Fort Myers, Fl. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team was back in action Thursday afternoon as they took on Augustana College in a single matchup. The Panthers fell behind early and were put away late by a pair of high-scoring innings, ultimately falling to the Vikings 17-7 in 7 innings.
Over the first three innings of play, the Panthers fell behind 3-0 as starting pitcher Trent Bielak allowed the Vikings to score once in each frame, while the Panthers could only muster a pair of first-inning walks. Bielak was removed in the 4th after giving up a pair of singles to start the inning. He was replaced by Brandon Amidon Crawford, who struggled to find his composure. The lead quickly went from 3 to 8 as the first run scored on an error and then after an RBI single a long home run to right field brought in 3 more. Two free passes and three wild pitches put runners on 2nd and 3rd before an out was recorded in the inning, but Amidon -Crawford was able to retire three straight to end the frame with one more run scoring on an RBI groundout.
The Panthers showed some life offensively in the 4th. Maxwell Rogers and Evan Fragela drew walks to start the inning before Justin Dattoli brought in the first run with a double down the left-field line. Kevin Rehak drew a walk that led to a pitching change and Alex Pasternak brought in Fragela on a sacrifice fly. A pair of strikeouts followed to end the inning.
Amidon-Crawford put up a shutdown inning in the 5th, retiring the side in order, and the Panthers looked to continue to build momentum as Nico Hall and Andrew Bokulich both singled to start the bottom half. Unfortunately, Rogers sharply grounded into a 5-3 double play and Fragela grounded out to 3rd to quickly finish the threat.
What momentum the Panthers had after the 5th went away in the 6th as Augustana quickly added two runs off of Amidon-Crawford on two doubles, a hit batter, and a wild pitch. After the second double, he was lifted for Branson Scarantine making his season debut. Scarantine received a rude welcome from the Vikings, who quickly added two more on a home run. Scarantine was able to get a groundout back to the mound, but it would be the only out he recorded as he left the game after hitting two batters, walking two more, and allowing a run to score on a wild pitch. Brayden Hageter entered as the third pitcher of the inning and struck out the first batter he faced, but allowed all three inherited runners to score on a hit batter and a two-run single. He ended the inning with another strikeout.
Despite the large deficit, the Panthers battled back in the bottom of the inning, scoring 5 runs. Rehak and Pasternak began the inning with one-out singles before pinch hitter Payton Crays was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Aaron Hair pinch hit next and delivered a single through the right side to bring in Rehak. This was followed by a 2-run double to left by Hall and an Augustana Pitching charge. Bokulich brought in another run with a single to left and after a flyout from pinch hitter Harrison Knaupe, Fragela brought in the 5th run of the frame with another run-scoring single.
Hageter worked around a leadoff walk and an error in the infield to put up a 0 in the 7th, but after Rehak singled to lead off the 7th, the next three Panthers went down in order to end the game.
Trent Bielak (0-1) picked up the loss after allowing 5 runs, 4 earned, in 3+ innings pitched. He struck out 3 while allowing 4 hits, 3 walks and 3 hit batters. The Panthers bullpen allowed 12 runs, 10 earned, on 6 hits, 4 walks, and 5 more hit batters. Brayden Hageter pitched 1.2 innings and was not charged with any runs. Nico Hall led the Panthers' offense, finishing 2 for 3 with a run, 2 RBIS, a walk, and a stolen base. Kevin Rehak also reached three times, recording a pair of singles and a walk. Andrew Bokulich also recorded a multi-hit game, finishing 2 for 4.
The Panthers drop to 3-9 on the season with the loss. They will bring their Spring Break trip to a close on Friday with a 9-inning contest against Muskingum. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at Terry Park.
