman and Bowser drove in one run each.
Kaylee Grassmeyer picked up the win, improving to 5-1 in the circle, allowing one run on seven hits over five innings. Savannah Leonard got the save with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Despite dropping the finale, the Panthers did get on the board first on a Dzurisin RBI single to left-centerfield in the bottom of the first.
However, the LaRoche offense heated up with three runs in the second, three more in the third and two runs in the sixth, taking an 8-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth.
The Panther's offense woke up in the sixth, scoring four runs to come within 8-5. Fair started the big inning with a solo homer way over the left field wall while Hillard drew a bases loaded walk and Nolte crushed a two-run single right up the middle.
LaRoche went to Leonard with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the sixth and the right-hander got the Redhawks out of the jam and then shut the Panthers down in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the 8-5 victory to complete the sweep.
Pitt-Bradford returns to action Sunday afternoon for a doubleheader with Pitt-Greensburg. First pitch is slated for noon from the Kessel Athletic Complex.
