PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Pitt-Bradford baseball was dealt a pair of defeats Saturday by AMCC leader La Roche. The Panthers were edged 6-5 in game one and shutout 7-0 in the nightcap.
The Panthers jumped ahead 3-0 in the first inning of the opener behind Dalton Renn's two-run home run and Austin Parent's RBI double. La Roche responded by scoring five runs in its half of the frame, including four with two outs, to move ahead 5-3.
Consecutive doubles by Tyler Hoops and Kyle Hunt in the second trimmed the deficit to 5-4, but La Roche's Regis Sauer would retire the next 14 Panthers in a row before Austin Hoggatt walked with one out in the seventh. Pinch-runner John Morgan would eventually come around to score on Brody Wood's groundout to the shortstop, yet Pitt-Bradford failed to get the tying run aboard, as Hoops grounded out to end the game.
With one out in the fifth, starter Ryan Boyer walked Luis Navedo, and Navedo moved into scoring position two batters later following a wild pitch. La Roche's Joe Professor singled, scoring Navedo and what proved to be the game-winning run.
Boyer allowed six hits and four walks while striking out six in a complete-game effort. All six of the runs he yielded were earned. Hoops finished with two of the Panthers' six hits and drove in a pair of runners.
The Panthers managed just two hits through the first eight innings of game two, as five La Roche pitchers combined to shut down the Blue and Gold lineup.
Pitt-Bradford collected three hits in the ninth, but failed to produce a run, as Renn was thrown out at home plate attempting to score.
The Redhawks led 3-0 after the first and stretched the lead to 5-0 in the third on a RBI triple and groundout.
Starter Matthew Hogue went 6.2 innings, giving up six runs on nine hits, and reliever Andrew Bacha surrendered two hits and a run in a two-run La Roche seventh inning.
Pitt-Bradford, which has lost five straight in conference play, drops to 8-18 on the season and 3-5 in the AMCC. The Panthers return to action Tuesday when they host Hilbert at 1 p.m.
