Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team picked up a pair of AMCC victories on Wednesday as they swept a doubleheader with Mount Aloysius. The Panthers never trailed in game 1 on the way to a 9-4 lead and battled back multiple times in a 10-6 win in the nightcap.
The Panthers built some early momentum against the defending AMCC champions as starting pitcher Kyler Majka used a 6-4-3 double play to post a 0 in the first. With a strong start in the field, the Panthers jumped ahead in the bottom half, scoring two runs. With two outs in the inning, Justin Dattoli sliced a double down the right-field line to bring in Maxwell Rogers. After Trent Bielak drew a walk, Evan Fragela was able to scamper home on a wild pitch.
Majka posted a big shutdown inning in the 2nd, retiring the side in order, and then recorded his third straight scoreless inning in the third, working around a leadoff walk to keep the Panthers up 2-0. Majka ran into trouble in the 4th, as the Mounties used a single and a pair of walks to load the bases, but the right-hander was able to strike out a Mountie batter to end the threat.
Leading 2-0, the Panthers exploded for 4 more runs in the bottom of the 4th, chasing defending AMCC pitcher of the year after 3.1 innings of work. Bielak started the rally with a leadoff single and then scored two batters later on a Bret Babcock single to center. Kyle Kimoto beat out an infield single to continue the run before Nico Hall dropped a single into right-center to bring Babcock around to score. With Pitt-Bradford leading 4-0, Quade lost his control, walking Andrew Bokulich to load the bases before hitting Rogers and Fragela with pitches to force in two more runs. After a pitching change, the Panther rally came to an abrupt end with a double play.
The Mounties rallied in the 5th as they quickly scored two runs before the Panthers could record an out. Majka hit the leadoff batter with a pitch and then following an error in the infield gave up a run-scoring double to left. The next batter was able to lace a single into right to bring in one run, but Andrew Bokulich delivered a strong throw to the plate to throw out the second runner for the first out. The outfield assist from Bokulich changed the momentum in the inning as Majka was able to retire the next two batters on a popped-up bunt and a fly ball to center.
With their lead cut to 4, the Panthers used a two-out rally to quickly push their lead to 7. Kevin Rehak beat out an infield single with one down and then quickly moved to third on a wild pitch and a stolen base. After Kimoto was hit by a pitch, Hall laced a double down the left field line to bring in Rehak and put runners on 2nd and 3rd with two down. Bokulich concluded his big inning next, as he singled up the middle to bring in two more runs.
The Mounties struck back for a pair of runs in the 6th, chasing MAjka in the process. The inning began with back-to-back walks before a sacrifice fly brought in the first run. After the run scored, Majka was relieved by Jacob Sherdel. Sherdel entered with one out and runners on second and third but quickly got out of the inning as one inherited runner scored on another sac fly, and then a third straight fly ball to left ended the inning.
Pitt-Bradford went down quietly in the bottom of the 6th, but after a leadoff double in the 7th, Sherdel retired the next three Mountie batters to end the game.
Kyler Majka (2-3) picked up the win. He allowed 4 runs, 2 earned in 5.1 innings of work. He struck out 3 batters. Jacob Sherdel allowed just 1 hit in 1.2 innings of work to close the game. Nico Hall finished the game 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Andrew Bokulich also had 2 hits, finishing 2 for 2 with 2 runs batted in.
Game 2
The second game of the double dip was a back-and-forth affair that saw the lead change hands 6 times before Pitt-Bradford broke away in the 8th inning.
Shawn Mannering worked around a walk in the 1st inning to quickly get the Panthers to the plate and saw his offense score first yet again as Nico Hall lined a leadoff home run around the left field foul pole. Andrew Bokulich followed the home run with a single, but a double play and a groundout quickly ended the inning.
In the 2nd, the Mounties rallied with two outs to take their first lead of the day. After a bloop single into left, the Mounties put runners on second and third with a double down the left-field line. The next batter hit a soft chopper back up the middle which squeaked between the infielders to bring in two runs. Pitt-Bradford was able to come right back in their half of the inning to tie the game at 2. Trent Bielak singled up the middle with one out and after he moved to second on a ground out was able to score as Joe Long dropped a single into right center.
With the score tied at 2, Mannering took over, for two innings, allowing just a single in each frame while striking out 3 batters to put up a pair of 0s. The Panthers were able to put a pair of runners on base in the same innings, but could not come up with the big hit to score and take the lead. After another 0 from Mannering in the 5th, the Panthers quickly struck to take the lead. Andrew Bokulich led off the frame with a walk and then was able to score all the way from first as Maxwell Rogers doubled off of the fence in left-center.
Mount Aloysius was able to avoid further damage in the inning and then scored 2 in the 6th to retake the lead. Following a leadoff double, the visitors scored the first run of the frame on a single through the left side and then used a double steal with an error later in the inning to score the second. In the bottom half of the inning, the Panthers used a similar defensive lapse to score two of their own and go ahead 5-4. Bielak led off the inning with a single and then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Mount Aloysius starter Chris Hasse was lifted after a walk to Long and then a throwing error on a well-placed bunt single from Kyle Kimoto allowed two Panther runs to score.
The lead changed hands yet again in the 7th. Mannering was relieved by Brandon Amidon-Crawford after walking the leadoff batter. The runner quickly moved to third on a stolen base and a fly ball to center, and then scored on a safety squeeze play. The Panthers made a throwing error on the play which allowed the batter to go all the way to third, and then score a batter later on a single to center, putting the Mounties back ahead 6-5.
Pitt-Bradford remained resilient in their half of the inning, scoring a pair of runs for the second straight inning to take the lead yet again. Justin Dattoli started the two-out rally as he lined a single into right. Bielak was able to reach with another single, as his grounder up the middle was stopped on a diving play by the Mount Aloysius shortstop but no out was made on the play. Kevin Rehak was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Long delivered his second run-scoring hit of the game as he line a single into left field to bring in Dattoli and Bielak.
Amidon-Crawford recorded a huge shutdown inning in the 8th, retiring the side in order for the first 0 for either team in 5 frames. The Panthers took advantage of the momentum from the 1-2-3 inning as they tacked on three runs in the bottom of the inning. Hall dropped a leadoff single down the right field line to start the rally and moved to second two batters later when Rogers was hit by a pitch. Mount Aloysius made another pitching change after the HBP, but it was not successful as the new reliever walked the next two batters to load the bases and force in a run. The second pitching change of the inning was followed by an RBI single through the right side for Bielak and an RBI groundout from Rehak, putting Pitt-Bradford up 10-6.
In the 9th, Amidon-Crawford made quick work of the Mounties. despite a throwing error, he was able to hold the Mounties without a hit in the inning, finishing the game with a strikeout.
Brandon Amidon-Crawford (2-1) picked up the win for the Panthers. In 3.0 innings of relief work, he allowed 1 unearned run on 2 hits while striking out 1. Shawn Mannering received a no-decision, as he allowed 5 runs, 4 earned in 6+ innings pitched. He struck out 8.
Offensively, the Panthers pounded out 14 hits, led by Trend Bielak who finished 4 for 5 with 3 runs scored and an RBI. Nico Hall had 3 hits in the game, including the leadoff home run. Joe Long was 2 for 3 in the game with 3 runs batted in and another scored.
The sweep moves Pitt-Bradford to 7-11 on the season with a 3-1 record in AMCC play. They will be right back in action tomorrow afternoon, as their doubleheader with Westminster was moved up a day to avoid inclement weather later in the week. First pitch for the twin bill is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
