CANEAEDA, N.Y. – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team put forth a strong combined effort to defeat D'Youville, 16-4, Wednesday in a non-conference game held at the neutral site of Houghton College.
Tyler Hoops and Jay Clinger had three hits and as many RBIs apiece while Dalton Renn, Austin Parent, Nick Blovsky and Robert Sawicki had a pair of hits each.
The Panthers made their way around the bases with nine extra-base hits. Clinger knocked a pair of doubles while Hoops and Parent each had a triple to highlight the effort.
On the mound, Alex Andrzejewski started the game and struck out five while walking a pair and surrendering the four D'Youville runs.
Pitt-Bradford grabbed a quick lead in the bottom of the first as Clinger singled home Hoops. Clinger later scored from second on a deep sacrifice fly on a diving catch from the D'Youville centerfielder off the bat of Dalton Renn.
The Panther offense built on its 2-0 lead in the second. Hoops tripled home Brody Wood, and he later scored on a hit from Packard. A double from Clinger brought home Packard and the Panthers took a 5-0 lead into the third inning.
After a quiet third inning, Packard and Clinger strung together back-to-back two-out doubles in the fourth to add to the lead.
The fifth inning saw even more offense from the Panthers as Hoops singled home Brown, and Packard knocked in Hoops and Blovsky to put Pitt-Bradford ahead, 9-0.
But the D'Youville offense awoke in the top of the sixth for a quartet of runs to cut the Panther lead to 9-4. Sam Gwiazdinski entered the game in relief of Andrzejewski and fanned one in the process.
The Panthers got three of the runs back in the bottom half of the frame as Sawicki knocked a pinch-hit, two-run single through the left side and Packard worked a bases-loaded walk that brought home Wood, giving the Panthers a 12-4 lead into the seventh.
Pitt-Bradford put together its last scoring of the game in the seventh inning, grabbing four more runs.
Blovsky knocked the big hit, a bases-loaded double to left field, bringing home Brown and Parent.
Sawicki then stepped up and roped his second RBI hit of the day, a one-run single that scored Wood.
Blovsky capped the Pitt-Bradford scoring for the day as he came home on a fielder's choice off the bat of Hoops.
In addition to Andrzejewski and Gwiazdinski, Benjamin Hayes and Nate Renick saw time on the hill. Hayes tossed one inning, surrendering one hit while striking out one. Renick threw the final two innings and struck out four while allowing just one single baserunner.
The Panthers worked seven walks at the plate while their pitching walked just four D'Youville Spartans.
Packard swiped a pair of bases while Parent stole one.
Up next, Pitt-Bradford will travel to Ft. Myers, Fla., for six games in the Gene Cusic Classic from March 4-9.
